Side Hustles for Nurses
If you’re in need of some extra cash and in between travel placements, there are other ways you can use your nursing (or traveling) skills to earn a little bit of income. Side hustles aren’t a replacement for full-time work, but they can be fun and sometimes creative ways to make a little extra spending money, especially in a time when everyone is feeling financial burdens.
Here are five side hustles or side jobs for nurses when you can make extra money without having to take on that extra shift at work.
1. Become a First Aid or CPR instructor
If you’re a nurse, you most likely had to take a CPR class at some point. Now you can put those dreaded weekend class hours to good use. Check with your local YMCA, Red Cross or community health clinic and see if they are looking for First Aid or CPR instructors. Coming from a nursing background and knowledge of applying medical first aid assistance will put you at a great advantage above other candidates.
The pay for these kinds of positions usually ranges from $10 to $20 an hour. It’s not much, but is a solid, low stress way of making a little bit of extra cash if you’re willing to put in the weekend time, especially if you are currently in between placements!
2. Blogging/Instagram
This is a pretty common side-hustle for nurses. Your expertise as healthcare professionals is of pretty high value for the average googler, wondering what their symptoms mean, how they should address aches, pains, bruises etc. If you have a natural knack for writing, blogging could be a really fun way to earn a little and help a lot.
The first step to blogging is figuring out what you’re going to write about. Writing about your experience being a nurse or about health and nutritional tips is an easy go-to, but if you have other interests, you might consider blogging about those instead. There are successful, money-making blogs about any number of things: cars, tech, yoga, food. As a travel nurse, it might also be a no-brainer to start a travel blog or travel Instagram.
You have to play the long game if you’re looking to make money by starting a blog or becoming an Instagram influencer. You won’t make a lot of money at first, but if you invest some time and do enough research, you might end up with a reliable stream of additional or extra income. The key is to strategize how to grow your follower base. Then you can start enlisting affiliate links on your site and see some income flow in.
If you want to learn more, here’s a great guide to how to start a nursing blog.
BONUS:
Freelance writing is another lucrative side job that’s perfect for nurses with skills in writing who need some extra income or extra money. There are many companies in need of healthcare writing for their sites, and a nurse writer with direct experience in the medical community provides invaluable advice and insight into the nursing profession. Freelance work isn’t permanent so this nursing side hustle option is also very flexible to not only control your own hours but also how much you work.
3. Tutor
You’ve already gone through the trials and tribulations of nursing school. You know the ins and outs, every study routine that works and every one that doesn’t work. Not to mention you probably know the material like the back of your hand at this point. Freshman nursing students could benefit from your expertise!
There are some official tutoring services you could seek out, or you could go rogue and do your own thing. Tutoring independently lets you control your own hours and price that will suit both your work schedule and lifestyle the best. Put a feeler out on campus Facebook pages, bulletins or newsletters and see if any students are in need of a tutor. Your rate could range from $10 to $40 an hour depending on how generous you’re willing to be and how much college students are willing to dish out.
You also don’t have to only tutor nursing students. We’d wager a guess that your knowledge of biology and science might be up to snuff to help kids in grade school and even high school.
4. Health coaching
This is a fun and fulfilling one. As a registered nurse, you’re already inclined to want to help your patients live in the healthiest way possible so they can get better. So who better to start clients on a wellness journey? Being a nurse health coach involves setting goals with your clients and walking through their week with them step by step. It can be really rewarding.
You do have to get certified to be a health coach, but the process isn’t too grating. You can learn more about getting an ACE Health Coach Certification here.
Once you have your certification, many insurance companies will hire health coaches for their clients, and there are a number of wellness agencies looking for folks to work as contractors, where you can make anywhere from $200 to $2,000 a month. You can also just start your own business and spread the word through friends and family. That way you can work with your own rates. Whether it’s $100 a month or $50 a session. You make the rules!
5. Start an Etsy shop
Lean into your creative side! Quarantine is making all of us cling to our hobbies or form new ones. Why not make some money doing something you love?
Starting an Etsy shop can be a fun way to harvest your entrepreneurial spirit. Coming to this from a nursing perspective can actually be very profitable for you. What’s a product that other shops might not anticipate nurses wanting or needing? One blogger sold homemade ID badge holders for nurses and made a buck. The mask-making market might be a little oversaturated at this point, but maybe you’ve found a good hairpin hack for keeping your mask on throughout the day. Think outside the box!
Etsy is also a great place to sell anything creative. If you love embroidering, painting, making candles in your time off, consider making a shop and selling some goods.
6. Telehealth Nurse
Telehealth is another great side job opportunity for nurses looking to earn extra income and have more control over their own hours. Telehealth nurses provide healthcare services remotely through online communication tools and video conferencing. Although some companies do require their caregivers to work at a call center, many companies offer work-from-home positions or the freedom to work from anywhere as well. This is one of the most popular side jobs for nurses.
If you’re interested in becoming a travel nurse, Stability Healthcare is your go-to for finding some of the best travel nursing opportunities in America.
Search for nursing career opportunities, set an interview, and book your next nursing assignment through our detailed online portal. Browse for travel nursing jobs here and find your ideal placement today…
