The Business of Nur$ing Vol. 1

By Dr. Scharmaine Lawson

Kickstart your independent medical practice and take your career to the next level with this comprehensive business guide!

Are you a nurse practitioner or medical professional who wants to launch your own practice? Are you struggling to develop your business plan and navigate the world of licensing and insurance? O

• Language: English
• Publisher: A DrNurse Publishing House
• Release date: Mar 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781945088414

Dr. Scharmaine Lawson

Scharmaine Lawson, DNP, FNP, PMHNP, FAANP, FAAN, has a nursing career that spans thirty years, with twenty-three of those years being an advanced practice nurse. Her innovative way of educating the youth about the role of the nurse practitioner has elevated the Advanced Practice Nurse. Through a series of educational tools such as dancing mascots, and interactive play, she orchestrates an entire learning production when she visits elementary schools across the country. Her largest show drew greater than 1000 students from Shreveport, La. Nola The Nurse® and Dr. Lawson have also been featured on several national TV outlets and other media. With greater than 30 titles to date, some translated in Spanish and French, Nola The Nurse® will soon be animated via Nola The Nurse® TV in the Spring of 2023.In addition, Dr. Lawson started the first nurse practitioner owned Housecall practice in the State of Louisiana. With greater than 100,000 home visits, it has transformed to meet the widespread needs of the underserved communities of Louisiana. To further extend the reach of her work, she has written a best-selling book, Housecalls 101: The only book you will ever need to start your practice, that outlines how to start a successful house call practice. She details in the book strategies to maintain a house call practice, systems to establish healthy outcomes in underserved communities, and offers inspiration to other nurse practitioners.Future endeavors for the DrLawsonNP brand include a new TelePsych practice launched across multiple states and a Podcast entitled Nite Nite Nurse: Sleep is Self-Care, soon to be released on Spotify, Anchor, Apple, and other podcast platforms.

Book preview

I. The Idea!

Opening Your Own Medical Business as an NP: Initial Steps!

From house calls to aesthetic clinics, nurse practitioners are creating a great impact in the field of medicine by opening their own medical practices. Many nurse practitioners with an entrepreneurial spark go for their own practice. Nurse practitioners are proving that the profession is rapidly evolving to bridge the gap between demand and supply of the medical field. No doubt, starting your own business isn’t an easy task. However, you can learn from the experiences of others to make your journey a little smoother.

After getting some advanced degrees and certifications, some nurse practitioners make impactful changes in the healthcare business. Currently, choosing an NP profession isn’t just about learning nursing skills. In fact, NPs are learning business skills and entrepreneurship to broaden their career choices (Neergard, 2020). By the year 2034, the United States is expected to experience a shortage of more than 124,000 physicians, according to a latest report published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (Boyle, 2021). To fill this huge gap, many of the licensed NPs of the U.S. are starting their own practices.

Always consider the following five points before starting your business:

1. Identify a Niche

The first thing is to find your niche. Determine your target market and ideal clientele before starting a business venture. It is believed that the more niched your service line is, the less competition you will face. Just think that a large number of primary care practices are facing competition against each other because it is not a niche service. On the other hand, there are a few male anti-aging clinics, which are specialized in the management of male pattern baldness.

The most common niche practices among NPs-operated medical businesses are:

• Aesthetics

• Allergy and asthma clinics

• Opioid addiction treatment

• Hormone replacement therapy

• Weight loss clinics

• Stem cell injections

2. Get Social

Select the best social media platform that suits your niche and stick to it. You should become an authority in your niche on that social media platform.

Most healthcare professionals are comfortable using social media to connect with friends and family but are not sure about how to use it in a professional context. The world of social media has wide-ranging implications for healthcare professionals, patients, and public health professionals. Social media can be considered a whole new tool to empower patients. NPs should figure out which social media platforms their target audience uses the most and spend their energy on them. (For example, if you have an idea that most of your patients use Facebook or Instagram, go with those.) Once they get the hang of using those platforms, they may also want some advertising on them as well. This will help them boost their brand’s presence and get them in front of the clients/patients they are trying to attract.

Remember that marketing and getting social is the number one function of any kind of business. It does not matter if someone is starting a furniture store or a high-end medical practice, marketing and getting social is the key how to driving clients/patients through the door. Medical practices that do not market properly are doomed to fail. Therefore, it is extremely important that you understand how to market your medical practice. It will certainly make or break your medical practice.

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

The real question is which platform is the best fit for your medical practice and how that platform can encourage your business growth. Social media platforms are considered an extremely beneficial healthcare marketing tools used in the medical world. It can be very effective when marketing for NPs and their medical practices. Appropriate use of different social media platforms for NPs can greatly improve their marketing outcomes and drive new patient leads. NPs may have a difficult time using their social media profiles and tracking potential outcomes. However, strong social media marketing plans can help drive new patients, improve patient engagement, share practice updates, advertise healthcare services, expand NPs exposure, improve an NP’s credibility as a top healthcare expert, and develop healthy relationships with patients.

Factors such as target demographic, specialty type, geography, and content you create play a crucial role in determining which social media platforms are the best fits to reach your target patients.

Facebook

Facebook is considered one of the most successful healthcare marketing tools that should be included in every marketing campaign for NPs. It is a popular social media platform with over 2.9 billion active monthly users as of 2021 (Statista, 2021). When used appropriately, a Facebook page can have great value to a small business.

Facebook can be used to share everything from photos to important updates regarding your practice. You have access to in-depth analytics and advertising tools with a business account. You can use your Facebook page to highlight information like your contact information, working hours, and services you