Foot care training

[kernow]

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.

[yrmajesty3]

Thanks for the info Rosebudd.

Flockone, I did indeed cancel my Eau Claire class.

Looking for something closer....trying to find one on the East Coast.

In the meantime, I've been reviewing the MUSC dvd series which is OK for now.

Has anyone seen Karen Johnson's DVD on how to set up a clinic and homecare services?

[yrmajesty3]

I took the class in Wisconsin two years ago. I went by myself from the west coast. I took a shuttle from the Minn/St. Paul airport and it took me right to my hotel. I stayed with in walking distance to both locations (lecture and clinic). There were a lot of restaurants and I even ordered in pizza. The shuttle picked me up at my hotel (this was an extra charge) at dropped me off at the airport. It was pretty painless.

Heartsome,

You didn't mention what you thought of the conference. Was it a valuable learning experience?

I am wondering if could offer me more info than what I've done already ( shadowing a podiatrist and studying MUSC's dvd series).

What I am really looking for is a foot care nurse who can show me exactly how she sets up clinically, legally and financially.

Karen Johnson seems to offer such a teaching tool....again, another dvd. But, I'd like some opinions before I plunk down another

$300. If anyone out there has seen it, please share your thoughts.

[Dynamique]

I had never heard of a "foot care nurse" until about one month ago. Since that time I have been trying to gather info and find classes. I came across this website last week, and I hope that some of you can give me some direction and feedback.

I am a registered nurse with over 20 years experience. I've done med/surg, OR, ER, rehab, and am currently in PACU/post op. I took 14 years off to home school my children and have been "back" for 8 years now. I cannot believe how much more politics and paperwork there is now in nursing compared to the way it used to be. We went to computer charting one year ago, and things are even worse. I feel like a scribe rather than a nurse. We are constantly being told to give excellent care, make the patient and their families happy, keep up with the charting, make sure the doctors put their orders in correctly, do everything in a timely manner, with less help and more to document. And, by the way, don't expect things to get any better, you're doing a great job but it isn't good enough, but by all means, have a great attitude and give management a great score on the gallop survey. I am dumbfounded by what nursing has become. Anyone out there know what I mean?!

I have been trying to find something else to do, both in and out of the nursing field. In August I was visiting church friends in Michigan (I now live in Ohio) when I was introduced to a nurse from Ontario. We got talking about nursing, and she told me that she had her own business as a foot care nurse. My mind keeps coming back to that idea, and here I am.

The main questions that come to mind are:

Where to go for training?

What are the start up costs?

How much do you charge?

Any recommendations on health insurance? (My husband is self employed and I carry the family health insurance with my hospital job.)

What other questions should I be asking? :)

Thanks for reading my note, and I hope to hear back from anyone with info/advice.

[yrmajesty3]

Hello Dynamique,

The Eau Claire campus of University of Wisconsin has a course....I know that they still have openings. I cancelled my registration recently in order to attend the much closer Emory University course. Bothe were the same price...$500. That seems to be the typical rate.

I am in the process of developing my LLC with a partner. We attended a free course offered through SCORE called "How to start your own busines". We also took advantage of SCORE's free and WONDERFUL small business counselors who have already sat with us for a total of 5 hours helping us get started.

We got our EIN # instantly over the phone.

We hired an accountant who is setting up our legal LLC (which is a bit more complicated here

in Pennsylvania). He charged about $100. We've heard of some folks doing it through Legal Zoom.com and were very satisfied.

NSO insurance is kinda high...$ 920 ( I think because we are considered a homecare nursing service), but it is insuring the LLC. Plus we already have our own personal professional insurance at about $100.

This week , we are filling out paperwork for our Department Of Health license which is about $200 ( a surprise requirement here in Pennsy). To get that , you have to show your policy and procedures, plus report all the chemicals that will be used. We need to demonstrate that we know how to use them properly ( MDS sheets).

These are just some of our start-up costs so far and we haven't purchased all our equipment yet. We'll do that after we attend the November Emory University course.

Oh yes, we also had our brochures and business cards done.....not as expensive as we thought. The printer we used has his own in-house designer who is artfully organizing the marketing material....worth the money given the AGITA!

We've been told that we should hire a lawyer but we've decided not to at this point.

We have so much to do still, but we are taking our time. The plan is to concentrate on marketing in November and December. Then, have our first paid clients by January.

I found a free medical clinic offered by some primary care physicians who have agreed to allow us to provide free care. We think that offering our services to this cause free of charge is a good way to introduce us to the medical community. Hopefully, those docs will refer their paying clients to us down the road. Other places we are marketing to are senior apartments, non-medical homecare companies ( they are popping up everywhere....we have the same client base), adult day cares, and more.

I think that we may be taking this a bit farther than most other foot care nurses in the US. For example, I haven't read that anyone is getting licensed throught their boards of health. The assumption is that your nursing license covers you.....just not here in Pennsy...make sure you check your state.

About pricing....we searched other nurse's websites for their pricing first. It's all over the place. I guess it depends on where you live. We haven't nailed that down yet.

So there it is. Hope you glean some useful info from this eternal response.

[Dynamique]

Hi Yrmajestry3,

Thanks for the info. It was helpful. I spoke with the people in Eua Claire today, and hope to enroll in the February class. October is now booked with a waiting list, and I'm pretty busy that month, anyway.

I've been working my way through the postings here. I noticed that JeanLois had a number of lengthy messages a few years ago that were very informative and interesting. She seemed to be very passionate about what she did/does. It sounded like she offered a lot more than just foot care for her patients. She said she averaged 45-60 minutes per patient==sometimes as much as l 1/2 hours all for $20. That was back in 2003, so I'm not sure how much she would be charging today if she is still in the business. I read another post (probably more recent) that mentioned that they could do 4 patients in one hour at $65 each. Obviously, I need to do a lot more research to see what is a reasonable amount to charge. With the cost of equipment, business license, insurance, gas, difficult economic times, etc., I really have to see if this venture will pay enough to enable me to leave my current job, and yet be affordable for the patient. I would love to have a job that I enjoy, but we'll see. It sounds like things are coming together for you. I hope you will continue to post and let us all know how it goes.

I wish you the best.

[yrmajesty3]

Dynamique,

We are still struggling with price. A home visit will definitely have to go for a minimum of $55-$75 (consider gas prices/travel time/insurance). Don't know how we'll handle a clinic situation though. However, I can't rationalize $65/client for a 15 minute service. My biggest complaint with health care providers today is their lack of time spent and lack of connection with their patients. I personally feel that a 20-30min clinic visit or a 45min home visit is the absolute minimum.

For this reason, I usually go to NP's for my healthcare when appropriate. They give me a focused 30-45 minute time slot. The doc gives me about 10 minutes maybe...and still couldn't tell you what color my hair was. Don't get me started.

[Sandys Beach]

You can also try connecting through a Find A Foot Nurse on the web. There is also a forum there to connect with other foot nurses.

[Sandys Beach]

I charge 60 for an hour home visit and Canadian Vets are paid out at 50 per visit. The way I see it, physios, massage therapists charge a lot more than that as well as aestheticians for a pedicure which can be upwards of over 100 dollars.

[Race Mom, ASN, RN]

Sorry it took so long to get back on the forum and answer the questions about Dr. Overstreet.

Yes, she teaches using the dremel. She also says that sterilization is not required. Those are the two things that I knew (from listening to all of you) I didn't agree with. I went to her because I wanted the knowledge from the medical "model". From that, I could incorporate it into my nursing "model".

Although she uses the dremel, she uses specialty pieces on it that are offered especially for foot care by the manufacturer. She doesn't just buy a dremel and use the bits that come with it. She also teaches the use of manual hand instruments.

She helped me a lot with the business aspect. I was the only one in the class that was planning on venturing out on my own, so she spent one-on-one time with me after class. She offers her students her assessment forms (with her name taken off) for you to use in your practice. She is more than willing to be there for you after you take her class.

I am saving my money to purchase a podiatry drill. Ouchy. I also just purchased the book she HIGHLY recommends for the exam. Foot Care for the Salon Professional by Godfrey Mixx. I got it from Barnes/Noble for about $60 with free standard shipping and it arrived in no time! I will be sitting for my exam as soon as I can get through this book.

After my hands-on training, my mother-in-law passed away from a brain tumor. That pretty much put a stand-still on getting my business up and running. I'm ready to tackle this now but it's been about 3 months since I've done training and I am considering going through training again. Just don't tell my hubby...he'll think I'm a nerd.

[Sandys Beach]

Wow, Dr. Overstreet sounds great. Where does she teach out of? I would love to pass her info on to others. Have you found out where to purchase a drill? I know of an amazing US nurse who sells podiatry drills. I will see if I can find her contact info....

[Race Mom, ASN, RN]

She teaches out of the Seattle, Washington area. I haven't looked for a drill in a few months, so I can't remember the websites. You have my email now, so I would love that info on the RN that sells them!

[Sandys Beach]

Yah, I posted a link to Laura in another forum, it's related to her seminars on foot care: www.findafootnurse.com,