CNA as an Entrepreneur... is is possible?

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I am copying the post from the Calling All Entrepreneurs Thread to here in hopes of a better response and to keep the other Thread (Sticky) for announcements of what you re doing. Questions or assistance are better suited to have their own threads.

Here is heartstarts post:

Is it unheard of to try to start a business working as a CNA if you do not have nothing above that. I am in nursing school and recently became a CNA and wanted to start practicing on my own with hopes of developing clientele for when I get out of school. Could anyone give me insight as to if working as a CNA is a good place to when starting a practice. Is it legal? As long as I do not practice outside of my expertise. What do you guys/girls think?

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Here is heartstarts post:

Is it unheard of to try to start a business working as a CNA if you do not have nothing above that.

I am in nursing school and recently became a CNA and wanted to start practicing on my own with hopes of developing clientele for when I get out of school. Could anyone give me insight as to if working as a CNA is a good place to when starting a practice. Is it legal? As long as I do not practice outside of my expertise. What do you guys/girls think?

The age long question is: Is it possible to be a Nurse and an Entrepreneur? Yes, it is possible with a lot of effort.

Always, start with a Business Plan. Please see the Sticky, here on AllNurses, regarding that. Here is that link:

Business Planning and Support

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For ideas on Home Care Management, which is what you sound like you are after, check in with the CNA Forum, here on AllNurses (see links in my signature line for that Link to the CNA Forum).

Good luck to you.

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I think it would depend upon the servies that you would provide. If you would like to do home care on your own then you could probably stick to ADL's and light housekeeping and be fine. If you are trying to do anything that requires nurse delegation and nursing approval then you would need to be connected to an RN or possibly and LPN who is connected to an RN. Private duty CNA ADL services sounds like the easiest route, otherwise you could contact hopistals and LTC as an agency CNA (your own agency) and see if they are interested. Remember you will need insurance etc...

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Specializes in psych, geriatric, foot care.

You need a buisness plan and insurance to protect yourself. Also you'll need to be extra cautious to stay within the bounds of your job description (which may be hard if your learning new skills and competencies in school) and if you do nothing else keep good documents of your activities. I would think assisting with ADL's, meal prep. and errands would be as much as I'd offer starting off.

Good Luck:)

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when I was in nursing school. I provided simple services for some elderly neighbors. Light house keeping, companionship, meal prep. Nothing I needed supervison by a licensed nurse for.

No vital signs, no ADLs, no assisting with medications. It was good experience and I was paid as well as I would have been if I did those tasks that require a licensed nurses supervision.

Since you are headed for a license yourself be very careful not to step over your legal bounderies now or it could seriously impeid your future plans.

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I will not take CNA independent contractors. The IRS would not go for it.

David

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I worked in an area where on of the local hospital staffing agencies was owned and run by a CNA. Don't know how this worked but we used to call here all the time for nurses and CNAs.

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I will not take CNA independent contractors. The IRS would not go for it.

David

My friend is an Independdent CNA, she had to take a class (I don't know if it was from Medicare, medicaid, or the

IRS) to learn how to submit her billing hours. She gets paid well and pays taxes. Her IRS goes for it just fine.

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Specializes in Gerontology/Home Health CM, OB, ICU, MS.

Well, a lot depends on the state regulations.

Here in California, where I teach CNAs, it says on the back of their certification that "this card entitles you to identify yourself as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) ONLY when working in a Licensed Health Facility. You MAY NOT advertise or represent yourself as a CNA when providing personal care services INDEPENDENTLY.

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Maybe check out information on "home health aide" or "personal care assistant"? There most definitely are people out there offering such services but I have no idea what the regulations are on it. I imagine it would be similar to working in housekeeping or lawn care and that many are paid under the table, but there should be resources out there for information about how to do all by the book.

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