JgCare

Were you using disposable bits/burs, Nurse Elisha? These are becoming "the thing to do" in podiatry, and the topic of conversations. What are your thoughts on that? The discussion includes statements such as "they cannot be cleaned well enough so disposables should be the norm." and "cleaned with a wire brush, etc and autoclaved the re-usables are good to go, if you know when to replace them." I agree that becoming certified is not necessary - I know many that are not and are successful, but all said further education in foot care was important. One went so far as to say "my training ended at the ankle, only included anatomy." Others agreed. Do you agree with them? A 100+ patient load in 6 months is awesome! You were on the move! Did you not care for the biz? Is that why your moved in a different direction? If so, what did you not like about it?

The question on how much can be earned the first year..... that is according to how trained you are, how your business is set up, YOUR MARKETING, and your referral system. Also, actually whether you are able to spend full time on it initially, or have to also work at a job at the same time can affect the success timing. (It will not affect the eventual success - as long as you do not get burned out with having to do so much.) SOOO many contingencies!! I am privileged to mentor many nurses starting out in foot care, so one contingency is if you can find a caring mentor, you will get oodles of help and be faster in your track. This person doesn't even have to be a nurse! NO, you can get great business advice from a successful person in some type of business similar to yours in its conceptual context. And that person would not be fearful of you as competition! Of course, a FC mentor out of your area is good! Primary requirement? CARING about your success.

It is interesting to see how many RNs are asking about foot care entrepreneurship. It is a growing field, but you do need one of the certifications - the AFCNA certification or the CFCN one. I own an online course that is a CE prep for them on Professional Education – "Providing excellent continuing education for nurses.", and I used to be surprised when I see the uncertainty in nurses in opening their own business. No longer, as I am now privileged to see the other end of it, the many successful entrepreneurial foot care nurses starting up across the US, and actually across the world! I always recommend they learn about business before jumping in, and the result is happy, successful business owners. BTW, Julia Overstreet, a podiatrist in WA, has a course on opening a FC business, as do we on prof-ed. Both are comprehensive, though different, and will serve you well. Do your homework and the business then will work for you!

A very well written article! Hits everything that is deep down for nurses who want to go into business for themselves! There seems to be no prep out there for any medical personnel for going into biz, but yet there are gaps in our current healthcare system that nurse entrepreneurs could serve/fill very well! What you need is a website to promote and sell your programs to your target audience! I (and a partner) have a site where we sell courses in foot care, preps for the cert exams and support information for for RNs, LPNs, and others, and it took us forever to find out what to do - it was agonizing! Now, we know, and we understand your pain! I would be happy to discuss it with you if you call me but don't have any idea what the policies are for putting contact information on here. (I'm brand new on here.) My # can be found at Professional Education – "Providing excellent continuing education for nurses.". I am EST, and this is my cell. And by the way, we do NOT do websites - I can just give you some free advice on where to go, etc and some biz advice. Why would I do that? I am "older" and out of the workforce and I love to help nurses and others go to their next level in their careers! It is very satisfying!

I apologize about the double entry - I am new at this site! I have read through the foot care nurse posts and find that few are getting positive responses from podiatrists/almost all are not. May I give you some info/suggestions?? Podiatrists who are not surgeons are very territorial about their Routine Foot Care practice - that is a huge part of their income. CONVERSELY, podiatrists who are successful podiatric SURGEONS do not want to do routine foot care - it is too expensive for them to do since they could be working in the surgical aspect of their business instead. So, my suggestion is that 1) check your state guidelines to see where you stand on how to work (in an independent office, as a concierge practice, set up with a podiatrist but independent, etc etc), then 2) design a marketing packet to take to podiatric SURGEONS, and to other physicians who might be interested in referring to you, s/as vascular surgeons (work with a lot of diabetics), primary care physicians, endocrinologists, gerontologists, etc. Send brochures in hospice care units and for home care RNs to carry. The secret is getting past the front desk, of course. That is why you have the in-hand presentation ready to give to the office manager instead of asking to see the physician (they see it as intrusive and demanding). If you do your leg work (DO NOT send them in the mail or call - it does not work), you will find physicians who are delighted to refer to you/you refer back to them. They HATE to trim toenails - you just need to get out there and call on the offices and clinics (wound care clinics?) to find them. Marketing just takes opening your mind, once you get the drift of it. It appears that I need to write some blogs on this on my site, Professional Education – "Providing excellent continuing education for nurses.". I love working with RNs etc who are not familiar with marketing and watching them become successful! This is important care in our current healthcare system! And RNs and LPNs who love to do this are performing a huge service to the chronically ill!

I have read through the foot care nurse posts and find that few are getting positive responses from podiatrists/almost all are not. May I give you some info/suggestions?? Podiatrists who are not surgeons are very territorial about their Routine Foot Care practice - that is a hur part of their income. CONVERSELY, podiatrists who are successful podiatric SURGEONS do not want to do routine foot care - it is too expensive for them to do since they could be working in the surgical aspect of their business instead. So, my suggestion is that 1) check your state guidelines to see where you stand on how to work (in an independent office, as a concierge practice, set up with a podiatrist but independent, etc etc), then 2) design a marketing packet to take to podiatric SURGEONS, and to other physicians who might be interested in referring to you, s/as vascular surgeons (work with a lot of diabetics), primary care physicians, endocrinologists, gerontologists, etc. Brochures in hospice care units and for home care RNs to carry. The secret is getting past the front desk, of course. That is why you have the in-hand presentation ready to hand over to the office manager instead of asking to see the physician (they see it as intrusive and demanding.) If you do your leg work (DO NOT send them in the mail or call - it does not work), you will find physicians who are delighted to refer to you/you refer back to them. They HATE to trim toenails - you just need to get out there and call on the offices and clinics (wound care clinics?) to find them. Marketing just takes opening your mind, once you get the drift of it. It appears that I need to write some blogs on this on my site, Professional Education – "Providing excellent continuing education for nurses.". I love working with RNs etc who are not familiar with marketing and watching them become successful! This is important care in our current healthcare system! And RNs and LPNs who love to do this are performing a huge service to the chronically ill!