Here is a list of online  resources for nurses including business sites, nursing associations, nursing forums and more. I have also included tips on why these site are important to visit.

Nursing Business Sites

Nurse Entrepreneur Network - This is a membership site that is just for nurses who want to start and grow their business. Tons of articles to choose from, a discussion form where you can ask questions, mastermind group to bounce ideas off of and much more. I belong to this site and it’s helped me to become more focused in my business and has given me the tools to develop a plan and strategy for what I want to accomplish here at this site.

National Nurses in Business Association - This is a national organization made of and run by nurses in business. It’s a yearly membership site that gives you free access to the president, Pat Bemis, on anything to do with starting or running a nursing business. Actually you don’t even have to be a member of this organization to have access to Pat. Check out her comment she made on a recent post where I wrote a book review for her book Self Employed RN. I belong to this site as well.

Tip – The nurse entrepreneur network lets you pay by the month, every three months or yearly so if you want just one month’s membership at $15 (at the time of this writing) than sign up for one month, get the information you need than cancel. Unlike with NNBA where you have to pay up front $99 for the entire year. Both are great resources sites. Try the Drive and Learn CDs for sale at the NNIB site, there my favorite.

Nursing Organizations

ANA- The American Nures Association is one of the largest nursing organizations out there and a great place for finding a job, earning CE contact hours,buying nursing insurance and getting discounts at selected sites around the web. Sign up for their ANA Smart Brief newsletter to stay current with the latest nursing news. You can also join the association for benefits such as having influence at the state and national level that effect the nursing practice and the health of our patients.

ANCC - American Nurses Credentialing Center is where nurses can go for certification in a particular nursing specialty. Good idea to become certified in your specialty if you are striking out on your own, it looks professional and shows you are an expert in that field.

Book Recommendations

Small Business Nurse Store - Visit the Amazon book store where I’ve put together all your nursing business books, software and even nursing magazines, in every nursing specialties I could find. Keep checking back as I am always adding to the mix.

Tip - Start out by reading up on what it is you want to do as a nurse in business, stop by your local library for current information on nursing specialties. If you find something you want to keep, buy it used from Amazon to save yourself some money. It’s how I buy most of my books.

Inspirational,Educational and Fun Nursing sites

Nurse.com - Home of Nursing Spectrum and Nurse week where you can find all kinds of information from nursing jobs, nursing education, read Dear Donna’s column written by Donna Cardillo, a leading speaker, author and nurse entrepreneur. She answers your questions on everything to do with nursing from finding a job, how to interview or starting your own nursing business. There’s a thriving nursing community here, but you do have to join to gain access to most of the information on the site. Joining is free, it only costs you your name and email address, well worth it for all the information they provide.

Scrubs – The nurse’s guide to good living. I love this site because it inspires me at times, makes me laugh and cry. This is a different kind of nursing site that shows the human side of nursing with beauty and style, health and wellness, funny stories and nursing cartoons, life solutions and a ton of great information for nurses. Sign up for their weekly newsletter or for the Scrubs magazine. I tweet alot of their articles, there so good and love sharing them with my followers. I know you’ll enjoy this site just as much as I do.

Tip – Both Scurbs and Nursetogether (listed below) are looking for writers so if writing is something you love to do submit your articles to these sites for exposure about your business or nursing specialty.

Nursing Forums

Allnurses.com - Many different forums to get involved with depending on your nursing specialty. I like the Entrepreneur in Nursing forum. They also share nursing news, articles and more…A nursing community for nurses.

Nurse Together - Offers unique articles, forums, job search, career tools and resources for the global community of nurses. They even have a marketplace forum where you can list nursing items you want to sell like nursing books, nursing equipment, etc. 

Tip – I belong to both sites which are free to sign up for. Nursing forums are a great place to connect with other like minded people. Join the discussion, I’m sure you have something to say.

Nursing Directory

NurseFriendly - This is a site that lists all the different nursing specialties you can think of. If you have a business you will want to list your name on this site to help get noticed by nurses and possible clients. Just email the owner Andrew Lopez with your information and he will do this for free. Get your business listed in as many places as you can to help with exposure, the Internet is a vast place and the more places you are the better.

Tip - The National Nurses in Business Association (listed above) also has a directory where you can have your business listed as one of the benefits of being a member.

Insurance

NSO - This is the Nurses Service Organization, providing Professional liability and health insurance for nurses whether you are self employed or doing bedside nursing, whatever your specialty is, they have been “meeting the insurance needs of nursing professionals for over 30 years now.”  This is the only insurance I would recommend for nurses, because it’s that good.

Tip – If you are working as a self employed nurse and providing services please purchase some kind of liability insurance to protect yourself from a law suit, especially if you are a sole proprietor.