Many doctors are engaged in medical entrepreneurship. Now nurses are starting to take note and take action. Nurses are an important cog in the wheel we call healthcare. They also have unique qualifications that allow them to be successful nurse entrepreneurs, especially if they start a business in the health and wellness industry.
From Nurse to Nurse Entrepreneur
Nurse entrepreneurs combine healthcare skills and business sensibilities to develop successful business ventures. Nurses have an extensive comprehension of medicine and health. They are trained in critical thinking, are innovative and resourceful,are known to consistently improve processes, are strong leaders, can delegate, and are compassionate yet firm, and unwittingly provide critical customer service during every patient interaction. The work of nurse entrepreneurs has the potential to make a profound impact on healthcare.
Business Ideas for Nurse Entrepreneurs
One of the first nurse entrepreneurs is Clara Barton. In 1881, she founded the American Red Cross, an organization that continues to make a profound impact. Since then, many other nurses have followed in her entrepreneurial footsteps.
There are plenty of business opportunities for nurse entrepreneursthat combine their healthcare skills. Some of the most popular include:
Home Care Companies
America is getting older. In fact, every 13 seconds,someone in the United States turns 65. More than 90 percent of these baby boomers wish to stay in their homes as they age rather than move into an assisted living facility or nursing home. However, many of these people will need assistance with activities of daily living, whether cooking and light housekeeping, bathing, or even just companionship. Another factor to consider is that more than 80 percent of older Americans take at least one medication for a chronic medical condition. Businesses like in-home care agencies that provide caregivers for these aging Americans are filling this need.
Hospice CareServices
Another business opportunity connected to the growing senior population of the U.S. is end-of-life care,known as hospice. Although the work of a hospice caregiver does deal with the end of someone’s life, it requires more skills than just nursing. Many hospice caregivers are focused on the well-being of the patient and the well-being of family members.
Doula or Childbirth Education Services
Many nurse entrepreneurs choose to start a business providing childbirth education to pregnant women or as a doula. A doula provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a mother before, during, and shortly after childbirth.
Another option for this type of nurse entrepreneur idea is tooffer classes to people who are preparing for childbirth. Teaching classes can be slightly less intense work than helping couplesone-on-one and being present for the births.
Urgent Care Clinic
Home care, hospice, and birthing services would be considered the expected options for nurse entrepreneurs. However, an unexpected route to medical business ownership for nurses is to own an urgent care clinic. It also stands to be one of the more lucrative options.
As most nurses who’ve worked in a hospital or private physician’s office settings will attest,hospital emergency rooms and primary care offices are overcrowded and expensive. Urgent care clinics are increasingly becoming a patient’s first choice to seek convenient and affordable healthcare options.
Urgent care clinics handle about 89 million patient visits each year, which includes more than 29 percent of all primary care visits in the U.S., and nearly 15 percent of all outpatient physician visits. Urgent care centers also account for $27 billion in overall healthcare revenue.
One of the many upsides of urgent care is the option to get into the business through franchising, such as American Family Care, the nation’s leading provider of urgent care.
The experts at American Family Care can successfully lead nurse entrepreneurs through the process of starting a business in this industry.
For more information, visitwww.afcfranchising.com.
