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Do you want to make a real difference in your local community?
Are you driven and determined?
Confident in your abilities as a nurse practitioner?
If yes, you are the perfect candidate for setting up your own practice.
Many states now permit nurse practitioners to open their own private practices, and with a little bit of know-how and a lot of hard work, it could be you welcoming your very first patient in as little as a few months.
Not sure where to start when it comes to starting your own nurse practitioner practice?
Within the guide, you will discover everything there is to know about going it alone, including how to find the right location, where to source staff, and how to promote your business for maximum footfall.
Ready to realize your dreams of opening your own nurse practitioner practice?
Let’s get started.
Why should you open your own nurse practitioner practice?
If you have made the transition from registered nurse to nurse practitioner, you may be wondering what’s next for your career in nursing?
If this is the case, and you pride yourself on having an entrepreneurial spirit, then the answer may be to open your own nurse practitioner practice.
Although it is undeniably hard work to open your own practice, there are many benefits of going it alone, including:
- Complete control over how your practice operates
- Opportunity to increase your salary
- Become a vital part of your local community
- Help with the national shortage of physicians, particularly in rural areas
While opening your own practice is a big step, if you get in right, the rewards will be more than worth it.
Step 1: Determine if this is the right decision
Before you start looking into your finances and scouting for the perfect location, you first need to make sure that opening your own practice is the right choice for you at this time.
You need to ask the below questions:
Do you have the right qualifications and experience?
For example, you may have 10+ years of experience as a registered nurse, but the RN vs. NP skillset is very different,and you need to ensure you have the knowledge and skills needed to run a nurse practitioner practice.
Do you have enough time?
If you think running your own practice will allow you to work shorter hours, then you are unfortunately mistaken. As with any new business, you are going to have to put in the hours if you want it to be a success.
Are you business-minded?
While you may be the most compassionate and caring nurse in the world to own your own practice, you also need to be business-minded. You need to be able to manage your finances, recruit staff and take care of any admin tasks.
Step 2: Develop a business plan
Now that you have determined that you have the knowledge, experience, and drive to open your own practice, the next step is to develop your business plan.
Arguably the most crucial step of all, if you don’t plan properly now, you are setting yourself up for problems later down the line.
The first aspect you need to address is whether you are legally permitted to run your own practice in your state or whether you need to hire a supervising physician to oversee operations. It is at this stage that you should also carry out market research to determine if there is a need for a nurse practitioner practice in your area.
You also need to work out how you are going to fund your business. Are you planning to take out a bank loan? Use your savings? Or find an investor?
Finally, don’t forget to look into insurance, both for yourself and your business, including property insurance, liability insurance, and errors and omissions coverage. If in doubt, speak to an insurance agent.
Step 3: Look into the law
As mentioned briefly above, you need to ensure that you are legally permitted to practice independently in the state that you live and want to operate within. Some states offer full autonomy to nurse practitioners, others offer partial autonomy, and others fully restrict NPs. You can find out the regulations by contacting the board of nursing for the state you will be practicing in.
You also need to check that you are adhering to all other state and federal licensing laws and certifications.
Although this can be a time-consuming process, you must ensure that you have ticked all the boxes before you open, or you risk being hit with hefty fines or even shut down completely.
If you are worried about compliance issues, you may want to seek the advice of a lawyer to help you navigate any jargon-heavy legislature. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Step 4: Seek out a mentor
Do not underestimate how vital a mentor can be in the early stages of starting up your own nurse practitioner practice. Even if you have been working as a nurse practitioner for many years, setting up your own practice is a whole other ball game.
Therefore, before you start finding a location for your practice and hiring staff, it can be really helpful to find a mentor.
What exactly is a mentor?
A mentor is someone who works within your industry, ideally one or two levels ahead of you in their career track, who acts as a guide for you professionally. They can offer encouraging advice and help you to navigate any problems.
When it comes to finding a mentor to help you start your own nurse practitioner practice, ideally, you want someone who has been in your shoes. Someone who now runs their own successful practice.
Once you have found someone who you would like to be your mentor, make sure that you are clear about what you want from them but also be respectful of their time and own commitments.
Step 5: Find the right location
When it comes to location, you first need to decide whether you want to run a home call business or you want to operate from an external space. While the former can save you money, the latter will provide more space.
Think about the type of care that you are planning to provide and what type of space you need to be able to deliver this comfortably to your patients.
It is also a good idea to secure a location that is easily accessible, both by car and by public transport if possible. While you may be able to find cheaper rentals away from the main town, will your patients be willing to travel this far?
If you need a little help picking and designing a space, then you may want to enlist the services of an architect to help you. And remember, it is much easier to upscale space than it is to downsize, so err on the side of caution and start small until you have an established customer base.
Step 6: Hire staff
Another crucial aspect of starting your own nurse practitioner practice, you need to find qualified, dedicated and caring staff.
That being said, many nurse practitioners setting up their own practice choose to work independently for the first year. If you feel confident carrying out administrative tasks such as bookkeeping and caring for your patients without any help, this can be a good way to establish your business and cut down on costs.
However, if you feel that you need to staff from day one, you need to make sure that you are hiring the right people and that you are considering the financial implications of each hire. In the first year, it can be a good idea to only hire staff who are actively going to generate revenue for your business.
You also need staff members with a strong work ethic and those who are highly personable. You don’t want to be putting off patients before they even receive their first treatment.
If you have worked in the nursing sector for some time, you may already have contacts who you would like to bring in to work in your practice. While you may not be able to compete financially with more established clinics, you can offer other perks such as flexible working hours and the chance to be part of a new business.
Step 7: Attract patients
Without patients, your new nurse practitioner practice is just an empty space that costs you money, so you need to work hard to attract people to your care facility.
There are many ways that you can attract new patients to your practice, including:
- Setting up a website
- Word of mouth
- Promoting on social media
- Placing ads in the local paper
- Asking for patient reviews
If you are not sure which promotion avenues to use, it can be useful to think about where your core customers are.
Do they use Facebook? Instagram? Or are they more likely to listen to the local radio or read the local newspaper?
Don’t forget that it is not just your patients who will be looking for a new practice. Their family members may also be searching on their behalf.
5 Resources for Nurse Practitioners Who Are Opening Their Own Practice
Even with the above guide, starting your own nurse practitioner practice on your own can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are several resources (most of which are free) that you can use to help you get up and running.
- Free business plan templates
If you are struggling with creating your business plan, there are lots of free business plan templates online that can help you get started. However, if you want a business plan that is specifically designed for nurse practitioners who are trying to set up their own practice, you can purchase one from the Journal for Nurse Practitioners.
- Online courses from the AANP
If you are lacking expertise in certain areas of launching your own business, such as financing and social media marketing, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners offers lots of online courses that can help you.
- Legal advice on running a practice
This is one area where many nurse practitioners struggle, yet it is vital if you want to open your practice and start treating patients. If you are struggling with the legal side of practicing, then The Nurse Practitioner’s Business and Practice Guide is very useful.
- Automation tools
If youare planning to not hire any staff in the early days of opening your nurse practitioner practice, then you may be worried about how you are going to manage the care of your patients and all the other aspects of running a new business. Fortunately, there are so many automation tools on the market that are specifically designed to save you time and make your practice more productive.
From marketing automation tools to sales automation tools to bookkeeping automation tools, you can find tools to automate nearly every aspect of running your own practice. Apart from the care itself, of course!
- Professional memberships
The American Association for Nurse Practitioners is a great resource for Nurse Practitioners who are starting up their own practices. You can find information and advice on everything from professional development to practice management.
Plus, all resources provided are 100% free, so you can get help without eating into your budget.
Conclusion
If you have been thinking about setting up your own nurse practitioner practice for some time now but never bitten the bullet and gone through with it, then now is the time to be bold.
You’ve spent years working for other people. You know you are a great nurse practitioner.
So, why wouldn’t you want to spread your wings and start enjoying complete autonomy?
Yes, it is a scary step, but noone ever got anywhere in life by sitting on the sidelines.
By following the above guide, using the aforementioned resources, and by going with your gut, you can start up and run your very own nurse practitioner practice. What are you waiting for?
