Are you looking for work from home RN jobs? Would you like to leave the nursing profession altogether? Then keep reading! I have a massive list of work from home jobs for nurses, as well as alternative career paths you can take.
When I signed up for nursing school, I knew I wanted to work in a clinical environment. But after working the night shift at a pediatric hospital, I started to look for something less stressful that offered better work-life balance. As I began searching for something non-clinical, I was amazed at the possibilities available to nurses.
Over the years, I’ve worked in a wide variety of nursing jobs, from prior authorization and medical record review for Medicaid to clinical research; in fact, that’s one of the great things about nursing: its versatility. Whether you want to work onsite, travel, a little bit of both in a hybrid role, or fully remote, the world is your oyster.
Oh, and did I mention nurses are in high demand?!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for registered nurses is expected to grow by 5% between 2024 and 2034.
If you’re looking to ditch patient care, demanding physicians, and your commute, here are some of the top work from home RN jobs, as well as job boards to find them, and alternative career paths.
Legitimate Work From Home Jobs for Registered Nurses
Before we explore the various remote job options for nurses, I want to point out that companies can title positions however they want, which can make it confusing. These tend to be the most popular titles, but if you’re on a major board looking for remote RN roles, you may want to search by alternative keywords and/or skills so that you’re pulling in all of your options.
1. Care Coach/ Educator
These positions usually require a bachelor’s degree, along with an RN or RD (registered dietitian) license. As a nurse educator, you’ll work with patients to ensure proper understanding of disease, signs and symptoms to watch for, care routines, and resources. Common educational topics include diabetes, hemophilia, fertility, transplants, infusion regimens, and overall health and wellness.
Salary: According to NursingEducation, nurse health coaches earn an average of $94,480 annually.
2. Case Manager
Case management is probably the most well-known work from home nursing job. As a case manager, you’ll coordinate care for patients, ensuring they receive the appropriate treatments, resources, and referrals for a successful health outcome.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary of an RN case manager is $86,171.
3. Clinical Research Associate (CRA)
Clinical research associates oversee all aspects of clinical trials, from recruiting and monitoring to budgeting, reporting, and ensuring protocols are followed. These work from home jobs for nurses require a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree in nursing, emergency medical technician (EMT), or experience as a clinical research coordinator (CRC). In my experience, most of these positions are home-based, but they do require some travel.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a clinical research associate is $100,534.
4. Consultant
Nurse consultants use their nursing expertise to consult, advise, and make recommendations to health insurance companies, hospitals, and clinics. Often, these nurses conduct research on medical records, treatments, and claims information. For these positions, you’ll need previous clinical experience, excellent communication skills, and knowledge of Microsoft Office. Many positions will require direct experience in utilization review or processing disability or workers’ compensation claims.
To find these work from home jobs for nurses, explore the following companies:
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a nurse consultant is $112,121.
5. Data Abstractor
RN data abstractors review medical records and extract information for purposes like research, quality improvement, registries, safety, and compliance. According to the Remote Nurse Connection, there are four types of data abstraction:
- HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set)
- Registry
- Clinical Quality Improvement
- Research
The two most prevalent remote nursing roles are HEDIS, which focuses on preventive care measures for insurance companies, and registry, which focuses on specialty areas like cancer, neurosurgery, stroke, and tumors.
To work in these roles, you’ll need previous clinical experience, a high level of attention to detail, and strong critical thinking skills. While you can break into this field without prior abstraction experience, obtaining a certification can be extremely helpful.
Here are the main certifications you can obtain:
To find remote data abstraction roles, check out:
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a clinical data abstractor is $79,842.
6. Freelance Writer
Nursing writers write content for test prep courses, instructional manuals, and training materials, as well as articles and blog posts. If you’re interested in this sort of work, other terms to search for are nurse certification writers, nurse research writers, learning development writers, and medical writers.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a medical writer is $119,570.
7. Informatics Nurse
In this specialty, you’ll combine your nursing knowledge with technology and data to improve nursing care and patient outcomes. For these work from home nursing jobs, you’ll need your RN license, a bachelor’s degree, and sometimes a master of science degree in health informatics. You’ll likely need to complete a certificate program in informatics nursing as well. You can search for this position using the terms research nurse, cross-reference specialist, clinical informatics analyst, and health informaticist. Healthcare facilities, hospitals, electronic medical record companies, and universities often hire for these positions.
To find these work from home nursing jobs, explore the following companies:
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a clinical informaticist is $106,511.
8. Legal Nurse Consultant
Legal nurse consultants usually work independently as independent contractors, assisting attorneys with cases involving medical claims. You may need additional training for this position, although some nurses I’ve talked to said that they were able to break into the field without any additional training.
If you’re interested in taking a course, the one I’m familiar with is Vickie Milazzo’s (because I’ve received her brochures in the mail). Even if you don’t take her training, her website has a lot of great information on how to get clients, how much you can earn, and success stories.
If you’re interested in this career, also check out Alice Adams’ story: it has lots of useful information about the industry.
I don’t see a lot of job openings for these roles, but I have seen them on sites like Gainwell Technologies and staffing websites.
Salary: According to Payscale.com, the average annual salary for a legal nurse consultant is $91,091.
9. Prior Authorization Nurse
Sometimes called precertification nurses, you’ll process requests for healthcare services, procedures, treatments, and medical equipment based on insurance guidelines and medical necessity. These requests can be handled directly over the phone or online, where you’ll approve, pend, deny, or escalate requests based on the documentation provided. When I worked in this role, we easily took 30 calls a day and worked on a queue of requests in a messaging portal. For these positions, you should enjoy interacting with other nurses and healthcare providers, have excellent communication skills both written and verbal, and be able to follow strict guidelines laid out by the insurance company.
To find prior authorization jobs, explore your state’s Medicaid and Medicare program jobs, insurance companies, and companies like NYX Health and Medlogix.
Salary: According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a prior authorization nurse is $80,321.
10. Quality Improvement Nurse
As a quality improvement nurse, you will review hospitals’ nursing record documentation for completeness, accuracy, and appropriate level coding. These positions usually contain a teaching element, where the nurse educates the staff on the importance of proper documentation and coding practices. These positions typically require a fair amount of travel; on some job postings, it’s 70-80% travel time. If you’re interested in applying for this position, also search the keywords clinical documentation improvement specialist, data abstractor, and nurse consultant.
Salary: According to Salary.com, the average annual salary for a quality improvement nurse is $185,759.
11. School Nurse
This one might surprise you, but some school districts employ virtual school nurses to provide telehealth services to their students. Generally in this role, you’re not just covering one school; you’re providing care to the entire school district. On the flip side, you’ll enjoy the flexibility of having weekends, holidays, and summers off. To find these positions, check out VocoVision, ESS Clinical, and public and private school districts in your area.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary of a school nurse is $65,093 annually.
12. Telehealth Nurse
This is one of the most prevalent remote jobs for RNs. As a telehealth nurse, you’ll work with healthcare professionals to develop, implement, and evaluate care plans for patients in need. For these positions, you’ll need at least one year of clinical experience, sometimes more, excellent communication skills, and basic computer skills.
You can find these positions with insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities.
Salary: According to Salary.com, the average annual salary for a telehealth nurse is $97,020.
13. Triage Nurse
In this role, the nurse performs screening calls to determine the appropriate path of care for patients. Sometimes called care advisor RNs, telephonic triage nurses, telemedicine nurses, and telehealth nurses.
Salary: According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a virtual triage nurse is $79,160.
14. Utilization Review Nurse
In this role, you will review medical records to ensure that the code billed was appropriate for the services rendered. These positions require some technical writing skills, as you will contact providers for additional information and denial-of-payment notices. Other keywords to search for if you’re interested in this position are concurrent review RN, clinical appeals nurse, RN appeals writer, review nurse, and surveillance and utilization review nurse.
Salary: According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a utilization review RN is $87,946.
Alternative Career Paths for Burnout Nurses
If you’re looking to pivot in a new direction, using the skills and knowledge base that you already have, here are some occupations that are worth checking into.
Healthcare Administrator
If you enjoy organization, shaping policy, and interacting with the various members of the clinical team, working remotely as a healthcare administrator might be your calling. Most healthcare administrators will need a bachelor’s degree and experience in a clinical setting. Often, these positions require limited travel to sites to conduct reviews, audits, and training. If this sounds appealing, also search for the keywords manager of clinical health services, clinical administrator, primary nurse case administrator, and clinical research administrator.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a health administrator is $102,012.
Healthcare Recruiter
In this position, you’ll search for and screen candidates for various healthcare positions. Most of these positions require a bachelor’s degree with a healthcare background. Also, search for the keywords nurse recruiter, RN recruiter, healthcare recruiter, or medical recruiter.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a healthcare recruiter is $58,099.
Medical Sales Representative
As a sales representative, you will work with doctors, nurses, case managers, and other healthcare professionals in clinical settings to educate them on healthcare products, services, medications, and programs. Most sales positions offer a base salary with a commission on sales or sign-ups. Many sales positions require overnight travel, usually about 50% of the time; you will work from home in the other portion. Additional terms to search for are healthcare sales rep, clinical marketing manager, and clinical sales representative.
Salary: According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a medical sales rep is $83,110.
Need More Ideas? These Nurses Changed Career Paths
RN Turned Author and Life Coach
You can also take your nursing knowledge and spin it into a whole new career by starting a business. That’s just what Elizabeth Irvine did. Once a pediatric nurse, Elizabeth now runs a business where she educates and empowers women through meditation, coaching sessions, inspirational books, and soul-full workshops and retreats. You can check out her story here. If coaching sounds appealing, here is more information on how to pursue this career.
RN Turned Computer Programmer
Like many nurses, Nadia Copeland loved her job and the people she worked with, but she was tired of how budget concerns affected patient care, and her health was suffering due to the overall stress of her job. After quitting her nursing job, Nadia looked into LaunchCode’s CoderGirl Program at her husband’s urging.
Not only was Nadia good at coding, but she enjoyed the challenge. Nadia says, “I’m grateful for what nursing taught me, but I’m so much happier in my current role and industry, and I’m looking forward to becoming as seasoned in computer programming as I was at providing health care.”
RN Turned Content Creator
If you’d told me I would be running a blogging business from home, I would have said you’re crazy! But here I am. After unhappily working in the nursing field for five years, I decided to become a full-time stay-at-home mom, which launched my search for online jobs and led me to start this blog. I’ve been running a blogging business for 17 years now, and I couldn’t be happier!
If you’re curious about my blogging journey, you can read it here.
And if you’d like to be a content creator, check out this article for how to break into the field.
RN Turned Medical Coder and Biller
Tricia Mitchell decided to leave bedside nursing because she knew her nighttime hours weren’t compatible with having a family. She stumbled upon an article on Dave Ramsey’s website about medical coding and billing training. Because it was a self-paced online program and a good career alternative to nursing, Tricia decided to make the leap. Today, Tricia works full-time as a remote medical biller and coder while also being a stay-at-home mom. To learn more about remote medical coding and billing, check out this article.
RN Turned Personal Concierge
After working as a registered nurse for many years, Kelly Schaefer decided to turn her organizational skills into a business, helping others manage their daily errands and tasks. Besides running her personal concierge business, Task Complete, Kelly also teaches others how to break into the field and increase their profits. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a personal concierge, check out her book, The Concierge Life: What You Need to Know to Build a Successful Business, Live Your Passion, and Change the World!
If starting a business from home sounds appealing, be sure to grab my FREE business plan template here!
Work From Home RN Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Remote RN Jobs Require Experience?
The majority of work from home nursing jobs require at least one year of clinical experience, and more often two to three years, depending on the company. Employers want that hands-on experience so that when you’re working on your own, you can draw from the knowledge bank you only build in a bedside or in-person role. That said, if you’re a newer nurse with experience from a previous healthcare job or a strong preceptorship, you may still be able to land a remote position.
Can You Work Remotely With an LPN or LVN License?
Yes. While the majority of work from home jobs for nurses require an RN license, there are some companies that hire remote LVNs and LPNs.
Here is a sampling of remote LPN and LVN jobs and hiring companies:
Are There Part-Time Work From Home Jobs for Nurses?
Most work from home jobs for nurses are full-time, but some companies and positions offer part-time options. Just be sure to check whether the role is 1099 or W-2. With 1099 roles, you work as an independent contractor, which means you’re on the hook for self-employment taxes, which you’ll need to pay quarterly. The upside is that these positions tend to be extremely flexible, so this arrangement might be beneficial if you need extra flexibility.
Where Else Can You Find Work From Home RN Jobs?
FlexJobs is my favorite job board to search for work from home jobs for nurses because they have multiple filters that you can use to search by job type, schedule, job category, telecommuting level, company accolades, career level, and title. Being able to break down your job search into these specific categories will help you find what you’re looking for faster. Plus, all their job postings are hand-screened for legitimacy, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with scams.
Another great place to find work from home jobs for nurses is the website The Remote Nurse. Sadie, the founder of the site, is an RN who left her remote nursing job to help other healthcare providers (nurses, nurse practitioners, and doctors) find work from home employment.
One more place to explore for work from home nursing jobs is Nurse Fern. Emma, who runs the site, was a former ER nurse who escaped bedside nursing and found success in a non-clinical role, and she wants to help you do the same.
How Do You Know That a Remote RN Job Is Legit?
You have to do your research, because scam artists are everywhere, including big job boards and social platforms like LinkedIn. When you find a job online, go directly to the company’s website and try to match the listing with their current openings. If you can’t find it there, reach out to someone at the company to verify it’s real.
A few other ways to protect yourself:
- Verify recruiters on LinkedIn before you engage, checking that their profile and company are established.
- Be extra cautious when a so-called employer contacts you from a free Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail address instead of a company-branded email address.
- If an “employer” tries to set up an interview on a messaging app like Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram, walk away; it’s a scam.
Using a site like FlexJobs is another great option, because they vet every job lead for legitimacy, so you don’t have to do all the digging yourself.
Conclusion: Start Applying for Remote RN Jobs Today
As you can see, there is a wide variety of work from home occupations for experienced RNs. Whether you want to work directly with patients or behind the scenes, there is something for every personality. Just remember, remote RN jobs are highly competitive, so you need to write a resume that stands out from the crowd, as well as brush up on your interviewing skills and polish your LinkedIn profile.
If you need help writing your resume and cover letter, grab my Ultimate Resume Template Bundle.
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Have you brought your nursing job home? What do you think are the best work from home jobs for nurses? We’d love to hear about it, or if you’ve spun off into a new career, we’d love to hear about that too!
