Thankful For Getting Back to the Patient

Becoming a foot care nurse back in 2011 was one of the best decisions of my life. 

At the time, I only saw the initial layers of what I was creating - a  business to serve the needs of the seniors in my community. Through the years I have served thousands of patients, and I can say with my whole heart I am so thankful to be able to offer the same bountiful blessing to the nurses in the FNI program. 

There is so much to be thankful for this season. As we look around at the changes - or lack thereof - in today’s healthcare market, one would be amiss to not take a moment of gratitude as we reflect on what we have built as foot care nurses or (aspiring foot care nurses). 

When I began to explore how to build a senior foot care business, I really started to evaluate what it was that was missing for the patients as well as myself. The patients needed a service. A service that they were willing to pay for. I needed to get back to what filled my soul as a nurse, and that was building a connection to the patient.  

When building a business connection, sometimes it is more important than the product or service itself. Nurses are great at building connections. As nurses, we are accustomed to being with people in their most vulnerable state. These moments develop trust between you and the patient. A simple conversation to discover the common ground is all it takes sometimes. Understanding who your patient is will help you in the delivery of your patient's wants and needs. It becomes easier as a nurse to fulfill those needs when you can read the room, so to speak. 

With the presence of social media, seniors are missing that lack of connection. Back when I was working at the bedside, one of the biggest things that came out that put the distance between myself and the patient was the online charting. I remember patients saying how they felt that there had become a wall between the health care workers and them, the patients. Now, it's commonplace to see people wearing earbuds in their everyday jobs, which I completely disagree with. We are losing the ability to relate and communicate to one another in society. 

I am grateful for a skillset that allows me to talk to anyone. Nurses are equipped like that. In business, a lot of selling is the relationship building that takes place between the owner and the consumer. In a foot care business, this would be between the nurse and the patient, as well as the directors of facilities. 

I think nurses thrive from that connection and this is what, in essence, fills our love tank! 

The stories I hear in our FNI members webinar are often about the love and appreciation they have for their patients. That love and appreciation is reciprocated from our patients within our foot care business. And for that we are all thankful!