I Work Remotely As A Nurse, Here's What I Love (and Hate) About It
In this episode, host Alice Benjamin shares her excitement about transitioning to a remote position as a nurse practitioner. After working in various high-acuity areas for 25 years, she finally found a job that allows her to work from home. She discusses her previous work experiences and how it became her goal to find a remote position that suited her personal and professional needs. Nurse Alice also shares the benefits and disadvantages of working remotely and how other nurses can decide if it is the right path for them.
This content used under license from "Ask Nurse Alice."
Nurse Alice’s decision to work remotely
Nurse Alice shares that she recently took on a remote position as a family nurse practitioner. Although she still works part-time as an NP in the emergency department, this means that, after 25 years in the nursing profession, she now spends the majority of her time working remotely.
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“I wanted to work remotely because your girl was burned out,” she explains in the episode. “Now, I love taking care of patients. I love being in the thick of things. And many times I love the thrill that comes and unpredictability that comes with the ER and ICU. Call me crazy, but I love it. I operate really well under pressure, but that has been a joy and I've loved being able to accomplish it and achieve that and do my best, but your girl wants a break. I want a break. And so I landed a family nurse practitioner remote position, and I love it.”
She explains that actually finding a remote position was no easy task, however.
“I would be like, ‘where do you find those jobs?’ Like I'm looking and looking and looking, legit, where do you find them? And like many of you, I would be online looking at all the job boards, Indeed, Monster, you know, signing up for these like random emails, sometimes looking at the online job fairs,” she recalls.
Pros and cons of remote work
Here are the pros and cons of working remotely, according to Nurse Alice:
Pros:
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Flexible schedule
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No commute
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Financial savings
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No dress code
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More time with loved ones
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Customizable work environment
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More frequent breaks
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Improved physical and mental health
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No patient/staff drama
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More time in the day
Cons:
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Loneliness
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Distractions
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Changes in eating habits
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Boredom
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Higher organizational needs
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Slower work pace
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Slower communication with colleagues
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Lack of separation between work and home life
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Noisiness
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The need to get out of the house
Want the full scoop on why Nurse Alice chose these things as her pros and cons? Listen to the full podcast episode to find out!
Is it right for you?
If you are considering pursuing a remote nursing position, Nurse Alice shares a few pieces of advice and encourages listeners to reach out to her.
“Spark up the conversation, talk to someone who's done the job, reach out to me. I'd love to tell you more about what I do in case you're thinking about, like,’ is this for me?’ And then also, as nurses are becoming entrepreneurs, we're starting to create our own jobs and work remotely from home as well. So that's another avenue that I'd love to share more about,” she says.
Nurse Alice also recommends that nurses always have multiple streams of income in place.
“Never have just one stream of income, have multiple streams of income. That way, if something ever happens with one job, you have something to fall back on. That's always been my philosophy and that's what I'm going to share with others,” she advises.
