To any and all footcare nurse business owners

Published

Hi there,

Gosh I am so excited to be done with my footcare course that I attended in San Diego through Shelly Taylor! The course was awesome and I learned alot. Now just passing the test. I have formed my LLC and am thinking of ways to get my business going. I would just like a few clients-my goal is 30 a month as I am also a staff RN at the local hospital here. I would like to hear about success stories from other footcare nurses and the services you offer and a price range? I am thinking along the lines of $45-$60 per home visit. Anyways, I got discouraged talking to another nurse who said the podiatrists in town were going to not like the idea, and that it would be difficult getting fee for service being unable to bill medicare. I almost didn't go to my course actually because it really bugged me. I am thinking that if I will pay 40 for a pedicure and have to drive there, why wouldn't someone pay for their mom or their selves to have footcare in the home? So, I am thinking that I might do some probono stuff at the alf/snf and checkout the diabetes clinic here in town. maybe the free drs clinic as well. I'm feeling that refferals is going to be a large part of my business as well so rounding up a team of who I know. Please tell me about your footcare biz and if you have struggled getting it going? the good, thebad, the ugly please! thanks

HI yrmajesty,

How is it going?

I continue to struggle with marketing. I am getting referrals from a nurse practitioner who makes house calls for their medical needs, I have received several referrals from a physical therapist friend who looks at all of her patients feet, and calls when she sees a need.

I have an advertising on my car that I still get calls from.

Some may not like this but I advertise..."in-home pedicures"

bizi

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Have you presented them with the idea, that your fees are probably less than Podiatrists? Mabe if you can get the idea across that your services are equal to the Podiatrists, that the almighty $ can sway them? Perhaps offer something that they don't?

Can you combine foot care and diabetic teaching, foot care, etc? Make yourself stand out from the others.

JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

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The fact is that I do charge more than a podiatrist, but they may spend 7 minutes with them if that. I provide a much better service, am convinced of this, I know of not one pod who would soak their clients feet and exfoliate their dry skin. I am in the home about an hour.

bizi

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The fact is that I do charge more than a podiatrist, but they may spend 7 minutes with them if that. I provide a much better service, am convinced of this, I know of not one pod who would soak their clients feet and exfoliate their dry skin. I am in the home about an hour.

bizi

I just got asked to come to a facility because the podiatrist they were using was billing Medicare over a hundred $ per resident and he with them for about 5 minutes. The families were not pleased. When I told the director about my services (including foot soak, lower leg assessment, massage), she was thrilled. And, I charge about a quarter what the podiatrist was charging.

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He may be chargeing that amount but he is only reembursed a very small amount...a podiatrist once asked me to not referr any clients to him on medicare because he made so little from them. At least that was a few of years ago.

Good for you and the new facility awesome! congratulations!

bizi

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I am looking for work and cruising topics. Your foot care idea is wonderful! I wanted to do this a few years ago, and spoke with a "mobile M.D. " i worked with. We dropped the ball and never met to discusss. When I was a Hospice Case Mngr, I found many a foot in ill repair, and I wanted to be a mobile foot care nurse and didn't know if there was such a nurse.

I too wonder what the P & P is and who we work under according to the Nurse Practice Act. (CA) I am confident in my marketing and have an excellent network, I just need to know the steps and particulars, mainly, job description and legal limits.

Do podiatrists hire RN 's for such ministry, I mean , work? A true entrepenuer will research all these topics and brave the unexplored path. Is this the forum to learn of such particulars? I suppose I should make a list of what I need to know. I am not sure what I need to know..... you know?

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Specializes in NICU/L&D, Hospice.

Ugh, I just typed this long reply and hit the "leave a comment" button on the bottom right. Wrong button.

I took my training from someone who lives in No. Cal. and she has been a foot care nurse for 17+ years, mostly on her own. Hopefully someone from cali will chime in here and give you particulars since I wouldn't want you to rely on my info.

I live in Idaho and I work within my scope according to our BON. I am providing for activities of daily living, for which I was taught to do in my general nursing education and I have gained further education to provide for this specialty. I have my own clinic (still working on an opening date though) and provide home care. My business isn't completely off the ground yet, but I expect some problems with Dr.'s questioning my scope. I'm prepared. I want to work along side them, not against them, so we will see how it goes when I go out and market myself to other Dr.'s and podiatrists. That will be a big test. I need pods to refer to though, so hopefully they will accept this nursing venture and come to realize that it is the way of the future!!!

I highly recommend that you get your CFCN and save up to buy the appropriate tools/instruments. If we want to be taken seriously, we must be as professional as we would expect someone to be for us. Most pods don't even use the podiatry drill that I purchased. They use a dremel which is really not appropriate for health care. I give my clients the best of the best. I have nothing to hide! Good equipment, good instruments (well...those could be better but man nippers are expensive), and good products. People love nurses!

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good luck it is a great business to be in and desperately needed. Your clients will love you. Look to your state board of nursing there may already be regs in place for you to follow. My state requires orders from a physician, so I maintain charts on all of my clients. Good luck

bizi

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Specializes in NICU/L&D, Hospice.

Hey Bizi...if you go to a facility and do group care, does each person get a file that you hold on to? What about senior centers where it isn't a medically based location?

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I don't do group care or senior centers I only do one on one.

bizi

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Bizi, I live in Louisiana as well and have been tossing the idea of doing in-home foot care around. How do you obtain a physicians order to provide intermediate level care?

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I fax over orders and they sign them and fax them back to me. very easy.

where do you live? I live in lafayette.

bizi

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