Do you want to start a business at home as a nurse but lack ideas and know-how? If YES, here are 31 best ways to make money fast from home as a nurse.
Times are indeed changing, and many industries are making the shift from having in-house personnel to having a more relaxed and remote workforce of employees who work from home. The same can be said of the nursing profession. Gone are the days when registered nurses were required to work besides patients serving bedpans amongst other sundry duties.
These days, modern advancements in technology have paved the way for remote or home-based nursing jobs. Nursing is a rewarding career that provides more than 3 million registered nurses (RNs) in the united states with a variety of workplace choices and with a fairly decent pay package.
According to the 2016 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the median nursing salary for RNs is $68,450 per year, and the job growth rate between 2014 and 2024 is expected to rise by 16 percent, which is higher than the average for other occupations.
While most nurses still prefer to provide in-person care, there are a surprising number of ways nurses can practice their skills and still work from home.
If you are interested in transitioning out of traditional care facilities, maybe to take care of your kids or to take a break in general, here are just a few career options that will allow you to put your degree to good use and still work from home.
What Jobs Can Nurses Do from Home to Make Money?
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Start a blog
This may sound cliché, but this is one way a registered nurse can make good money while staying at home and taking care of other interests. It is a fact that there are not enough health professionals blogging about health issues and whom you can seek reliable advice from.
As a nurse, you can start a personal blog where you get to write about what you have learnt in school or on the job. Because of your qualification, you would be able to answer a few questions professionally as long as you do not go contrary to the nursing law. You would soon get a lot of followership if people know that you are a professional.
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Become a medical transcriptionist
A medical transcriptionist listens to recorded medical reports and transcribes voice recordings into written reports. This is one ideal job a nurse can start from home. There are lots of opportunities for a medical transcriptionist but you will have to become certified in order to be qualified for the job.
It is easy to become certified as there are courses available online. Once you become a medical transcriptionist, you can work part-time and do the job from anywhere as long as you have a computer and reliable internet access. With this kind of part-time job, you can have the opportunity to work from your home.
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Become a Telehealth Nurse
Telehealth (also known as telemedicine) is the process of clinical diagnosing and monitoring through technology. This means you can communicate with patients via a live audio/video link, over the phone, or ever over a webcam. This is one good business a nurse can start from home.
There are a ton of companies who you can work for to do this and most of them let you work from home. Some telehealth companies also offer remote health monitoring services where you can monitor vital sign readings and check the severity of reported injuries of customers through video calls.
You can also start up your telehealth nursing business from home. The medium income for a nurse who does telehealth nursing is almost $70,000 which is much better than you get on a nursing salary anyway.
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Sell medical products on Etsy
Selling on Etsy is a great side job and lets you earn income even when you’re sleeping. For example, if you made some crafts, all you have to do is list the product on their website, maybe advertise it a bit, and then ship it out once you’ve sold them. You may also want to focus on selling medical equipment as this is where your forte lies.
You can post reviews of the products on your website and direct your customers to go and read it for more information. This is one strategy that would help you make increased sales. This indeed would give you a feeling of running a business and it would bring that much needed additional income.
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Become a First Aid Instructor
Becoming an independent first aid instructor is another way a nurse can earn some cash from home. In the past, some nurses have been known to have made more money doing this than their full-time nursing job. All you need to do is visit small healthcare agencies and let them know of this new service that you’re offering.
To get started, you have to obtain CPR and first aid training (don’t forget Child and Infant CPR), gain experience through the Red Cross, get your business license from your county clerk’s office, find a place to hold your classes, and market your business.
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Become a Medical/Health Writer
If you are good with putting words together, and if you find it as a hobby, you can become a medical/health writer. One way to kick off this business from home is to contact freelancing websites and register with them.
Because you are writing about a professional topic like medicine or health, you are able to charge higher than other general topic writers. If your writings are good, you would start getting steady jobs that can even help you live comfortably.
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Become an Immunization Nurse
Nurses who are looking for ways to make extra money outside the hospital environment are familiar with immunization clinics. Being an immunization nurse is a seasonal opportunity that starts around September.
Before the flu season starts, companies, grocery stores, churches and other establishments sign up to provide flu shots. Nurses and doctors manage these flu shot programs. You can sign up for this duty in an area near your home if you do not want to over stress yourself.
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Pick up Per Diem Shifts
Per Diem shifts are starting to be more and more prevalent today. Per diem shifts allow nurses to pick up shifts when and where they desire. This means that you are hired on a day to day basis according to how you are needed in the hospital or health facility.
Per Diem shifts allow you to usually get a boost in hourly rate, it also allows you to find flexible work scheduling, and it’s a fantastic way to get new experiences and skills.
Hospitals and care facilities are needing more help all the time because of the new regulations in healthcare, and millions of more people have access to healthcare now meaning that hospitals are busier than ever. You can pick up per diem shifts on your free time or off days to boost your income.
This may not totally be regarded as a work from home job, but you can at least pick shifts that are very close to your home.
If you are passionate about bedside care, you can look for a part-time job in nursing homes or hospice care facilities. These institutions are in great need of direct nursing care as their patients are elderly individuals with chronic illnesses. You can arrange for a part-time job here by working two to three times a week or during weekends.
Indeed this may not be an ideal work from home job, but at least you are not in the busy and stress filled hospital environment.
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Become a Medical Coder
Medical coding is the process of transforming descriptions of medical diagnoses and procedures into universal medical code numbers. The diagnosis and procedures are usually taken from a variety of sources within the healthcare record, such as the transcription of the physician’s notes, laboratory results, radiologic results, and other sources.
In medical coding, you will need to classify medical diagnoses and list the corresponding medical billing codes for proper insurance claims.
This is critical work as you will need to put the proper medical billing codes so insurance companies can process the insurance claims of the patient. You will need to become certified to qualify as a medical coder, but once you are certified, you may have to carry out your duties from your home. The job also pays well.
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Home Health Nursing
Some agencies provide healthcare services to patients who can’t leave their homes. You can apply for a part-time job in these agencies where your primary role is to visit the list of patients registered in their services and provide the nursing care they need.
Independent nursing interventions you can do in this job include dressing change, physical assessment, blood sugar monitoring and many more. Many agencies let you start your day from home. Call your patients while having your morning coffee, and be home before your kids get out of school.
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Online tutorials
A lot of nursing students sometimes need extra coaching for their exams. You can offer to bring them up to speed right from your home. What you need to do is set up a website where you can offer your courses.
You should also provide simplified course materials that would help them better understand, then you need to promote your website and business to get adequate exposure on the internet. If the students you tutor find your teachings very helpful, they would introduce others. You can make money from subscription fees and seeing your notes.
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Become an online Wound Consultant
Wound care can be a challenging area of nursing. Many nurses don’t know where to turn when a wound is not healing on a patient. With a wound care nurse certification, you can do wound care consulting for doctors, hospitals, and wound clinics.
The best part is that you can become an online wound consultant. You stay up-to-date on the latest wound healing techniques and treatments so you can make recommendations on the best treatments to try. You can also teach classes on wound care and staging of wounds. To be able to offer this service, you have to get a wound care nurse certification.
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Become a Phlebotomy Worker
Phlebotomy is the process of making an incision in a vein with a needle. Insurance company physicals often need a physical exam and blood draw as part of the application process. These are conveniently done in the patients home most of the time. You get a list and drive to their homes mainly in the evening hours. This is a great way to drum up some extra money.
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Call Center Nursing
Another work from home option for you as a registered nurse who prefers to work from home is call center nursing. You basically perform telephone triage, offering advice to callers on how to deal with medical situations. Many insurance companies and private health clinics offer advice/triage lines to their clients.
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Paid Online Surveys and Focus Groups
You’ll have to do some online legwork in the beginning, and sign up with as many sites as you can. Then the e-mails will start coming in, inviting you to complete surveys or participate in focus groups. People claim they can make a nice supplemental income this way, and it’s worth a shot if only because you pay nothing up front to join the various sites.
This is online market research, and if you are diligent about it, you can make a headway with it. Since you are a nurse, you can target surveys that have to do with your profession. You can test the waters by signing up for Brand Institute, which focuses on healthcare research and seeks input from healthcare professionals such as nurses.
Hospitals and private medical practices all around the country are constantly looking for the best nurses available. As any nurse knows, those organizations are more than willing to pay a premium to attract the right healthcare professionals.
Starting a business that specializes in introducing qualified candidates with attractive positions can be quite profitable if you’re willing to do a little bit of legwork, though all your work can also be done online.
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Sell Medical Products
Using your in-depth knowledge of medical hardware to make extra money is a savvy move. Signing on with companies like Johnson & Johnson or Medtronic as a sales rep can be a stress-free way to pad your income. If you feel comfortable talking to strangers and have a flair for sales, selling medical products to hospitals and practices around the country is a natural move. You can as well sell your medical products online right from your home.
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Manufacture Healthcare Gear
If you are really business inclined, you could always create your own physical products and sell them for a pretty penny. For instance, you could design your own line of custom scrubs based on your personal preferences and sell them online. Though this approach takes a bit more research and effort, the profit potential is far, far higher.
You can just design the prototype and sell the idea off to a manufacturer. This is one way to ensure that your business is only done at home.
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Become a case manager
A lot of companies hire nurses to work as home-based telephonic disability clinical case managers. These nurses evaluate patients’ disability claims and provide early intervention in the medical and return-to-work management processes for injured employees.
Working with patients, physicians, physical therapists and occupational therapists, nurses plan and evaluate the patient’s care to achieve cost-effective outcomes and optimal medical improvement.
To work as a case manager, you must have a minimum of three to five years of clinical practice experience and prior disability management experience. You also need to have insurance industry knowledge, with experience in critical care, home health and rehabilitation.
Candidates should have an RN license, and in addition to outstanding clinical and assessment skills, nurses should have strong computer, customer-service and time-management abilities as the job is usually done remotely.
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Online Course Developer
Online education is a growing field that is conducive for working at home. Subject matter experts are needed in every field that is taught online—and nursing is no exception. Tech-savvy nurses with teaching experience may be able to use those skills in distance education—either working as an instructor or in developing nursing courses.
These jobs are for online colleges and “brick-and-mortar” schools as well as private companies that develop courses and training materials. Usually, a master’s degree is the minimal requirement, but often a Ph.D. is preferred for one to become a certified course developer.
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Legal Nurse Consultant
Nurse consultants provide lawyers, paralegals and others working in the legal profession with expertise about medical issues relating to law, such as personal injury, malpractice, worker’s comp, and more. Typically this expertise is utilized in-house as opposed to testifying as a medical expert.
This type of work could range from managing and interpreting medical records to coordinating medical exams for clients. A legal nurse consultant may be an independent contractor or may be employed by a law firm or insurance company. Either way, this job lends itself to telecommuting, at least part of the time so you are able to consult from your home.
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Health IT/Nursing Informatics
IT jobs in general can often be done from home, but both the specific field of health IT and general information technology usually require time working in an office environment and a high level of skill before transitioning to work at home.
Nurses may move into this work by learning on the job and eventually make the move to telecommuting full time or, more likely, part-time.
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Become an insurance claims specialist
Making the transition from nursing to working as an insurance claims specialist is a natural one that will allow you more job flexibility along with a salary of about $64,000. Insurance companies need examiners or investigators who are responsible for reviewing claims and deciding whether or not certain procedures are covered.
They also work to decide how much money the insurance company is required to pay for each claim. A background in nursing will help you to make informed decisions that are in the best interest of the patients, medical providers and insurance companies. Most of your duties as a claims specialist can be done remotely.
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Become a Remote Care Coach Supervisor
A remote care coach supervisor is a nurse who manages a team of nurse care coaches, to ensure that team goals are met, provide ongoing training, analyze reports to manage team performance, and more. To carry out this duty, one must be a registered nurse with three years’ clinical experience. This job can be done from anywhere with your presence being required only once in a while.
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Become a Remote Patient Trainer
In this remote position, nurses will provide instructions to patients and caregivers regarding equipment use and care, test reporting, medical records, and more. You can connect with your patients via the telephone or the internet and only make physical consultations when required.
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Become a Nurse advocate
In a nutshell, nurse advocates help their patients understand every aspect of care, from treatment options and illness education to insurance issues. You can help patients with their medical bills or guide them on how to avoid medical debt.
Your role is to provide as many resources and options as possible to the client so they can make the best-informed decision for themselves and their loved ones. Just being someone’s moral support is part of the role of a healthcare advocate, and you can do all these from your home.
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Clinical Research Associate
A clinical research associate (CRA) is someone who runs clinical trials to determine the risks, benefits, and potency of specific drugs before they become available in the market. Although most CRAs are involved in field work, some companies now hire registered nurses to work from home.
CRAs usually work for a pharmaceutical company or a contract research organization (CRO) which operates on behalf of the pharmacy company.
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Utilization Review Nurse
Utilization review (UR) nurses partner with both patients and healthcare systems to ensure accurate, effective, and safe delivery of healthcare services. They help patients in making informed decision regarding their care while at the same time helping the hospital in delivering only the necessary procedures as well as avoiding lengthy hospital stays.
Utilization review nurses are usually hired by insurance companies and government agencies such as Medicaid and Medicare to ensure the right patients receive the right amount and quality of care. You can work remotely from your home office and enjoy flexible schedules.
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Become a Medical Claims Reviewer
Claims examiners and reviewers evaluate insurance claims and applications, and follow up on the work of insurance adjusters to protect insurers from unnecessary financial loss. Medical Claims Reviewers evaluate adults with chronic illness or disability to determine the level of care and eligibility for services. The job of the claims reviewer is remote most of the time.
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Teach patients how to use medical equipment at home
Patients, depending on their aliment may be required to use certain medical equipment at home. Since they are not medical personnel, this may present a huge challenge.
You can start offering to help patients get acquainted with their recommended medical equipment. It could be the blood pressure reader, blood sugar machine, how to apply insulin injection on themselves etc. You get to visit them for this training, but at your own timing and then send in a cheque.