Nurses are at the heart of medicine. They are the corridor between unwellness and wellness. They are the frontline of medicine. No one who has seen nurses perform their tasks thinks their jobs are trivial or ones to be toyed with. That raises the question of why there should be side jobs for nurses.
Virginia Henderson, a pioneer in medicine, said: “the unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in performing those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the strength, will or knowledge.”
As a pioneer, Virginia Henderson defined health as the ability of a person to perform tasks independently. This also relates to her theory about the”14 Basic Human Needs,” where she emphatically stated that we should stress disease prevention and health promotion of the client.
Achieving good health is a challenge. The reason is that many factors hinder us from reaching it: age, cultural background, lifestyle, gender, emotional balance, etc.
This article talks about nurses and side jobs for nurses that pay well.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Facts about nursing
- Why do nurses need side jobs? Cold facts!
- Does a master’s degree help?
- 17 side jobs for nurses that pay well
- #1 – Virtual assistant service
- #2 – Customers interviews
- #3 – Selling on Amazon
- #4 – Farming
- #5 – Teaching
- #6 – Writing
- #7 – Blogging
- #8 – Health coach
- #9 – Airbnb hosting
- #10 – Maternal care
- #11 – Overtime
- #12 – Sell craft
- #13 – Proofreading
- #14 – Driving
- #15 – Interior decoration
- #16 – App development
- #17 – Music
- #18 – Bonus point
- Conclusion
- Recommendation
Introduction
Nurses are responsible for assessing patients hourly, every two, four, six, or eight hours, depending on what unit you work in and your policy. This includes a complete head-to-toe assessment, neurological status, and lung, heart, and bowel sounds.
Any drains, tubes, IVs, catheters, wounds, incisions, abnormal skin issues, neurovascular response, pain, intake and output, vital signs, and overall well-being.
The next step is to perform any interventions we may need to, such as dressing changes, emptying full drains, foley’s, bathing the patient or providing personal care, assisting them with meals, and bathroom necessities, administering meds, and reviewing the patient’s plan of care with them and their family, if present.
The problem with doing all this nice-sounding work is that the pay is often insufficient. That is why a lot has gone wrong, and nurses are looking outside for anything to improve their lot.
Facts about nursing
#1 – Nurses can be doctors
Nurses become doctors when nurses obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing (Ph.D.), which is a research-focused doctorate, or a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) which is the highest available degree in nursing.
#2 – Nurses walk an average of 4 to 5 miles in a 12-hour shift
A recent study found that nurses walk 4 to 5 miles in a 12-hour shift. By comparison, the average American adult walks 2.5 to 3 miles for an 18-hour day.
Continuous walking and other occupational stressors in older nurses can potentially lead to fatigue, joint pain, and other injuries. Responses suggest that walking may be a hazard for nurses working in acute care hospitals.
#3 – Nurses don’t all work in hospitals
While about 60 percent of nurses work in hospitals, others work in ambulatory healthcare services such as doctor’s offices and outpatient care centers, nursing homes and residential care communities, at government agencies, and educational services.
#4 – The first nursing school was established in India in 250 B.C
Only men were allowed to attend school during this time because they were viewed as purer than women. Now, women practically dominate the field statistically.
Data from the 2009 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated that approximately 5.8% of nurses in the U.S. were male. It wasn’t until the 1800s that nursing became a systematized practice.
#5 – Nurses are one of the most trusted professionals
For many years, surveys have continued to place nurses as the highest-trusted professionals. The annual Gallup Survey has named nursing the most trusted profession for the 14th time. More than 85% of the public views nurses as honest and ethical.
Why do nurses need side jobs? Cold facts!
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook of nursing is promising. The registered nursing workforce is projected to grow to 3.2 million by 2023 and beyond.
While these projections continue to see growth, which depicts plenty of room for nurses and imminent competition, it still does not translate to better nurse pay.
Many nurses are underpaid, and this is not a joke. It is real. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median pay for nurses is $35.24 per hour, which translates to $73,300 per year.
For people who work so hard to bring people back from the brink and sometimes from beyond, they are underpaid.
A lot has been said about everyone playing their part to ensure health care improves. A key part of that is making conditions better for nurses.
In the absence of that, another key offer is the provision of profound opportunities such as side jobs for nurses that pay them well enough to augment what they make regularly.
Does a master’s degree help?
It’s best to ask questions, at least, I was told that, and I’m almost certain you were told that as well. That said, this is a good question.
It seeks to know if the fortunes of nurses take an upward trajectory after a master’s degree in nursing or any of the thousand options there are.
Graduate education also allows nurses to focus their skills on gerontology or pediatrics. Teach or move into an administrative role, experts say, as it also means a higher salary potential.
Apart from the quest for further knowledge, a financial advantage comes with furthering one’s education.
Jobs that require a master’s degree to scale up usually come with a salary bump.
Typically, a master’s degree in any branch of nursing would lead to an increase of about $20,000 or more of the salary package.
Getting a master’s degree sounds like a brilliant idea, it is a costly investment that should not be rushed into.
Without getting a master’s degree, nurses with only a bachelor’s degree still get jobs and live comfortably. So count the cost!
17 side jobs for nurses that pay well
#1 – Virtual assistant service
Virtual assistants provide administrative support to clients from their home office and generally charge $15-40 an hour. If that sounds like a fun side hustle, you can set up shop alone or jump on board with an established VA company.
People who read this content end up reading 10 Paying Virtual Assistant Jobs For Beginners.
Anyone who has used the internet can testify to the fact that work has moved online, and lots of employers who need assistants hire virtual assistants. The truth remains that the need for virtual assistant jobs for beginners will continue to rise.
#2 – Customers interviews
Many companies need feedback, and they usually get this feedback through customer interviews.
As a nurse, you can apply to be part of one of such customer interview programs where you get to interview customers online and over the phone. This service pays well between $50 to $100 an hour.
#3 – Selling on Amazon
Right now, a very good side job could resell items on one of Amazon’s programs. These programs allow third parties to sell on their platform by getting local deals and shipping them off through Amazon to customers whenever.
#4 – Farming
As a nurse, you can decide to go into farming. You can start with a garden at the back of your house and try growing citruses, vegetables, and kept hens.
After a while, you can start selling these things to customers and make money from there.
Farming does not profit only you if you start it; it also profits your family members, who can watch these things grow and even start theirs.
#5 – Teaching
You can venture into teaching things you are proficient at. If you are proficient at growing things in a garden or on a farm, they can teach these things to customers in a field class for a fee.
While this may appear small at first, it could grow into something big. Teaching people how to grow or make things helps them and makes them better at it.
#6 – Writing
If you have an already established flair for writing, you can take it up a notch by writing commercially, for a larger audience and more public consumption.
After writing for a while, you can move into launching the books you write. You can start with e-books and move up from there. For those who write often, this may start as a leisure activity and take form from there.
#7 – Blogging
Nurses looking for side incomes can make the move to set up a blog that may eventually start earning them money if they keep at it and get a following.
You can choose any topic to discuss – preferably something you know about. Another way around this is becoming an influencer.
This happens when you get popular for some reason and then monetize the popularity.
#8 – Health coach
Your knowledge as a medical practitioner and health expert can be used to train and help people who want to get healthy and live healthy lives.
You work directly with clients and charge each one by the hour for every meeting or charge on a subscription basis.
#9 – Airbnb hosting
If you have a finished basement or part of your home that no one uses, consider renting it out via Airbnb.
This will supplement your income with very little overhead. While the money won’t be reliable, having that little extra money is nice.
#10 – Maternal care
You can offer services as a maternal care assistant. Some nurses will work directly with new moms to help them learn how to breastfeed at home and how to care for their newborns.
Since this is something you already do, you can charge privately for this service as you are also certain that some people need your help.
#11 – Overtime
You can decide to work overtime and get paid extra for the extra hours put in. While this sounds like a nice idea, be sure to confirm that you can work overtime and that you will be paid.
If you can work overtime and get paid, consider it, as it keeps you doing what you love and puts extra money in your account.
#12 – Sell craft
If you are the kind of person who makes things with your hands or head, then you can ell them to willing buyers for a fee, either online or through third-party distributors.
Selling your craft has a vast possibility of success as the population of those who appreciate hand-make things continues to increase.
#13 – Proofreading
If you have the patience to read, this may be a good job for you. It requires that you pay attention to detail, review texts, and make necessary corrections.
Platforms like Upwork allow you to meet clients who would like you to proofread documents for them and make the right corrections,
#14 – Driving
If you’re free mornings, nights, or weekends, you can earn extra cash driving your people around.
Driving requires that you have a license. If there are more licenses that you need to get to be able to drive around, then you should get them before driving.
Some platforms allow you to do this without hitches. e.g., Uber and Lyft.
#15 – Interior decoration
With interior decoration, one must be innovative and have an eye for colors. The more houses are being built, the more there will be a need for interior decorators.
If you used to do this as a hobby, you should probably think about it more and go bigger.
#16 – App development
If you have the slightest app development skill, it can be put to good use by either making apps for yourself or others willing to pay you for them. If you don’t know how to code, you need to realize that the market is hot right now, and if you can learn to code apps, you’ll have a skill you can use repeatedly.
#17 – Music
You can make some money by either playing music in places where people can pay you to play or by teaching music to people willing to pay you for it.
Of course, this assumes you are already very good at it. With love for music, you can start a part-time job teaching kids how to play.
#18 – Bonus point
You can also teach yoga to those keen on learning, but as in most things, this requires you to possess some knowledge yourself.
Conclusion
There are a thousand and one things that you can do to put more money in your pockets as a nurse. Side jobs for nurses are not limited to the number listed here.
Just look within yourself and pick something that serves a community like nurses do all those they come across. Take care now.
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