For many Nurse Practitioners, breaking the rules is something new. We have been educated and trained that we need to follow the rules. Granted, there are rules that are there for our protection as well as for the healthcare consumer’s protection. There are rules about safe medication administration, privacy rules, infection control rules, and unspoken rules about what to do when we don’t know something.
There are rules that society puts into place for the good of society. We have rules about what it is to be honest and kind to others. And there are consequences when we take from others breaking the rule of thou shall not steal.
However, there are rules that we make up. This is particularly important, not only for our personal lives, but for our business lives as well. These common rules are ones that you may have decided are true for you, or perhaps they’re not. Either way we all have rules we subscribe to, and often times they are standing in our way.
Some of the common rules that I see mentioned are as follows:
- 1. Starting a new business is hard.
- I am taking advantage of this patient if they charge them.
- I can only start this practice with a loan of $150,000.
- They won’t credential me.
- They won’t want to see me because I’m a Nurse Practitioner.
- I have to work really hard.
- I don’t have enough credentials (degrees).
- It’s happening too fast/too slow.
- It’s suppose to look “this” way.
The truth is, none of these rules are real. They often come up when we are striving to move our business to a new level and our “egos” want to keep us where we are. So much of this is what is often referred to as an illusion. None of it is real.
Your job is to figure out what rules you are making and following that are keeping you where you are. Really look at them and decide what is and is not real. Then simply break the rule and get ready to move forward.
Feel like sharing your rules? We’d love to hear them.
