Out of all the businesses a nurse can start, a nurse consulting business has to be the most versatile.

An entire book can be written about the nurse consultant, but I’m going to attempt to give you an overview of this adaptable business venture and limit it to a blog post.

Before we get any further, I want to define the word, consultant. A consultant is “one who gives professional advice or services in a particular area.” This is a pretty broad definition but can be applied to nurse consulting easily.  

What Kind of Education Is Needed to Start a Nurse Consulting Business?

The nurse consultant doesn’t need any more education than the diploma you received from nursing school (regardless of what level). As a nurse consultant, your special expertise is whatever you do best. Take me for instance, my coworkers were always approaching me and asking what they should do with their careers. I ended up giving so much business advice to nurses, I figured I could start a business doing the same thing and extend my reach beyond my coworkers. 

I am, in fact, a nurse consulting other nurses in business.

You can become a consultant in any area where you have a passion or expertise. I’ve heard of people who label themselves as sleep consultants for children—and they’re not even nurses! They are just your normal run-of-the-mill moms who saw a need and filled it.

Can you imagine if an L&D nurse who was also a mom started a business like that? That would be perfect and she would be creditable–if I had the choice of seeing someone who was just a mom (no bashing here, moms!) vs. someone who was a mom and L&D nurse, I would automatically choose the one with a nursing background.

What Kind of Nursing Specialty Background Do You Need to Start a Nurse Consulting Business?

A nurse consulting business can start from virtually any specialty setting. My background is varied with over 20 years of experience working anywhere from ICU, to long-term acute care, to occupational medicine and urgent care before I clinically retired from nursing.  During my tenure, I’ve seen and done a lot. If I weren’t consulting nurses in business, I’d seriously consider working as a consultant who helps streamline the nursing workplace to help reduce stress and burnout. 

The equipment list you need to start your nurse consulting business is next to none; a computer and a website.

You may also need a few specific items depending on what type of consultant you aspire to be. Speaking about types of nursing consultants, let’s get into some types of nursing consulting businesses you can start.  

What Are Some Examples of Nurse Consulting Businesses I Can Start?

Newborn Nurse Consultant

This type of consulting would consist of helping new parents transition into their new roles. Newborns don’t come with instruction manuals and a consultant could help fill in that void. Do you have any special hacks that could help new parents adjust to life with a new baby, things like getting the baby on a feeding schedule? If you do, I’m sure many new parents would be willing to pay for a service like this. 

Sleep Nurse Consultant

A Sleep Nurse Consultant is just that, a sleep consultant for small children. The Sleep Nurse Consultant would ideally work with infants to pre-school-aged children. This business might entail some overnight monitoring to determine what the problem is and how to remedy it. Some consulting may be done remotely, but remember if you do on-site consulting you can charge extra for your time because it is an overnight shift. 

Social Media Consultant

A Social Media Consultant isn’t really nursing-related, but you can definitely market your services to a healthcare-related entity! If you’re seriously social media savvy with a particular social media site then market your services and get paid for it! A Social Media Consultant would keep up with all social media accounts associated with a particular business to market for the company and also interact with customers virtually. 

Nursing Career Consultant/ Nurse Business Consultant

As I mentioned earlier, coworkers always came to me to ask about potential businesses they could start. A Nursing Career Consultant or Nurse Business Consultant will help guide other nurses into a career path that suits them. The range of services for this kind of nursing consultant business is broad and may involve phone or in-person consulting, teaching classes, creating educational content, and reviewing systems and processes. 

Legal Nurse Consultant

The purpose of a Legal Nurse Consultant is to help attorneys to understand the terminology and procedures in the medical profession. They work with attorneys during malpractice lawsuits, medical fraud cases, or criminal conduct requiring nursing insight. These nursing consultants also work on personal injury cases, worker’s compensation cases, and toxic torts. 

Fitness Nurse Consultant

I once had a fellow colleague who sold a popular nutritional supplement while he worked as a nurse. This guy was also really buff and you could tell he worked out. It was easy to buy supplements from him since you believed if they made him look so good, they would work for you too. After further conversation with him, I realized he did personal training on the side as well. After even further conversation, I found out he had a Kinesiology degree before he went on to nursing! I told him, “Do you realize with your credentials you could easily market yourself as a Fitness Nurse Consultant and make a significant income doing so?” 

He could easily integrate all of his skills to make a very profitable business. 

Survey Nurse Consultant

Do you have a prior career in nursing doing state surveys for facilities? If so, why not hire yourself out as an independent contractor and make a business out of it? Market yourself nursing homes and assisted living centers and offer to consult on their issues…for a fee of course. 

My point is, dear nurses, capitalize on what you know!

This list was just a sampling of nursing consulting businesses you can start. Whatever you have a passion for you can start a nursing consulting business. If you’re new to business and don’t have a clue about where to start, consider joining Nurse Pivioter Academy for all the information you need to know about starting, growing, and scaling your online business.

If you already have a nurse consulting business and you’d like to learn how to set up effective marketing funnels for your business, sign-up for my free 5-day email course below!