Leaving the Bedside: The Transition into a Healthcare Tech Company
I recently shared a post on my Instagram stories regarding healthcare applications and startup companies. I didn’t realize the amount of people interested in this option. I received several great questions and I’d love to share what I know and things that helped me land this job!
*This is my first healthcare tech job. My knowledge of this world before was very limited, almost nonexistent. Please keep in mind there is more than one way to land a job in this industry, and this is what worked for me.
How did you get started? How can I get started?
I honestly don’t have the best answer to this as I stumbled across my job accidentally. I saw an ad of theirs on social media targeting nurses (completely unrelated to my current role). I clicked on their page, scrolled to careers, and applied to a couple of their roles. It really was that simple! I heard back from them within a week. The time frame from when I first applied to when I got the job offer was about 2 weeks. At the same time I had applied to another company, but it was a little over a month before I even heard from them. This is just to show how the hiring timeline will vary by employer.
Where can I find jobs like this?
Look directly on the company’s career page and read the job requirements. Do you have a tech company that comes to mind? Do you see ads for companies you may be interested in? This could be on Facebook, Instagram, nurse blogs… Search the company’s career page! You never know what you can find.
You can also search on LinkedIn. Search “Healthcare Technology” or “Remote Registered Nurse.” Adjust other filters as desired.
Lastly, check out The Remote Nurse and Nurse FERN. They are constantly posting remote jobs. While they are not all at healthcare tech companies, they do occasionally throw some in there. I believe The Remote Nurse has both a free job board along with a paid membership, and Nurse FERN’s job board is free.
But, I just love when nurses grow and expand outside of a traditional bedside role… So I have included some pretty cool ones here. These are active posts as of today and all remote from what I can see. I tried to add companies I’ve heard of or had good reviews online, but please do your own research too!
| Staffing | Other |
|---|---|
| CareRev – Several Roles | |
| Medely – Recruiter | |
| Nomad – Account Manager | Professional Development Specialist |
| Trusted Health – Several Roles | Telehealth Nurse (in person reqs too) |
| Writer – Nutrition/Integrative Medicine |
What is the pay like?
Pay (isn’t always), but can be less than what you’re used to at bedside. Try to negotiate ALWAYS. Follow Whole Life Nurse for tips and negotiation scripts & keep an eye out for when the CDYC Community opens up. Here you’ll find a supportive and knowledgeable community to cheer you on. (You can join the waitlist here.)
Determine what’s important for you! Are you able and willing to take a pay cut? For me, personally, I made a plan, paid off most of my debt, and set myself up to be jobless for 9 months if need be. I was struggling with my mental health, and pausing travel nursing to work from home made the pay cut worth it.
I took 3 months off of any work, so I did dig into my savings for those 3 months. Since then, my finances have been manageable. It has certainly been an adjustment, but the bills are paid and my mental and emotional wellbeing continues to improve. Best of all, I have the time and energy to work on things that bring me joy.
Do you have any tips to land a job in this industry?
Yes! One of the big ones is resume building. I feel like people don’t think about their resumes much, but it really does make a difference. Here are some tips when it comes to building your resume:
- Make sure to incorporate adjectives they use in their job posting. Energetic, fast learner, tech savvy, collaborative, detail oriented, etc.
- Highlight your strengths as they related to the role(s) you are applying to.
- If you’re applying to a remote position in a tech company. They may not care about your IV skills or how familiar you are with tube feedings or reading EKG strips.
- Do include:
- how you consistently met and/or exceeded metric expectations (scanning compliance, patient satisfaction scores, admit times, discharge times, standard goal times, etc)
- your time management skills and the collaborative approach you took while managing the care of multiple patients at once.
- your leadership skills. Did you serve as charge or train others? Did you manage the scheduling needs of the unit or prepare them for JCAHO/DNV? Did you help with audits? Did you assist with hiring?
- your organizational skills. Did you help set up organization systems for staff education and certifications in the unit?
- your willingness to learn. Were you in any committees? Describe what these did for the hospital/staff. Did it work to create/enhance current practices? Did it empower and encourage staff to engage in changes?
- You don’t want to submit the same resume for every job you apply to.
- If they are looking for a medical writer/content creator, you don’t want to use the same resume you used for a recruiting/telehealth posting because the roles are completely different and the strengths/skills they’re looking for are likely not the same.
** Pro tip: Invest in building your resume. I bought templates from The Resume Rx. They were clean, beautiful, and ATS friendly. Click here to see the different bundles she offers. **
I believe how you interview is very important, too. & in the next few weeks, I’ll be working to put an interview guide together, specifically for healthcare tech companies. In the meantime, feel free to leave any feedback or other questions you may have in the form down below. You can also follow me on Instagram for more!
The Nurse Boost 