From bedside to business - nurse entrepreneurs

Nation's Business, Jan, 1990 by Bradford A. McKee

From Bedside To Business

Katherine West quit her nursing job at an Alexandria, Va., hospital in May 1987 to open her own business as a writer and trainer in her specialized field of infection control. West is one of the estimated 15,000 nurses in the U.S. who, according to the National Nurses in Business Association, have left the hospital bedside to become entrepreneurs.

"I got tired of hospital politics and not being as creative as I was able to be," says the 43-year-old West, who wanted a broader horizon than she thought the hospital could offer. Like many nurse entrepreneurs, she sought a larger income and more prestige for her work.

The final straw for West came when her proposal to develop a set of brochures on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and infectious diseases for her hospital was scuttled.

But Laerdal Corp., a Norwegian-based company that manufactures manikins for CPR training, was "thrilled with the idea," says West. Laerdal, which has offices in New York, bought the rights from West for a lump sum, kept her name on the brochures, and began giving them away.

Under the aegis of her company, Infection Control/Emerging Concepts, West writes books on infection control and trains emergency workers, and she has produced a video series on infection control. She earned $49,000 in 1988, $16,000 more than she was making as a nurse with two decades of experience and a master's degree.

Many nurse entrepreneurs are nurse practitioners, who usually have graduate degrees in nursing and specialize in various areas of health care. These entrepreneurs are forming a new sector of health professionals--serving consumers who are concerned about wellness.

Deborah Boehm, a nurse practitioner in Minneapolis, wanted to escape the "technical" hospital environment. "I don't like to start IVs [intravenous solutions] or draw blood," says Boehm, 37. "I'm more interested in finding out what exercise and nutrition mean to people."

She left hospital nursing in 1982 to open Women's Health Care Associates, a clinic she owns with three other women; one of them is a nurse practitioner; the other two are physicians.

Ted Ritter, a 38-year-old nurse practitioner who in 1982 opened the Duvall Family Health Clinic in rural Duvall, Wash., says owning his own business lets him get to the marrow of nursing--putting people before paperwork and housekeeping chores.

"I have little patience for changing bedpans," Ritter says. "I can do a lot more good just talking to someone."

A new genre, the nurse attorney, is gaining popularity as nurses couple their clinical expertise with law degrees. Katherine Pohlman, president of the 400-member American Association of Nurse Attorneys, headquartered in Baltimore, says nurse attorneys work mostly on medical malpractice or act as legal advisers to hospital management.

Pohlman says a nurse with a law degree not only can earn a higher income but also can attain something that many want even more: receptivity to their ideas.

When nurses vent their grievances about their profession, Pohlman says, "money is always an issue, but not always the first one cited." According to Pohlman, "It's the role of the nurse, the judgments a nurse has" that beg greater recognition.

Nurses' training both helps them and hurts them in business, says David Norris, president of the 600-member National Nurses in Business Association, based in San Rafael, Calif. "It helps in that they pay attention to details. It hurts because taking risks involves some sense of jumping in with both feet"--scarcely the philosophy of the critical-care unit where Norris once worked.

Katherine West jumped in with both feet last year when she was promoting her new video series. A review of the series was about to appear in the Journal of Emergency Medical Service, and West wanted to mention it in a certain direct-mail campaign. But the mailing had to go out before she would know what the review would say. She went ahead anyway--announcing the unseen review in her promotion piece. Luckily, the review turned out to be flattering.

"I took a big risk, but that's the name of the game," says West.

Like most nurse entrepreneurs, West has learned along the way how to market herself and her service. By training and experience, she says, nurses are "very good organizers and time managers, and we follow through consistently.

"That translates very well to business."

PHOTO : Enterprising nurse Katherine West trains emergency workers under the aegis of her

PHOTO : 2-year-old firm.