SDR

Yes, there are many nurses who have foot care businesses in CA. From my research, I believe this is beyond the RN scope of practice in CA, unless they are working in a practice run by a physician, podiatrist, or NP and are not working as sole proprietors of their own businesses. Some may not be aware of the BRN's opinion; many are but have decided to do it anyway. One nurse with a foot-care business told me, "Just don't contact the Board and ask if you can do it"

For anyone who is thinking of starting a foot care business in CA, I can tell you what I found out when I looked into this last year. I am a BSN, RN with over 20 years' experience in nursing. I had performed foot care in a previous job. I looked at the BRN regulations and could not see a prohibition to doing this and with an online search I saw there are many nurses with foot care businesses in CA. I proceeded to take the foot care course in Rainier, WA, which was an excellent course with a lot of opportunity to practice. I purchased equipment to start the business and started contacting foot care nurses listed on the info I got from the course. That is when I discovered the problem. One of the nurses I contacted told me she had asked the CA Board of Nursing 2 years prior to starting her business if it was within the nursing scope of practice to have a foot care business. She did not receive an answer until 2 years later, after she had decided to go ahead and had invested money in the start-up. The Board's opinion was a resounding "NO", it is not within the RN scope of practice. In order to operate an independent business, you would have to be a Nurse Practitioner. I subsequently spoke with many CA nurses who are aware of the opinion, as the nurse who had received it circulated it, but have too much invested in the business already and are going to continue, hoping the Board is too busy to start tracking down foot care nurses. That may be true, but I also discovered that an RN cannot legally get an LLC for a nursing business, without approval from the BRN. That means your personal finances would be at risk in the event of a lawsuit. Besides not wanting to practice beyond my scope, that was a risk I certainly would not take. There are states that do allow an RN to perform foot care without a doctor's supervision (WA, for instance). Unless our Board reconsiders, CA nurses are shut out of the opportunity for independent practice. You can work as a foot care nurse for a facility or a chiropractor's office, if you can find anyone hiring. If you do, the pay is not likely to be very high and probably wouldn't be worth the investment to get a foot care certification. I hope others can benefit from my experience with this topic before spending big bucks on a course, equipment, and foot care nurse certification.

Thank you for responding. I'm sorry you haven't been able to start your business yet. Your idea of combining it with other services sounds intriguing and I hope it all comes together for you. I'm looking forward to taking the course in June!

I came across your post a couple of months ago when I was exploring the possibility of starting my own business. I am going to attend Dr. Julia's course in June. Were you able to start your business? How has it been going?