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The Nontraditional Nurse

Your nursing degree is more versatile than you think—let’s explore where it can take you! At The Nontraditional Nurse, we help nurses explore diverse career opportunities beyond traditional bedside roles. From innovation to consulting, entrepreneurship, and more—our free monthly newsletter features real stories, career deep dives, and expert insights to help you find your ideal path. Subscribe today and get our Nontraditional Nursing Career Map to start exploring new possibilities!

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A Nontraditional Approach to Bedside Nursing

From The Nontraditional NurseAugust 1, 2026 Welcome back! Here's something I hear a lot: "nontraditional nursing" means going remote, leaving the bedside, or trading your scrubs for a laptop. But that's not the whole story. You can make a nontraditional move while staying at the bedside, just doing it a little differently. This issue, I'm bringing back a discussion with Missy Dorsey, a nurse leader (and my old manager) who's spent years tackling burnout and retention through an initiative...

From The Nontraditional NurseJuly 2026 Welcome back! You know I love bringing in fresh voices, and this month I'm thrilled to hand the mic to a guest writer. Erin Basher is a Registered Nurse and Certified Professional Resume Writer. Whether you're eyeing your first transition out of bedside or just want your resume to finally work for you, Erin's got the practical, no-fluff guidance you need. I'll let her take it from here. Your Nursing Resume Few people consider resume writing a...

From The Nontraditional NurseJuly 1, 2026 Welcome back! This month we're returning to a field that lit up our inbox the first time we covered it: Nursing Informatics. You asked for more, so we're back with another fresh perspective. The Nontraditional Nurse spotlight We sat down with Sophia King, a nurse of ten years who's spent the last four in informatics. Sophia started in orthopedics, then moved to inpatient behavioral health — and that shift, with its different documentation and...

From The Nontraditional NurseJune 2026 Your Nursing Portfolio Let me ask you something. If a hiring manager called you tomorrow and said, "Walk me through a project where you improved a process or a patient outcome." Could you do it? Could you name the project, what you did, and what changed because of it? If your answer is "uh… I'd have to think about that," you're not alone. And it's not because you haven't done impressive work. You have. It's because nurses are never taught to track it. We...

From The Nontraditional NurseJune 1, 2026 Welcome back!This month’s spotlight has been highly requested by our audience: Forensic Nursing. If you've ever wondered what a forensic exam actually involves, what it's like to sit with patients through their hardest moments, or how you could build a career in this field, this edition is for you. The Nontraditional Nurse spotlight I sat down with Haley Krueger-Alyass, RN, a forensic nurse examiner with a background in ER nursing and education. In...

From The Nontraditional NurseMay 2026 NETWORKING I've been hearing a version of this a lot lately: "I don't really have a network outside of the hospital." And I get it. Nursing is heads-down work. You're focused on your patients, your unit, your team — not collecting LinkedIn connections or going to happy hours with consultants. But here's what I've come to realize: You already have a network. You just don't know how powerful it is yet. The nurses you trained with, precepted, or worked...

From The Nontraditional NurseMay 1, 2026 Have you ever heard of Nurse Life Care Planning? This was a new one for us — and it’s exactly the kind of role that reminds you how many options exist in nursing that we were never taught about. The Nontraditional Nurse spotlight In this month’s spotlight, we’re diving into Nurse Life Care Planning with Kalyna Saylor — a nurse working at the intersection of healthcare and the legal system but is very different than a legal nurse consultant. This role...

From The Nontraditional NurseApril 2026 I’ve been hearing the same thing from so many nurses: “I know I have the experience… but I am still not getting calls back” You are a nurse with fantastic clinical experience, but having a hard time positioning this experience for your next role.It’s not that you’re unqualified for nontraditional roles. It’s that your experience is written for bedside nursing, and not for the roles you’re trying to move into. So this month, we’re focusing on one of the...

From The Nontraditional NurseApril 1, 2026 Welcome back!This month’s spotlight is on a side of nursing that a lot of nurses have heard of, but not all fully understand: utilization management. If you’ve ever been curious about prior auth, insurance-based roles, or how nurses use their skills behind the scenes to help patients get the right care at the right time, this edition is for you. The Nontraditional Nurse spotlight I sat down with Jessica Smith, LPN, who has built her career in prior...

From The Nontraditional NurseMarch 18, 2025 Hi All!I’ve been listening to your feedback — and you’re ready for more than just inspiration. You want actionable career advice. So that’s exactly what we’re adding. You’ll still get a monthly spotlight, along with a growing library of nontraditional roles on the website. But we’ll also be adding a mid-month Career Moves edition focused on giving you practical, actionable advice to help you navigate your job search. The Nontraditional Nurse -Career...