Job Options in Nursing Using Your Current Skills and Degrees!

Nurses Entrepreneurs

Published

I enjoyed this article and thought you might too:

http://www.nnba.net/job_options_within_nursing.htm

Job Options in Nursing Using Your Current Skills and Degrees!

Self-employment offers nurses a way to continue in nursing and gain more independence, money, and respect. Independent contracting, consulting, or owner-operator of a small business is self-employment that can be practiced by any registered nurse with his or her current skills and degrees. An independent contractor or consultant can contract nursing services to a hospital or other healthcare facility and practice nursing on his or her own terms. ;)

Opportunities for small businesses are unlimited and can consist of any marketable product or service the nurse imagines. Since businesses run during the day Monday through Friday, hospitals jobs provide ideal support during startup with weekend, night, and part-time scheduling. Many part-time and weekend positions also provide insurance and retirement benefits.

A nurse entrepreneur is a nurse who owns his or her own business and assumes the financial risk of the business. Typically, the business involves healthcare but can be any business the nurse imagines. Nurses make good businesspersons for two reasons. (1) The nursing process is the same as the business process-collect data, develop a plan, implement the plan, evaluate the outcome, revise the plan, implement the plan, evaluate the outcome, etc. Nurses are experienced and proficient with the nursing process. (2) Eight universal job skills are identified by the United States Department of Labor. Each job in the US requires a variety of these skills commonly four or less. Only five jobs in the United States require all eight skills-police, emergency medical services personnel, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and NURSES. Therefore, nurses can do any job in the United States including being an owner operator of a small business.

An independent nurse contractor contracts with a healthcare facility to provide nursing services usually by the hour. A nurse can contract her nursing services directly with a healthcare facility and continue her bedside practice. The contract is similar to those used by nursing agencies and travel companies outlining the services to be provided, the responsibilities of both the healthcare facility and the nurse, and the length of time the services are to be provided. State nurse practice acts for registered nurses do not prohibit independent contracting. Any registered nurse can contract his or her nursing services including two-year graduates and diploma nurses. No advance degrees are necessary. You do not have to be an independent nurse practitioner. You simply need a signed contract between a registered nurse and a healthcare facility or patient. Healthcare facilities sign contracts with nursing agencies and travel agencies all the time. Some nurses have cut out the middleman and contracted directly with the hospital. These nurses are self-employed as independent contractors and reap the benefits of claiming business expenses on income taxes and negotiating their contracts to practice nursing on their own terms. Independent contractors bill the healthcare facility for their services and are not on the facilities payroll. Independent contractors are responsible for their own continuing education and certifications, state and federal income taxes, health and , retirement benefits, and the cost of doing business. The hourly rate for the independent contractor and consultant is often double the hourly wage of an employee providing the same services to account for the added expense of doing business.

Emergency physicians are an excellent example of physicians that contract services to hospitals. Typically, they form a group, incorporate, and that corporation agrees to cover the emergency department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A group of nurses could provide nursing services in the ED, L&D, Med/Surg, PCU, ICU, or any department in the hospital. A large group could even staff a whole hospital. No hospital can run without nurses. When a nurse takes control and accepts the responsibility of his or her nursing practice, both the nurse and the healthcare facility benefit.

A nurse consultant is a nurse who gives expert or professional advice to healthcare facilities or clients on a contractual basis typically by the hour. The services of consultants have increased as healthcare facilities and the insurance industry downsize and terminate in-house positions.

Patricia Ann Bemis, RN CEN

President & CEO

National Nurses in Business Association

B.;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Regarding this article: the numbers of LPN/LVNs who are self employed are on the rise. Any article which implies that only RNs can be independently contracted is short sighted.

Peace,

Lois Jean

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for pointing that out! I agree, LPN's are more then qualified for independent contracting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Wow..I just found this board through another post...so glad to know that this exists! Interesting reads...:-) Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

WELCOME funnygirl_rn! We hope to see nad hear from you in the future!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Originally posted by nightngale1998

I enjoyed this article and thought you might too:

Emergency physicians are an excellent example of physicians that contract services to hospitals. Typically, they form a group, incorporate, and that corporation agrees to cover the emergency department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A group of nurses could provide nursing services in the ED, L&D, Med/Surg, PCU, ICU, or any department in the hospital. A large group could even staff a whole hospital. No hospital can run without nurses. When a nurse takes control and accepts the responsibility of his or her nursing practice, both the nurse and the healthcare facility benefit.

Patricia Ann Bemis, RN CEN

President & CEO

National Nurses in Business Association

B.;)

I was particularly interested in this paragraph. I guess my question is how this could be marketed to hospitals?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

To add to the above: LVNs in CA can be Independent Nurse Providers in the Medi-Cal program.

They provide home based care (often to children using ventilators); they do require an RN to act as Case Manager. There is a current shortage of RNs to act as CMs so it is my understanding that some LVNs are going it alone at the moment.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Often times, I think it's the RN's who have been the slowest to come around to independent practice. LPN's and CNA's have for a long time been doing private duty at home on their own. For some reason, RN's will continue beating it out in a hospital or nursing home for 20-30 years. A lot of CNA's get a year or so experience and then go on to take on private paying patients.

To validate this, just look in your local newspaper under "domestic help" or "caregivers"

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Greetings, Edward;

If someone had told me 30 years ago when I graduated from nursing school that I would finalize my career by working as an Independent Nurse, I would have told them they were crazy, because 'nurses can't do that'. We couldn't do that, because no one told us we could. It was out of the realm of the nursing idealism to combine the science and art of nursing with the science and art of business. All I can say about that now is-- phooey.

Not all nurses are geared emotionally or physically to deal with a independent practice. Nurse Entrepreneurs, like any one who specializes in a particular area, possess a certain 'uniqueness' that others don't.

Another factor is financial. Unless a nurse can offer more than just bedside nursing, she/he will probably not create the type of income they need to be even minimally self-supporting. The nurse who wants to be independent usually finds that a 'speciality' care or service needs to be offered in order to be adequately compensated for their time and expertise.

I say that the need is already here for the Independent Nurse to provide the continuation of certain skilled cares/services which are either no longer being provided because of Medicare cuts and services which are discharged by Agency nurses because they have exhausted the time and reimbursement requirements and must leave. Offen times the client/patient is not ready to be left on his own--he continues to need care, observation, teaching and so on.

I believe that if there are enough numbers of RNs and LPNs to 'stand in the gap', creating a cost savings for insurers and a bridge between the patient and physician, that compensation from health care insurers or contracting doctors, will give us a way to make a decent living while providing those cares and services that are necessary for a client/patient's optimum level of recovery. And not just patient care, either. There are many areas where the nurse can provide a service independently without providing hands on care.

It takes a lot of guts to go out on one's own. It takes determination and grit and a kind of stubborness that keeps courage ahead of fear. It is exactly a work that requires self-discipline and a burning desire for freedom from enslaving employers. (The Entrepreneral spirit is one that detests restraints-among other things).

It means taking full responsibility for actions, positive and negative, and being able to build a business up on both.

Edward, thanks so much for your post!

Peace,

Lois Jean

Up Vote Up Vote ×

All the posts are great. As an LPN I have also held many different independent jobs. I have traveled extensively throughout New Mexico. The trouble I am finding now is that the RN is required for independent positions because they are the only ones that can be cretified. Is this a real requirement? I would love to work independently in OT. I attended one and a half years of college for my COTA. I also have all the requirements for RN but I need to work and I'm getting tired of doing it all. Is there anything out there for us? Really???

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Diane: Search for LoisJean's (I think that's the right spelling) posts on this website. She is an LVN doing independent foot care. She wounds awesome, with lots of good tips.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am sure when Lois Jean sees this post she will give a lot of positive input.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment