Alternative Nursing Careers Outside the Hospital

If you are thinking about getting your BS in Nursing, working in a hospital is far from your only option when it comes to future career settings. Nurses also have many non-hospital careers available to them. Nursing is such a wide field that you can find a role in the specific niche that interests you.

As of 2022, about 57 percent of nurses work within hospitals, according to the Journal of Nursing Regulation. The rest of nurses work within a diverse mix of clinical and non-clinical environments. If you are more inclined to work in a community-based nursing role, rest assured you have many options to choose from.


3 nursing students working in lab setting

When you earn your BS in Nursing, myriad job opportunities become available to you, even outside the traditional hospital setting. You are educated with valuable healthcare knowledge that nurses can apply toward public health, nursing education, law, long-term care, hospice, insurance, outpatient care, correctional facilities, and schools.

Loading Form

Clinical Nursing Locations Outside the Hospital

Let’s walk through some of the clinical options available for BS in Nursing-educated nurses who prefer working with patients outside the hospital.

  • Outpatient clinics
  • Walk-in clinics
  • Home healthcare
  • Emergency helicopters
  • Correctional facilities
  • Cruise ships
  • Hospice programs
  • Schools
  • Community-based clinics
  • Factories
  • Summer camps
Students looking at presentation on Reproductive health

Non-Clinical Nursing Jobs in the Community

Maybe you love nursing, but you prefer working in a unique capacity. When you earn your BS in Nursing, you can work in administrative and community roles that do not involve direct patient care.

Earning your BS in Nursing also sets you up to excel in these non-clinical, community-based careers. Some of the non-clinical alternative nursing careers include:

  • Informatics nurse
  • Public health nurse
  • Nurse educator/instructor
  • Legal nurse consultant
  • Nurse administrator/manager
  • Health coach
  • Nurse recruiter
  • Medical and pharmaceutical sales rep
  • RN for insurance companies
  • Clinical research nurse

As you can see, nursing offers a variety of rewarding career options. We will get you started on this rewarding path with the University of Mount Saint Vincent’s Accelerated BS in Nursing program.

Nursing students in stethoscope