Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, says it in a few words: “Congratulations on a well-chosen career. Nursing has so many options.” She’s right. A nursing degree can take you to places you never dreamed possible. With such a range of choices, it might be hard to recognize that the ICU nurse in a research hospital is in the same profession as some of the nurses we’ll feature here. Yet they all bring the same nursing process to their jobs: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation.
    
Into the Woods

Take, for instance, Linda Erceg, RN, MS, PHN — she is the executive director of the Association of Camp Nurses. No arterial lines, no vents, yet her role is as vital to the well-being of her charges as any other nursing specialty. Her work is all about prevention, health maintenance and evidence-based practice; plus, she does it in an environment many would envy.     

Of course, if a wandering ant on your toothbrush puts you off, then camp nursing is not for you. A love of children helps, as does a clear understanding of their special requirements. Still, don’t think camp nursing requires a pediatric background. Even in children’s camps it doesn’t, and many now cater to adults and older teens.

Camp nursing is also not limited to summer. Most run year round, and many offer day experiences only. You can do camp nursing in the heart of large metropolitan areas if you choose carefully. Moreover, if high-intensity nursing is your bag there are camps that specifically target children with significant health problems like diabetes, cystic fibrosis, cancer and autism. There is, as Ms. Erceg says, “a nurse for every camp, and a camp for every nurse.”

Of course, when you are having so much fun, trade-offs exist. Camp nursing, despite many openings, does not pay as well as most other areas of nursing. Another consideration: You might be the only healthcare professional on site, which offers certain autonomy but might also increase your anxiety.

The Happiest Place on Earth    

Rather different, but definitely requiring some of the same nursing skills, are jobs at resorts like Disney World. When RN Tonya Tolan’s husband retired from the service and they settled in Florida, she gave up nursing to work at the world’s happiest place as a photographer.

At first she didn’t realize the theme park employed nurses. But in fact it has six clinics with several professionals in each. Eventually she missed nursing, and after a quick job switch she now helps visitors of all ages enjoy their park experience despite health limitations or unexpected aches or injuries. 

Her typical workday offers great variety, and little is routine. Even visitors needing peritoneal dialysis can perform exchanges while at Disney parks.
   
“Some of my favorite visitors are the children from Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Ms. Tolan says. Children with chronic or terminal illness have “time to forget about problems and play like normal kids,” and the clinics provide a safe and quiet place for them and their families.

Like camp nurses, resort nurses need top-notch first aid skills, something not all nurses have. A broad background is useful and most nurses at Disney World have triage, urgent care or emergency nursing in their backgrounds. Also important is the ability to help visitors assess limitations and, perhaps, restructure their visit when unforeseen difficulties arise.

A fun day can often lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, chest pain or exacerbations of chronic conditions. The recent H1N1 flu outbreak led to many opportunities in public health education for all the nurses at the park. It also helps to have an understanding of childhood health issues. But as anyone who has visited a theme park can attest, many adults, some quite elderly, like the “way cool” rides, too. Ms. Tolan’s oldest guest so far has been a 95-year-old.

Disney also employs registered nurses in conventional roles such as occupational health nurses for its hundreds of park employees. Ms. Tolan finds the pay and benefits to be comparable to hospital jobs she had in the past and on the same level as local hospitals.

In the Cause of Peace      

The fantasy of the Magic Kingdom is worlds away from the reality of modern-day Armenia. That reality is a dream come true for Rebecca Tantama, RN, BSN. She works in the Peace Corps, America’s own overseas volunteer group. Her beat is not Main Street but a trio of villages about four hours from the capital, each with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.

Working conditions are rudimentary, so here’s her recent coup: Ms. Tantama secured a mobile mammography machine that will enable the women in her district to have their first breast X-rays. Despite a large number of nurses and doctors, many of whom do not work in their profession, Armenia has poor infrastructure for any public health initiatives, and even blood pressure cuffs are at a premium. Glucometers, a portable EKG machine and computers are high on her wish list at the moment.

Since Peace Corps workers may not have any type of motorized transportation, walking and hitching rides is a large part of the workday. Language is another hurdle. Originally from Indonesia, Ms. Tantama is doing her tour after 30 years of ICU nursing. She had 11 weeks of intensive language instruction but reports that it is hard to learn a language when you are older. Interpreters save the day, as does a relaxed view of time. No American hustle-bustle here.

Ms. Tantama also has good company. About 50 American volunteers work in the country in various capacities, and she is part of an 11-person team of community health workers. One year into her two-year commitment, she reflects,  “I feel like when I talk to people in the villages, it is about something worthwhile.”

Nursing is a profession with obvious utility in almost any place the Corps operates. The pay is negligible — room, board and money for walking around — but remember, it’s the Peace Corps, the memories are priceless.
      
Infection Prevention

Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, plans for disease outbreaks, but in a much different context. She provides consultations for infection control to long-term care facilities and is a prime example of the new breed of nurse entrepreneur. They reap all the profit, but also take all the responsibility.   

Why make such a switch and leave the security of a steady paycheck and benefits? Ms. Segal recalls that after years as an infection control nurse in community hospitals she decided the role was too confining. With only a few months of preparation, but with lots of determination and sufficient savings, “I gave two weeks’ notice and started my own business.” It took guts and some very hard work, but five years later she can now look at a successful business, one that she owns and directs.

Best of all, she is still very much in nursing. Her company, Infection Control Consulting Services, operates in a special niche: facilities that must have policies and procedures for infection control but are (usually) not required to have a specialist on staff.

Enter Ms. Segal with her workshops and seminars, plus handbooks and videos, and you have some hope of educating the staff that serves this vulnerable population. Moreover, with the constantly changing nature and variety of pathogens, there is no end to the demand for her nursing expertise. Yet according to Ms. Segal, only a handful of nurses offer these services.

The compensation is good, but it depends totally on your own efforts (with some 16-hour days) and your business skills. Ms. Segal recently landed a large contract with the State of Pennsylvania but admits to just now taking her first vacation in five years.

She has received a huge amount of help from the National Nurses in Business Association, which offers mentoring and education to self-employed nurses. Their website gives a great sense of the different forms of nurse self-employment.

Lights, Camera, Action!

It is hard to imagine a more sophisticated environment than a modern movie studio. And guess what? They employ nurses, too. Teresa Saporito, RN, BSN, thrives in just this sort of setup. She is one of a handful of nurses responsible for occupational health services at Sony Pictures Entertainment in Culver City. Workers’ comp, travel preparation, accident response — all can come up in a day. It requires a firm grounding in occupational health and sharp organizational skills. In addition, because several TV shows film there and because the studio offers tours, Sony also provides urgent care to visitors on the lot.

While it involves much more than rubbing elbows with celebrities, the well-paying job has wide appeal and there are not that many openings. Ms. Saporito eased in “through work on a music video.” However, studio work is also not without its pressures.

Recently Ms. Saporito devoted hours each week to planning with other Sony units for a possible pandemic of the flu. But years in a variety of other jobs prepared her to oversee the health services department that serves almost 4,000 employees of the studio.       

If your current job is not all that you think a job should be, if nursing has proven to be less than what you dreamed, don’t leave the profession. Tweak your skills to strike out in a different direction. Remember, wherever you practice, the hallmarks of nursing process learned in your first  class are at the core of what you offer. The world, whether as individuals or groups, sick or well, needs nurses who are happy campers.  

Elizabeth Hanink RN, BSN, PHN, is a freelance writer with extensive hospital and community-based nursing experience.