Wants to Start Home Dialysis Business

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

Currently, I am a Dialysis Technician working at a hospital--acute unit. I've worked in a chronic clinic before this. I will start nursing school in Fall 2019 and am considering staying in Dialysis after graduation.

I have been exploring different entrepreneur opportunities for nurses, and wondered about mobile dialysis or being a nurse for home hemo/PD patients. I had a lot of patients from my chronic clinic who wanted to do home hemo, but they didn't have anyone to assist them. Is this something that I could do as an RN? I tried to look for information on an individual starting such a business, but couldn't find anything. Any assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Entrepreneur,

Congrats on starting nursing school!

Keep an open mind and consider that your interests may well change by the time you graduate. After you graduate, give yourself 1-2 years before you specialize in dialysis. Going straight into dialysis will limit your career options down the road.

As far as working as an RN in home dialysis, you would provide care as an employee of a dialysis company, not as an independent agent.

However, starting your own dialysis company would be quite an undertaking. You would need to get permission from the state (certificate of need), have a medical director (nephrologist), purchase or lease equipment, be subject to surveys, and much more. You would be competing with established companies, such as Fresenius and DaVita.

To start your own business, you need a partner with business experience, or you need some education in business yourself. This is because you need a business plan that includes estimation of startup costs, operating budget, and insurance.

There's a lot to consider, so again, focus for now on your RN studies and see where your interests take you.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!