Nurses are known for being by patients’ bedsides in their most vulnerable moments. But nurses are also improving organizations’ health protocols and programs, coordinating care, moving research forward, educating the next generation of health care professionals, and so much more.

While Nurses Week honors bedside nurses, it also honors nurses who are in less traditional roles but who play a vital role in ensuring and progressing high quality care. 

Employee health nurse: Nursing for nurses

When William Doherty transferred from a 20-year career as an emergency room nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton to the Employee Health Department, he thought he might miss the variety and fast pace of the ER. 

Instead, he discovered a lot of similarities in his new role. Though the acuity of cases is lower, he’s still triaging patients — fellow employees — who come in not feeling well, whether they’re experiencing stroke-like symptoms, chest pains, a mental health challenge, or an injury. 

“It’s exciting,” Doherty says. “Every day is different.” 

Unlike in the ER, Doherty can get to know his patients and stay involved in follow-up care.

“You might be treating them in the clinic and then having lunch with them an hour later,” he says. “You get to talk to everyone in the hospital, from the maintenance guys to the president of the hospital who will come down for a vaccine.”

Doherty and his team also take proactive approaches to health and safety, including conducting required physicals for new employees and teaching colleagues how to lift patients without injury or avoid getting accidentally pricked by used needles.

“The greatest part is I get to help people that help other sick people every day,” he says. “I get to help them get back to work so they can do what they do best.”

Nurse navigator: Best of both worlds

As an oncology nurse navigator in the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Debra LaFrankie works with adult brain tumor patients. Each patient is assigned a team that includes a physician, a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, and an oncology nurse navigator.

“It’s really a patient- and family-centered, team approach to care, which I value so much,” LaFrankie says. 

About half of LaFrankie’s role is helping patients navigate their treatment at the clinic — educating them about topics such as chemotherapy, side effect management, and available supports like home care and outpatient therapies. The other half is handling administrative tasks from her home office, including making follow-up calls and helping patients with Family and Medical Leave Act forms.  

LaFrankie has also led a virtual brain tumor support group once a month since 2010. LaFrankie’s role in the group is to provide a medical lens for information shared. For instance, she offers evidence-based notes on treatment advice group members share and encourages patients to reach out to their provider if they mention a concerning symptom.

“it’s a terrific job,” LaFrankie says. “I highly recommend it to any nurse who loves oncology and wants an outpatient setting.”

Diabetes nurse educator: A specialized, trusted adult

Since working as a counselor at a camp for children with diabetes, Kristen Rice knew she wanted to be a diabetes nurse educator. That goal became a reality about 20 years ago when she landed her current role at Boston Children’s Hospital.  

Rice sees her patients in an office setting every six months from the time of their diagnosis to the time they age out of the program. Diabetes is a chronic condition, making education an essential ongoing process both as best practices evolve and as patients move through life. 

Rice helps her patients navigate going to sleepovers safely, telling someone they’re dating that they have diabetes, driving, prom dresses that hide insulin pumps, going to college, and any number of moments affected by diabetes. These conversations empower patients to make decisions in their day-to-day lives that keep them healthy and out of the acute health care system.

“I love that I get to have long-term relationships with my families,” Rice says. “I have kids who I met as toddlers who are now graduating from college, which is an amazing thing.” 

One of her longtime patients even recently asked her to write a graduate school recommendation letter. After all, Rice is the adult who has known her the longest besides her parents — and one who has seen her overcome challenges and adversity.

“With a nursing degree, you can really find a role that fits what works for you.”

Kristen Rice, diabetes nurse educator at Boston Children’s Hospital

Dean of nursing: Shaping tomorrow’s nurses

As the United States faces a national nursing shortage, educating the health care professionals of tomorrow has never been more critical. Patricia Reidy has been a leader in this space for many years. 

Reidy discovered a passion for nursing education while precepting at a community health center, where she worked in family medicine for about 15 years. 

“I would have a nurse practitioner student who would go in and see patients with me and then help them to learn how to build their skills and assessment,” she says. “That was really rewarding.” 

Reidy started teaching at MGH Institute of Health Professions (MGH IHP), eventually becoming a program director, associate dean of graduate studies, and, most recently, interim dean of nursing. In addition to working in the classroom, she’s helped improve the school’s nursing curriculum to help prepare students for real-world practice. 

During her 20-year tenure at MGH IHP, Reidy has developed programs encouraging interprofessional practice between specialties, clinical-education partnerships for hands-on learning, and community-based care experience.

Reidy also created a program for nurses who, like her, love to teach — whether they aim to move from the bedside into academia or to teach more effectively in a clinical setting. 

“We are seeing a great response to that program,” she says. “We’re really recruiting from many different areas.”

A role for every nurse

Roles for nurses exist in a range of settings — hospitals, schools, home care organizations, research labs, and more — and in a wide variety of specialties, from specific disease areas to behind-the-scenes functions like quality assurance. 

“There’s so many aspects of nursing that you can participate in,” Reidy notes. And you may choose to move through them throughout your career as your interests and life evolves.  

“I always encourage people when they think about nursing to know that there is such a wide variety,” Rice says. “With a nursing degree, you can really find a role that fits what works for you.”