Foot care training

Nurses Entrepreneurs

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I have been interested in starting a foot care service for some time now and after reading posts from LoisJean feel this is something I can do. I would like to start out by receiving some kind of training but cannot find anyone who provides this type of course.

I have been in touch with LoisJean who has given me wonderful information about becoming an independent provider performing foot/nail care however I would like to take a course of some description to make myself more prefessional. I found a course titled "Foot & Nail care for Nurses" which sounds absolutely perfect but it is Wisconsin and I live in New York, I cannot find anything else closer to home.

If anyone has crossed this bridge already and can offer any advice I would be extremely grateful.

This is taken from a newletter put out quarterly by the Wound Ostomy Continence Certification Board.

"The WOCNCB is very enthusiastic about moving one step

closer to a new foot and nail credential, the CFCN, which

stands for Certified Foot Care Nurse. This credential will

validate the knowledge and competencies of nurses caring

for patients at risk for complications related to the foot. When

the credential is ready to be offered, the WOCNCB will have

spent a significant sum of money and a great deal of time to

develop a legally defensible exam for the CFCN.

When the Foot & Nail Advisory Panel met on September 14

with experts in exam development from the WOCNCB’s

testing firm, Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP), they

learned just how costly and labor-intensive a new examination

can be. For those of you who have never been involved in

exam development, you would likely be surprised at the

amount of time and effort involved. Here’s a brief overview

of what’s required to deliver the final product of a legally

defensible certification exam.

A “job analysis” is the first step in creating any new WOCNCB

certification exam. To compile a job analysis, the WOCNCB

convenes a panel of practicing individual “experts” from

across the country to write a job analysis survey. The survey

items are developed as the panel discusses the necessary skills

and knowledge required for safe practice. The survey is then

sent to nurses who practice foot care, requesting them to fill

out and return the survey to AMP. After the survey results

are compiled and analyzed by the testing firm, the advisory

panel will again meet in person to discuss the results. A major

focus of their discussions is whether practice patterns of

survey respondents reflect what is considered to be “standard

practice.” Each survey item is then discussed by the advisory

panel. The returned surveys are then compiled, categorized

and analyzed by the testing firm. The test content will

subsequently be a reflection of practice patterns from

information collected in the job analysis.

The job analysis phase of examination developments costs

between $20,000 to $30,000, including survey printing and

postage. Add to this an estimated $1,100 for per-person

travel expenses for the five to six people on the panel, plus

two AMP representatives for each of the two meetings, and

the total cost for this phase comes to $33,200 to $43,200.

The second phase of test development will occur once the

test content or blueprint is developed. During phase two, an

examination committee is formed. The examination committee

is faced with the challenging task of developing test items.

All items on the exam must meet specific requirements before

they are added to the item bank. Ideally, the item bank"

The exam committee is what I am on and I just returned from a meeting in Kansas City.

www.ocncb.org (I think!) is their web site. Keep checking for updates. All I can tell you now is that they are shooting for early 2005 for test availability and ANY RN is eligilble. This is the only certification they have that an Associate Degree RN can take. There will be other eligibility requirements, so keep looking at their web site.

Very exciting stuff is happening here!

:balloons:

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I was wondering if those of us who do foot care, do it full time? I have been doing it about 3x a week. My employer would like to see me do more, but I'm beginning to worry about things such as carpal tunnel (sp?). I usually see about 10 clients a day where I work, but twice a month I travel to a place where I see up to 20 clients. After a day like that, I ache from head to toe, and my hands hurt. Not to mention my back. Maybe I'm not using proper body mechanics. I am worried that something will happen and someday I won't be able to do this anymore. That would be sad. I hope not though.

Good point. I do about 40 clients a week on average for the past 5 years. This is spread out over a 3 1/2 day period. I have more upper back and neck complaints and get massages when I can. I also use up to 2-3 sizes of nippers per client (4" fine for ingrowing and small nails up to double action 6 1/2 " for thick nails, and every size in between) so am frequently changing the position of my hands. I have never had wrist problem but my back is getting to me. I am now giving new clients to my associates and going to spend more time on educational programs. It is a challange to find the balance that is right for you. Is there anyone else in your organization that does nails? If not you may want to suggest that so you have back up. You might also see a PT and get some excersise and stretching routines going. Good luck.

Laura,

Very good suggestions! Thank you. We do have a massage therapist at work which we get a discount for (if I could only find the time). We also have a PT who I could get some ideas from. Have you ever seen a chiropractor? I think the best thing is to limit myself to part time. Thanks for responding!

There is new information on the nail certifcation at the

www.wocncb.org web site. Look under the newsletter heading and there is information on the eligibility requirements for the Foot and Nail Nurse Certification. Check it out!

Right now there are no courses, it is self study and there will be a list of resources and articles from WONCNCB. I think the certification is for 5 years, not sure. You can email the wocncb site, ask Beth. She should know the correct answers. In the future there will be courses popping up. I will post anything I hear about on this site, or you are welcome to pm me. I am sure there will be a Foot and Nail Nurse Association down the line too. This is the start of a whole new specialty in nursing and I am just so excited to be an active part of the process. It is the actualization of years of "creative visualization" on my part, and many other nurses I know of. Truly a dream come true.

Hi Everyone - I've been an RN for 14 years, an LPN for 6 years prior to this. My background is Home Health and Longterm Care. While in the Home Health realm, I happened upon so many older clients who could not care for their own feet, and they slipped through the system because it was their only need. I found myself taking them on during my own time because I couldn't abandon them. I got so busy, that I actually had to find another competent individual to take the clients from me so that I had time to work, etc. In hindsight, I gave away a business. This was 12-14 years ago, when it was less acceptable to do this on your own. Now I'm ready to do again, because I know I can, it's acceptable, and I'm disappointed with nursing otherwise. I live in Wisconsin. My question(s) are: Do I need to form an LLC or something similar? If I name the business something other than my name can I use my social security number or do I have to then go the Tax ID # route? Does anyone recommend just using your own name to keep it simple? Does RN have to appear in the name of the business? Is there insurance other than malpractice that is recommended? Or, is that where the LLC comes in? I'm slightly confused as you can tell. If I can just take off and not visit a lawyer that would be great, but probably not recommended. My husband has an accountant for his business, I intend to use him also. Is it necessary to sit down with him ahead of time or is tax time soon enough? Any and all information is appreciated. Lastly, do I need to inform or ask anything of the board of nursing here? Thanks to all. I look forward to hearing from you.

lilrascal in Wisconsin

If I were you I would do the following. Call the local chapter of SCORE and make an appointment to get some free advice from them. They are great and free. Also, call your local small business administration and do the same. They put on a lot of free and low cost business workshops. There is an incredible amount of help out there for the small business person. The JC's also have many short courses.

I have my own (free) lawyer that is helping me with my business through my local chapter of the small business administration. I have seen him for 3 visits, one hour each. My husband is now going with me to these visits to help as I have a hard time "getting" with the business end of things. I have been in business eight years and am a sole proprietor, but am investigating incorporation. I have way too big of a business now (about 350-400) regular clients) to not know what I am doing. I just wish I had done some of this stuff years ago. I do not think I will incorporate, too complicated, but am still looking into the pros and cons. You can start out as a sole prorietor and then change.

It is not hard to file for a fictiscious business name, and will probably be more memorable to clients. Getting the accountant or a good book keeper on board early on is a great idea. They should be able to help you with many of these questions. Start a seperate business checking account right away. That will really help you sort out things.

There is talk of a Canadian Foot Care Course (48 hours long and very comprehensive) coming to California and possibly Tucson Arizona. Maybe as early as next spring. Anyone interested, pm me and I will put you on a mailing list. THIS WOULD BE A GREAT COURSE! Probably cost about 2,000. But when you think of the potential earning power it will give you, not to mention the peace of mind and thrill of having your own business. It would be well worth the investment. There are times now, doing group homes, that I make $200 and hour. I have a lot of overhead, and these clinics really help cover those costs. I do a great job, the clients are happy and the relatives who I bill, are happy.

Do contact your state board and have them send you the citation in your nurse practice act that covers what you will do by providing foot care services. It may be a very general clause or very specific to feet. I think Wisconsin has some specific verbage, because of Tara Beuschar's work, but I could be wrong. You need to have something in writing to defend yourself when you start getting flack from podiatrists!!! It is worth it. You go girl!

If I were you I would do the following. Call the local chapter of SCORE and make an appointment to get some free advice from them. They are great and free. Also, call your local small business administration and do the same. They put on a lot of free and low cost business workshops. There is an incredible amount of help out there for the small business person. The JC's also have many short courses.

I have my own (free) lawyer that is helping me with my business through my local chapter of the small business administration. I have seen him for 3 visits, one hour each. My husband is now going with me to these visits to help as I have a hard time "getting" with the business end of things. I have been in business eight years and am a sole proprietor, but am investigating incorporation. I have way too big of a business now (about 350-400) regular clients) to not know what I am doing. I just wish I had done some of this stuff years ago. I do not think I will incorporate, too complicated, but am still looking into the pros and cons. You can start out as a sole prorietor and then change.

It is not hard to file for a fictiscious business name, and will probably be more memorable to clients. Getting the accountant or a good book keeper on board early on is a great idea. They should be able to help you with many of these questions. Start a seperate business checking account right away. That will really help you sort out things.

There is talk of a Canadian Foot Care Course (48 hours long and very comprehensive) coming to California and possibly Tucson Arizona. Maybe as early as next spring. Anyone interested, pm me and I will put you on a mailing list. THIS WOULD BE A GREAT COURSE! Probably cost about 2,000. But when you think of the potential earning power it will give you, not to mention the peace of mind and thrill of having your own business. It would be well worth the investment. There are times now, doing group homes, that I make $200 and hour. I have a lot of overhead, and these clinics really help cover those costs. I do a great job, the clients are happy and the relatives who I bill, are happy.

Do contact your state board and have them send you the citation in your nurse practice act that covers what you will do by providing foot care services. It may be a very general clause or very specific to feet. I think Wisconsin has some specific verbage, because of Tara Beuschar's work, but I could be wrong. You need to have something in writing to defend yourself when you start getting flack from podiatrists!!! It is worth it. You go girl!

Thanks, for your response. I'm planning to contact the Board of Nursing as well as the small business development center located at the closest University. I'm also thinking that I will attend the class in June offered by Tara Beuscher at the University of Eau Claire here in WI, which is about 2.5 hours away. I'm not familiar with what SCORE is, but I am assuming it is equivalent to our small business development center. Thanks again for your reply, it helped much.

lilrascal

Thanks, for your response. I'm planning to contact the Board of Nursing as well as the small business development center located at the closest University. I'm also thinking that I will attend the class in June offered by Tara Beuscher at the University of Eau Claire here in WI, which is about 2.5 hours away. I'm not familiar with what SCORE is, but I am assuming it is equivalent to our small business development center. Thanks again for your reply, it helped much.

lilrascal

Hi everyone,

I'm just wondering where the best tools for foot care can be found. I've read some of the postings that the dremmel is being frowned upon. Any input would be nice. Going shopping soon. Thanks for the help.

lilrascal in WI

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