Nurse Kaycee Here

For the last few months there has been an interesting topic discussed amongst social media platforms called soft nurse jobs.

I happened to be scrolling Tik Tok when a soft nurse job video began to play on my for you page. It was a video of a nurse named Amber talking about how she is in her “soft nurse era” and works as a Telehealth Case Management nurse. Other nurses have piggybacked on this soft nurse era and started making lists of nursing jobs that count as soft nurse jobs.

Multiple nurses describe a soft nurse job as a job that is not working at the bedside or in a fast-paced stressful environment. This includes positions that are considered “chill” or “easy” as some describe it.

I’ve compiled a list of these soft nurse jobs and their national average salary.

Telephonic triage – A telephonic triage nurse can work remotely or in an office setting. Their job is to answer the phone when a patient calls with medical concerns and then forward the concerns as necessary. The average salary for a triage nurse is $80,618.

Utilization review – A utilization review nurse may work inpatient or remote and reviews patient charts and records to ensure the patient is receiving the correct level of treatment for their diagnosis. An inpatient UR RN will send clinical documentation to the insurance companies. The average salary for a UR RN is $85,207.

School Nurse – A school nurse cares for children in elementary or high school settings. The average salary for a school nurse is $64,918.

Telephonic nurse care manager- Telephonic nurse case managers call patients to assist in the transition from hospital to home. They also help patients get to and from appointments, assist with chronic conditions, and do education. Telephonic nurse care managers can work for hospitals, insurance companies, or outpatient offices. The average salary is $90,554.

Outpatient clinic nurse – Outpatient clinic nurses work in general or specialty doctor offices. They help triage patients, give immunizations, educate patients, and assist with office procedures. The average salary is $71,463.

Outpatient procedure jobs – Nurses who work at outpatient procedure jobs assist surgeons with screening patients for pre-admission, educating patients on procedures, work in the outpatient OR, or PACU. The average salary is $84,194.

Clinical research nurse- A clinical research nurse assists in collecting data, interviewing patients, and following up in clinical research trials. This is usually done in an outpatient setting. The average salary is $78,784.

Nursing Informatics – An informatics nurse specializes in technology and using data to help advance and improve communication in healthcare settings. This includes developing software and charting systems, improving telemedicine, and educating health care workers on new software programs. The average salary is $98,409.

Interventional radiology nurse: An IR nurse is a nurse that is specially trained to assist with minimally invasive testing and treatments. The average salary is $147,075.

Aesthetic nurse – An aesthetic nurse is an RN who administers cosmetic treatments to patients. They can also work in dermatology offices. The average salary is $113,000.

IV hydration RN – An intravenous hydration RN can provide IV hydration at a clinic or bring the treatment to a patient’s home. The average salary is $102,403.

Many nurses are choosing to take soft nurse jobs over bedside nursing because of burnout. The appeal of soft nurse jobs are:

• not dealing with codes/death

• no unsafe staffing ratios

• most of these jobs are remote

• less stressful work environment

• better hours (no 12 hours shifts, less holidays or no holidays)

Reasons why a nurse may choose not to take a soft nurse job is fear of losing their nursing skills. Some of these jobs can also pay less than what a floor RN makes. Also, some nurses do not want to take remote positions and enjoy working in person.

There is also an ongoing debate in the nursing community that these soft nurse jobs aren’t “real” nursing jobs because you’re mainly working at a desk. However, it generally takes a few years of acute nursing experience to obtain these positions.  

Soft nurse jobs are in high demand right now more than ever. Nurses are looking for ways to expand their nursing experience and take non-traditional roles.

These are the most popular soft nurse jobs that I’ve heard nurses talking about recently. Please add in the comments if you have a soft nurse job or if you can add any to the list.