THose with a home office...

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 11, 2008

What is your set-up?
Do you have an actual room (office, extra bedroom, den, basement, attic, etc) that is only your office? Or do you have yourself set up in a corner of a room?
What are the must-haves for an LNC's home office?
What things are ideal to have, but not necessarily necessary? (Wordy. LOL.)
How do you function? As a full-time LNC not practicing as an RN elsewhere, do you keep full-time office hours (9-5ish Mon-Fri) or do you work when you feel like working (night-owls, etc)?
And as LNC's who are still working as RNs in the hospital or other settings, how do you balance your clinical job with your LNC work? Do you work full-time and work on LNC cases on your off-days, or do you only work part-time or PRN and pick up hours while you are not working on 1+ cases at a time?

I have one roomed delegated as my office. Complete with desk, chair, PC (although I use my laptop almost exclusively), fax, printers (2), copy machine/scanner, shredder, bookcases, medical and nursing books/journals. (all necessary)

I go to this office to do my work. No TV, refrig, couch, etc. It's strictly to work. I sometimes dress for work (note I said sometimes - you should get in the habit of "going to work" for it gives you structure and you are less likely to "goof off" and be unproductive).

I structure my hours. I start very very early in the day ( around 0400 - when no one is awake) to complete work when I really need "quiet" time. I then start about 0830 (approx. 30 minutes before attorneys arrive at their offices and in plenty of time to contact their staff should I need to address something with them).

Since I am the boss, I allow for breaks as needed. (LOL - my boss is very very nice and easy-going). I allow myself a break at 1400 for nothing more than to indulge in a soap opera for an hour. Yes, sometimes work gets in the way (meetings with clients, partner, etc.), but if no deadlines/meetings, etc., I am "unavailable" for that hour.

I end my day around 1600. I normally work M - F, but often I'm trying to meet an attorney's deadline and must work 7 days a week.

I still teach on the weekends, conduct medical-legal seminars/attend/exhibit at legal conventions during the week, and do part-time NP work as I desire.

RN1989 · Apr 13, 2008

Home office with typical business equipment. Daytime hours unless needed otherwise. No clinical work. After reading some of the postings here about nurses doing LNC and clinical work and having employer related issues when the employer found out about their "side job", am wondering if there will be more fall-out for these nurses. I would expect that nurses doing clinical work and LNC work find themselves very tired if they get a lot of cases while still trying to work fulltime.

alkaleidi · Apr 16, 2008

Home office with typical business equipment. Daytime hours unless needed otherwise. No clinical work. After reading some of the postings here about nurses doing LNC and clinical work and having employer related issues when the employer found out about their "side job", am wondering if there will be more fall-out for these nurses. I would expect that nurses doing clinical work and LNC work find themselves very tired if they get a lot of cases while still trying to work fulltime.

Thanks for your response. In the case of someone with umpteen years of clinical experience, I can see how that is realistic if you have a large enough caseload. However, I would think that would become an issue for someone with less experience as many of the postings I've found online seeking LNCs states "must have recent clinical nursing experience." Guess it depends on many factors!

KLKRN, RN · Apr 17, 2008

I plan to maintain a per-diem schedule with registry as I've been doing while I build up my business. My goal is to be up and running full-time with my CLNC work with maybe an occasional shift (1-2/mo) to keep current. But I look forward to doing NO clinical work :) by the end of next year: that's the goal.

forfitness · May 5, 2008

I am collecting resource materials for my library. Could you recommend journals and texts that have helped you in your career that you would not be without?

Thanks

forfitness

RN1989 · May 6, 2008

I don't know that there is any particular books that I could do without. It really depends on what you are working on and if you have reference books that cover that type of thing.

I still have all the medical/nursing books that I have ever had. They range from first aid courses that I took as a child, nursing school textbooks, to the zillions of books that I have bought since then.

As far as specific stuff that I have: core curriculums for the various specialties I've worked in, pathophys books, disease specific books with dx/tx, How-to books on various medical procedures, lab reference books, drug reference books, dictionary, leadership/admin/reg. books. Really a variety of all the different specialties that I have worked in with a concentration in the specialties that I had to teach others or had to learn more about for myself.

Lots of journals from over the years from various specialty organizations that I have been/continue to be a part of.