I felt my body tremble as I was ushered into the office of Claire Fagin, the Dean of the School of Nursing of University of Pennsylvania I attended. It seemed like the office was the size of a football field. I eased into the chair opposite the dean’s desk and took a deep breath.

“What can I do for you, Pat?”

“I came to ask for money. I’m broke.”

I was a 28-year-old graduate student who had an incredible professional opportunity to present at a conference and no resources to be able to take advantage of it. 

You’ve burned out as a nurse—now what? By some estimates, a third of hospital nurses leave the bedside within the first two years. Although some nurses transition to other specialties, many leave the profession altogether. But there are a number of options for departing nurses that make good use of their education and experience. That way, personal reinvention can equal career progression. Jobs with health care–allied organizations, such as insurance or pharmaceutical companies, provide a corporate route. Forays into business as a consultant, trainer, or product developer provide an entrepreneurial path. The following four nurses show it’s possible to successfully navigate either type of alternative career. Here’s how...

1. A simple strategy is better than a complex strategy.

2. A starting business plan (and an annual plan for most businesses or business units) should be written on one to two pages, not 80 to 100 pages.

3. Great people who do their jobs are everything in a business.

4. While you can measure anything, cash flow remains a very top thing to measure.

5. You can’t underestimate the importance of a great leader in a business.

6. A team that is terrific on collections and billing is an underappreciated, important asset of any company.