Creating a positive impact on patients as nurse practitioners

Creating a positive impact on patients

In the past, I have struggled with not creating a positive impact on patients

I first declared nursing as a senior in high school. I knew I wanted to work in healthcare and nursing was a good fit for me. My deep down desire was to make a difference in my patient’s lives.

I thought nurses had the time and energy to sit on the edge of the hospital bed and truly listen to the patient. I assumed patients would be willing to listen to my knowledge and make the necessary lifestyle changes to take control of their health.

I thought I would truly be creating a positive impact on patients. 

I didn’t feel fulfilled in healthcare.

But within days of starting my first nursing job on a busy medical-surgical floor, I learned this was not the case. I barely had time to pee and shove food down my face, let alone creating a positive impact on patients.

Most patient’s didn’t even want to hear my knowledge of healthy diet and physical activity. They didn’t want to try any nonpharmacological treatments of their chronic diseases. A lot of patients just wanted a medication or “quick fix” to treat their medical condition.

My idea of nursing and the real-world roles and responsibilities of a nurse greatly differed. 

Sure, I’ve had patients throughout the years that I connected with and hope I made a difference. I had patients that wanted to hear my medical knowledge and make positive changes in their life. There have been moments I have felt like I was creating a positive impact on patients.

But to be honest, I’ve never truly felt fulfilled in healthcare. I enjoy my job as a family nurse practitioner. I have connected with my patients. I love that I am able to assess, diagnose, and treat patients in a more advanced way as a nurse practitioner.

But I’ve always felt like something was missing. 

My story of creating a positive impact on patients

I started researching how I could start creating positive impact on patients. I had stumbled upon an online course teaching healthcare providers to become a health coach. It was an investment of $2400 but I felt like it would truly help me make more of a difference.

I took the plunge and purchased the course. I learned so much while taking the course! The course was designed to help students decide what population of people or “niche” they wanted to work with most. It is important to be specific about what population so you can truly become and expert in the field. I spent a lot of time reflecting on who I wanted to help. 

I chose burned-out nurse practitioners because I had overcome burnout myself. I had gone through the experience myself and I chose to stay in healthcare. I felt comfortable talking about a lack of work-life balance and nurse practitioner burnout because I had lived through these experiences. That is why I created The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner

And after talking with so many nurse practitioners who are struggling with burnout. I know I made the right choice. It is hard to explain, but I know I am making an impact. I know I am making a difference in someone’s life. I am doing the work that I am doing for the overwhelmed, burned-out, ready to leave healthcare nurse practitioner. And this kind of impact truly fills my cup

It was through this $2400 online course that taught me the skills and mindset I needed to be successful with an online coaching business. It has not been easy. I am not at a financial place to quit my full time nurse practitioner job, but the extra income has allowed my husband to quit his day job to pursue his business endeavors.

I am running The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner on a part-time basis. I am not making millions of dollars but I was able to recoup the $2400 cost within a few months of starting this online business. 

And most importantly, I truly feel at peace inside. I feel fulfilled. I feel motivated to do this work. I feel like I am doing what I should be doing. This is a different feeling than I have had working in healthcare. I am creating a positive impact on patients.

Solutions to create a positive impact on patients

I’m not saying all burned-out nurse practitioners should quit their day jobs and start an online business. I am just saying that the modern healthcare system creates a lot of challenges to truly care for the patient. It is difficult to feel like you are making a difference in a patient’s life. It is hard to have time to take care of yourself, let alone care for your patients the way you want to care for them. 

The point of this article is to challenge you to seek what it is that you need.

  • Do you feel satisfied in your current position?
  • What are you looking for in life?
  • How can you make the most impact?
  • Do you need to change jobs to better align with your morals?
  • Do you need to start a small side hustle where you are in control of how you treat patients?
  • What are you looking for in life?

If you would like more information on creating an online coaching and consulting business, I have a solution for you. Maggie Berghoff is a formerly burned-out nurse practitioner who felt very similar to me.

She felt like she was not making enough impact in her patient’s lives. She was tired of the strict regulations of how we can practice as nurse practitioners. She was frustrated with missing out on her children’s lives. She wanted to create a better work-life balance while simultaneously creating a positive impact on patients.

Maggie created an online health coaching business and was able to quit the job that was burning her out. Now Maggie Berghoff teaches other healthcare providers how to create a successful online coaching and consulting business that creates a positive impact on patients and a better life for herself. 

The name of Maggie’s course is The Online Business Academy. While I did not know Maggie’s services existed when I signed up for the health coaching course, I wish I would have known!

Online Business Academy is very similar (actually more in depth) than the course I took. Speaking from personal experience (I’ve started my own online business), I know what steps are needed to make the business successful and these milestones are laid out in Online Business Academy. 

So if you want more information on creating a health coaching and consulting business that will improve your impact on patients check out Maggie Berghoff’s free training: From Dream to Profit: An Exact Roadmap To Building A Wildly Successful Online Health Business (click here)!

Now go start creating a positive impact on patients!

Erica D the NP is a family nurse practitioner and burnout coach. Erica created The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner to help overwhelmed APRNs create work-life balance, overcome nurse practitioner burnout, and advocate for themselves. The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner offers online courses, coaching, and support. Learn more at www.burnedoutnp.com

For time management and charting tips, check out The Nurse Practitioner Charting School– The one stop for all documentation resources created specifically for nurse practitioners. Learn more at www.npchartingschool.com

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**Full disclosure, this blog post may include affiliate links. I do receive a commission if any of the affiliate programs/services/supplies are purchased. This is at no extra cost to you but does allow me to continue to provide content as The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner! Thank you!

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