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Nurse practitioners are becoming an increasingly important part of the U.S. healthcare workforce, but an NP career does not always mean spending a lifetime in direct patient care.
New projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show nurse practitioners are expected to be the fastest-growing detailed occupation in the U.S. economy from 2025 to 2035. NP employment is projected to grow 41%, from about 336,300 jobs in 2025 to 474,100 in 2035, an increase of approximately 137,800 jobs.
Amanda Lee, NP, spent more than a decade in direct patient care before taking her nursing career in a different direction.
Lee worked as an RN in labor and delivery and the cardiovascular ICU before becoming a family nurse practitioner. She later practiced in rural primary care, gastroenterology, internal medicine, and wellness.
Today, she no longer carries her own patient panel. As Head of Medical Affairs at CollabDocs, Lee works with nurse practitioners and physician assistants as they navigate the clinical and operational challenges of building and expanding practices.
Her career offers one answer to a question many experienced nurses eventually face: What else can you do with years of clinical knowledge when you’re ready to use it differently?
Rural Primary Care Changed How She Saw Healthcare
Lee earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina, where she trained as a family nurse practitioner.
“I always knew I wanted to work in healthcare, and I was drawn to the NP path because it allowed me to build on the nursing foundation while taking a larger role in diagnosing, treating, and caring for patients,” Lee said.
Of the settings where she practiced, Lee said her early years in rural primary care were particularly influential.
“You learn to be resourceful, to look at the whole patient, and to recognize very quickly how much access, finances, transportation, and other real-life factors can affect someone’s health,” she said.
The Health Resources and Services Administration’s 2025 State of the Primary Care Workforce report projects a shortage of 70,610 full-time equivalent primary care physicians by 2038, with shortages expected to be particularly acute in nonmetro areas. The report also identifies NPs and physician assistants as part of the primary care workforce and projects growth in their supply.
Lee saw the consequences of limited access firsthand.
“I saw patients who had limited options, long drives for specialty care, or who delayed care because getting to an appointment simply wasn’t easy,” she said.
“NPs and PAs have an enormous opportunity to help close those gaps, particularly in primary care, behavioral health, telehealth, and underserved communities,” Lee said. “When we make it easier for qualified clinicians to build sustainable practices and serve those communities, the impact can extend far beyond one provider.”
Why She Left Direct Patient Care
After more than a decade in clinical practice, Lee began thinking about where else her experience could make a difference.
“The years around COVID, along with many of the growing pressures on clinicians, made me think more about the healthcare system itself and where I could have an impact beyond my own patient panel,” she said.
Lee initially joined the CollabDocs network as an NP before transitioning to Head of Medical Affairs in 2023.
“Helping providers overcome barriers, build their own practices, and ultimately care for more patients felt like a meaningful way to stay connected to the profession while contributing from a different seat,” she said.
What Does a Head of Medical Affairs Do?
“There really isn’t a typical day, which is part of what I enjoy about the role,” Lee said.
On any given day, she might work through a complex provider or employer situation, coach the onboarding team, collaborate with operations or compliance, review clinical guidance, or help resolve an issue involving an NP or PA.
“A lot of my role is translating between the clinical and business sides of healthcare and making sure that, as we grow, we don’t lose sight of what actually makes sense for the clinicians we serve,” she said.
Providers may come to Lee with questions about collaboration requirements, finding the right physician for their scope of practice, or expanding into another state. She helps determine what the clinician is trying to accomplish, identifies clinical and operational considerations, and brings in colleagues from compliance, operations, or physician teams when needed.
“The goal is to make something that initially feels complicated much more manageable,” she said.
She Still Thinks Like an NP
Lee may no longer diagnose and treat patients, but she said her approach to problems hasn’t changed much.
“The setting is different, but the way I think is still very clinical,” she said.
“As an NP, you’re constantly gathering information, figuring out what matters most, asking what you’re missing, and deciding what needs to happen next,” Lee said. “I do the same thing now, whether the issue involves a provider, a process, or a business decision. Communication, clinical judgment, problem-solving, and knowing when to bring in someone else’s expertise have all transferred incredibly well.”
That experience shapes the advice she gives nurses and NPs considering career changes.
“Don’t underestimate how transferable your clinical experience is,” Lee said. “Nurses and NPs develop skills in communication, prioritization, critical thinking, leadership, problem-solving, and working through uncertainty every single day.”
She also recommends looking beyond traditional clinical responsibilities before making a career move.
“I would also encourage people to get curious about the parts of healthcare outside direct patient care,” Lee said. “Volunteer for projects, learn how operations work, become comfortable with data and business conversations, and take opportunities to lead. Your career doesn’t have to follow one straight path for your clinical experience to remain valuable.”
The Part of Patient Care She Still Misses
For Lee, leaving direct care came with a tradeoff.
“I miss the relationships with patients the most,” she said. “There is something very rewarding about knowing someone’s story, earning their trust, and seeing firsthand when they’re doing better.”
She has also discovered a different connection to patient care.
“What has surprised me is that my impact now is one step removed from the patient, but in some ways it can be much broader. If we help an NP or PA successfully open or grow a practice, that provider may go on to care for hundreds or even thousands of patients and be really impactful for their community. I still feel connected to patient care, just through the clinicians we’re helping.”
A good workday now might mean helping an NP who felt stuck find a path toward opening a practice, solving a difficult problem for a provider, or seeing someone she has coached make a breakthrough.
“Those are the moments where I can see the ripple effect of the work we’re doing,” Lee said.
It is not where she expected nursing to take her.
“I think the RN version of me would be very surprised that I eventually moved away from direct patient care and into healthcare leadership,” Lee said. “She’d probably be even more surprised to realize how much of what I learned as a nurse and NP I still use every single day.”
What Nurses Can Take Away
For nurses and NPs considering a move beyond direct patient care, Lee’s experience offers several takeaways:
- Clinical judgment, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving can transfer to roles outside direct patient care.
- Projects, operations, data, and leadership opportunities can help nurses build experience for nonclinical careers.
- Moving away from direct care does not mean leaving nursing knowledge behind.
- A nursing career does not have to follow a straight path for clinical experience to remain valuable.
