If you are thinking of becoming a nurse, a question you might have is whether a nurse can own a practice. Opening a practice is outside the scope of what registered nurses are allowed to do, but many states in the United States allow nurse practitioners to do so only if they have CNOR Certification. This mainly depends on the laws of the state where you work or live.
Registers Vs Nurse Practitioners: Scope of Work
Registered nurses typically operate under a physician’s supervision or the supervision of a licensed medical practitioner. Nurse practitioners, on the other hand, have a wider scope of work because they are specialty or primary care physicians. Their exact standing depends on the laws in their state that regulate nurse practitioners. As such, nurse practitioners have prescribing privileges and can even provide diagnoses for different diseases, illnesses, and conditions.
Finding Your Passion
If you are a nurse practitioner working or residing in a state that allows nurse practitioners to open a practice and would like to do so, you should start by finding your passion. Your passion is the reason why you will be able to come into the office every day and is what will make the practice successful.
You might be passionate about helping people in your own way, being your own boss, running a profitable business, or even making your own rules. Second, you should be prepared for everything that comes with opening a business. This includes handling things like networking, marketing, hiring and firing, social media, marketing, and so on.
What to Do
Once you have decided that opening a practice is for you, you will need a business plan. If you are required to have a supervising physician, have one who can come on board. It is the time to do some market research. You should look into whether you have enough clients for the area you are cornering and finalize things like how much you need to invest, who you need to hire, and other things you need to do before starting the business.
Next, hire an attorney who understands the law surrounding nurse practitioner businesses and how to start one. You need a lawyer to cover all your legal and tax liabilities efficiently.
Find a Location
You should have several office spaces in mind and ensure that each of them is zoned for medical practice use. You can use a real estate agent to find the right location.
In addition to other types of insurance, you will need commercial property insurance. This covers the office space and everything inside it in case of a disaster. You can find out how much your commercial property insurance would be by talking to reputable insurance agencies.
Reaching Out
Once you have everything regarding the business and its location sorted out, it is time to start reaching out to potential clients. You might need to do some marketing to get the business off the ground.
Nurse practitioners can open a practice depending on the laws of the state they work or live in, and where they would like to start it. Starting one mirrors starting any other business, and you will need to apply the same principles to help your practice succeed.