Do you pronounce it “niche” or “niche”? Hint: The correct answer is “niche.”

The nursing profession has a diverse spectrum of individuals devoted to their respective fields. These niche nurses, regardless of the pronunciation of their title, share a common enthusiasm for their chosen domains. A nurse in the niche can be anyone who discovers their passion and makes it into a career.

It can be the lifelong nightshifter in labor and delivery who wouldn’t trade their specialty and schedule for anything. Or, it can be the CEO of a healthcare startup who left bedside nursing after a few years or anything in between. 

Here are five niche nurses The Nursing Beat has spotted. You might find them interesting as you shape your own nursing journey. 

1. Trish Lim, RN

Lim is an emergency department nurse with a background in sales and consulting. Lim is the current CEO of Bridgit Health, a tele-social work solution. 

Bridgit Health is based on the idea that social workers are needed 24/7 but can’t always cover all those needs. Bridgit “bridges the gap” between the need for social work services and the social workers interested in working off-hours at home with flexibility. This allows social workers to spread their bandwidth farther with multiple institutions across a larger geographical area. 

The Niche?: Nurse entrepreneurship

2. Faith Gutierrez, RN

With a background in labor and delivery, Gutierrez eventually became a charge nurse and an OB clinical operations manager at Kaiser Permanente. Now, she is the Director of Operations at Color, a company focused on providing community health programs and health education. 

Gutierrez is also the Head of Care Services at Commons Clinic, a multi-specialty clinic offering affordable, patient-centered ambulatory care services. 

‍The Niche?: Nurse leadership

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3. Kara Bernard, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN

Bernard has experience in emergency room nursing, trauma, and critical care. Now, she’s the Director of Hospitals at connectRN, a staffing service that provides flexible scheduling for nurses. Bernard is at the forefront of expanding ConnectRN’s hospital base so that nurses have even more freedom over when and where to pick up shifts. 

The Niche?: Nurse leadership

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4. Jodie Smith, MSN, RN, NEA-BC

Smith is a nurse leader and Reiki Practitioner with a critical care and cardiology nursing background. She is the Director of Patient Care, Heart, and Vascular Services at Emory University Hospital and founder of Infinite Bliss Wellness. 

Infinite Bliss Wellness offers sound therapy, sound baths, and energy healing, which provides a peaceful backdrop for meditation and healing.

The Niche?: Nurse entrepreneurship, nurse leadership

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5. Rakhil Kumar Korankandiyil, RN, BSN

As the lead nurse at Carnival Cruise Line, Korankandiyil fulfills various tasks, from daily passenger care to emergency drills and diagnostic testing. 

Korankandiyil has a background in emergency nursing and trauma and holds a postgraduate diploma in EMS. 

The Niche?: Cruise ship nursing

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Finding Your Nursing Passion

Being a nurse in the niche might mean becoming a leader within a bigger company or even starting your own business. The beauty of niche nursing is that the decision is yours. You can create a job you’ve never even heard of before.

Are you looking for some ideas? Consider these popular niches.

Nurse Leader

Every healthcare specialty and institution needs leaders. Being a nurse leader can be an accessible niche because many nurses can fill the charge nurse role. If you have a passion for people management, there are plenty of nurse leadership opportunities. With more nurse leadership, nurses will fill hospital board rooms and government positions more than ever before.

Nurse Entrepreneur

What’s better than a healthcare business run by a nurse? You’ve gained specialty experience with your boots on the ground. Successful businesses start when someone sees a problem that needs to be solved, and surely, as a nurse, you’ve seen plenty of problems. What business model could solve it?

Cruise Ship Nurse

Cruise ship nurses have a variety of responsibilities. When at sea, you have to expect the unexpected. Cruise ship nurses triage emergency situations, provide emergency and nonemergency medical treatment, and arrange medical transfers as needed. They also perform administrative tasks, like inventory checks or managing relevant paperwork. 

Mobile Concierge Nurse

Concierge nurses have abundant job opportunities, from mobile IV services to mobile injections, mobile foot care, and more. If you can’t fathom giving up the personal connections you make as a nurse, concierge services can give you the ideal intersection of career freedom with regular patient interaction. 

Research Nurse

If you enjoy reading and studying, research nursing might be for you. Research nurses perform a variety of tasks, like researching provider offices and outcomes, finding research candidates, or following up on study results.

Legal Nurse Consultant

Legal nurse consultants read and analyze medical records and offer their perspectives during litigation. 

Nurse Consultant

Nurse consultants may be a business-to-business model, like advising a healthcare startup on setting up a patient education program. Nurse consultants, like a nurse coach or pediatric sleep consultant, can also be business-to-consumer.

Freelance Nurse Writer, Editor, or Continuing Education Developer

Let’s break the fourth wall here: Hi, Readers! There’s a nurse who writes these blogs, one who edits these blogs, and hundreds of other nurse writers who write for healthcare brands and businesses. Some nurses write continuing education modules and other content you’ve encountered in your career.

Forensic Nurse

Forensic nurses work with local emergency departments, law enforcement, social workers, and coroners. They collect forensic evidence, testify in court, and provide trauma-informed care to victims. 

Flight Nurse

Operating in critical and emergency care, flight nurses provide medical assistance during air transport. They are pivotal in ensuring patients stay stable during transfer and providing care in a high-stress environment. 

Population Health Nurse

Population health nurses focus on improving the health outcomes of specific communities, addressing social determinants, and helping to implement preventive healthcare initiatives.

Informatics nurse

Combining nursing expertise with information technology, informatics nurses manage healthcare data and optimize technology to improve patient care and healthcare systems. Some informatics nurses work directly with companies that create electronic health records to improve user experience and teach and train new users.

How Will You Niche?

Did any of these unique nursing paths inspire you? If something else in nursing excites you, start planning how you’ll pivot, climb the ladder, or take the plunge so that before you know it, you’ll have created the niche nursing career of your dreams.

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