Back in the day, a person’s career trajectory was mostly linear—professionals often stayed with one employer or field for their entire working lives. But today’s landscape has transformed dramatically. Career journeys now weave and evolve, offering unprecedented flexibility for those seeking change. This shift has created remarkable opportunities for professionals to reskill, pivot, and discover fulfilling new directions when they feel stagnant or simply crave something different.

For nurses especially, who face unique challenges of burnout and physical demands, these expanded pathways offer vital alternatives that preserve their valuable expertise while opening doors to new professional fulfillment.

A Journey Through Healthcare

Fortunately, no one understands this evolving career terrain better than Lori Schellenberg, the RN and founder behind Stepping Stone Academy. Lori’s career has spanned across multiple disciplines: from bedside nursing to case management and occupational health. Pivoting was a part of her DNA. After navigating the diverse opportunities that existed for healthcare providers in her own journey, she knew better than anyone that nurses possess transferable skills that open countless doors beyond traditional care settings.

The Birth of Patient Advocacy

Eventually, Lori’s journey led her to patient advocacy – a role where she could leverage her comprehensive healthcare knowledge to help patients navigate the often fraught and confusing healthcare system. She founded Stepping Stone Advocacy Services, dedicated to empowering patients and families during their most vulnerable moments.

The work was fulfilling and impactful, but as Lori’s patient advocacy practice grew, she found herself fielding questions not just from patients, but from nurses themselves:

“How did you move from bedside nursing to this?”

“I’m burning out but don’t know what else I can do with my experience.”

These conversations revealed a pattern—many dedicated, talented nurses were seeking transitions away from direct bedside care, but felt lost about how to leverage their valuable skills in new directions. They knew they wanted change but couldn’t see the path forward.

Lori recognized something important: while she was advocating for patients, there was another group equally in need of advocacy—nurses themselves.

Advocating for Nurses

With her extensive experience across healthcare fields, Lori understood something many nurses couldn’t yet see—that their skills were incredibly valuable and transferable to countless roles beyond traditional patient care.

“Nurses are taught to focus on serving others,” Lori explains. “But who’s serving them? Who’s showing them the possibilities their expertise opens up? Who’s advocating for their career fulfillment?”

The answer became clear. Who better to advocate for nurses than someone who understood both the challenges of bedside nursing and the breadth of opportunities beyond it?

Building the Bridge

Rather than simply answering individual questions, Lori envisioned something bigger—a comprehensive platform that could guide nurses through career transitions with confidence and clarity. But she knew that to be truly effective, this platform would need more than just her perspective.

She began connecting with nurses who had made successful pivots into diverse fields—legal nurse consulting, clinical research, healthcare technology, quality improvement, and many more. Each had a unique story, a different path, but they shared common successes and challenges in their transitions.

“What struck me in these conversations,” Lori shares, “was how many said the same thing: ‘I wish I had known this path existed. I wish someone had shown me this path earlier.’ These nurses had valuable expertise that translated perfectly to their new roles, but the journey of discovering those opportunities was unnecessarily difficult and lonely.

Stepping Stone Academy Takes Shape

From these insights, Stepping Stone Academy was born – a platform created by nurses, for nurses, designed to illuminate the paths to fulfilling careers beyond the bedside.

Rather than vague advice or theoretical guidance, Lori envisioned practical, actionable roadmaps created by nurses who had successfully made specific transitions. Each course would reveal not just what was possible, but exactly how to get there—the steps, the skills, the connections, and the strategic positioning needed for success.

She assembled a team of nurse “instructors”—professionals who had successfully transitioned to diverse roles and were willing to share their exact blueprints with others. Together, they created comprehensive courses that eliminate the guesswork from career transitions.

A Comprehensive Approach to Career Transitions

Stepping Stone Academy offers a range of courses to fit different needs and career paths. While some nurses may only need structured guidance through our foundational courses, others benefit from more comprehensive support on their journey.

For that reason, select specialized courses include additional resources like direct mentorship connections and even internship placements for hands-on experience in new fields.

In addition, with every course, students gain access to Career GPT, a specialized tech platform designed specifically to help job-seekers secure a new role. This innovative tool helps nurses translate their clinical experience into compelling applications for their target roles and navigate the application process effectively.

The Journey Continues

Stepping Stone Academy is now live with multiple courses covering diverse career paths for nurses looking to transition beyond the bedside. And this is just the beginning – the platform will continue to expand with additional courses and resources based on the evolving needs of the nursing community and emerging career opportunities.

For Lori, this platform represents the natural evolution of her advocacy work: from advocating for patients to advocating for the very professionals who provide patient care.

“Nurses spend their careers being stepping stones for others – steady supports in times of need,” Lori reflects. “Now it’s time they had stepping stones of their own, guiding them to fulfilling new roles where their expertise can continue to make a difference, just in different ways.”