Can Nurses Be Entrepreneurs?

By Tammie Mericle
Posted Friday, February 18, 2005

Yes, Nurses can be entrepreneurs. In today’s market place nursing has a unique service to offer not only to hospitals but nursing homes, private care and doctor offices. We as nurses have the skill, knowledge and motivation to be successful entrepreneurs. Nurses are tired of being told how much our services are worth. The economy is ripe for the nurse entrepreneur. Why wait? The nursing shortage is just beginning and there doesn’t appear to be a quick fix in the near future. Much of the nursing workforce is coming up on retirement time, which is only going to compound the lack of skilled nurses to deal with the oncoming baby-boomers.

The definition of entrepreneur is a person who organizes, operates and assumes the risk for a business adventure. Nurses have always considered their services only marketable as an employee of someone else. It is time nurses take charge of their profession and market their own services to health care institutions. Nurses need to be aware that there are other nursing career options. Independent Nurse Contractor is one that more and more nurses are turning to for career fulfillment. Nurses are finding that they can double or even triple their income; increase their choices as to how often when and where to work, gain professional autonomy and increase over all job satisfaction. So get rid of the “middle man” and enjoy all the benefits offered in this exciting Nursing Career Opportunity.

State nurse practice acts do no prohibit a nurse from starting up their own business as an Independent Nurse Contractor. You will be responsible as an independent nurse to develop a business plan and implement a business structure. You will also have to consider nursing liability insurance, keep up your continuing education requirements and taxes (local, state and federal).

Nurses are the perfect business owners. They have the communication skills and the ability as assess, implement and organize a plan. These are the same criteria that any business owner uses. We as nurses use this system everyday of our nursing careers. An Independent Nurse Contractor is one who contracts with a healthcare facility for nursing services. You will be able to negotiate your compensation, hours worked and length of time your services will be needed. This could be the change you have diligently been looking for.

For more information visit National Nurses Business Association website or (http://www.independentrncontractor.com)

Thank You

Tammie Mericle
Mericle RN Staffing LLC

About the Author
My Name is Tammie Mericle and I have been practicing as a RN for 14 years with the last several years as an Independent Nurse Contractor. I’ve worked in a variety of fields;pediatrics, med-surg., home health, emergency room, critical care. I absolutely love nursing but am not all that crazy about all the politics! I worked as a Traveling nurse and then decided to cut out the middleman and am now practicing as an Independent Nurse Contractor, working all of my contracts in hospital settings.