Career paths, mapped by people who took them
Not a listicle. Real routes out of (or deeper into) the bedside, with timelines, pay bands and the actual first moves.
Trade the med pass for the build team. You already know why the EHR is wrong; informatics pays you to fix it.
- Become a superuser on your unit
- Volunteer for the next EHR upgrade project
- Look at ANCC informatics certification once you have project hours
The long road. Two to three years of ICU, a competitive application cycle, then a doctoral program that becomes your whole life for three years — and then a very different life after.
- Get CCRN certified
- Shadow a CRNA and get it documented
- Keep your ICU acuity high — programs check
Attorneys need someone who can read a chart the way you do. Starts as a side practice; some make it the whole practice.
- Take an LNC intro course
- Write a work-product sample chart review
- Network with med-mal firms, not job boards
Protocols instead of call bells. Predictable hours, detail-heavy work, and a foot in the door of the research world.
- Get GCP certified (free through NIH/CITI in many orgs)
- Apply to academic centres first — they hire greener
- Highlight any trial patients you've cared for
For the ones who got calmer when the room got louder. High bar, small teams, and the best stories at any nursing gathering.
- CEN or CCRN, then CFRN
- Get transport ride-alongs on record
- TNCC and advanced airway exposure