A little less than a year ago, I left my role as a bedside nurse to pursue building a community for nurses at The Nursing Beat (TNB). However, I can still feel the early onset anxiety around dealing with imposter syndrome. So searching for support, I scoured through LinkedIn and Instagram to find like-minded nurse entrepreneurs. Nurse Fern came across my radar, and from the moment I interfaced with her platforms, I knew I had to talk to her. From her loyal community of followers to her branding to her witty posts, I was already impressed and hadn’t even met her yet. So I slid into her DMs, unannounced, and to my surprise, founder Emma Geiser took a meeting with me. 

Emma is a nurse specializing in Emergency Medicine and later transitioned into Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) nursing. She founded Nurse Fern in 2020 and eventually made the call to be a full-time entrepreneur. Emma would later become a weekly contributor for The Nursing Beat with her column That Remote Life, which gives TNB subscribers tips on transitioning to the perfect remote position. However, what impressed me the most was Emma’s willingness to go above and beyond to help our new budding organization. From being our number one newsletter referral star to her intros to potential partnerships, Emma is a shining example of how you can leave the bedside to be a successful entrepreneur and make friends along the way to help you through it. There is one major factor that will affect your success, and that is your ability to form a community of support. 

Emma puts it best: community is something you can’t see or quantify, but you know it’s there in a comforting way. That is what Nurse Fern is to thousands of nurses who turn to her for employment opportunities. Through her platform, Nurse Fern helps bedside nurses find remote jobs. In a climate where the healthcare community feels the emotional and physical impacts of years of distress, this resource is vital for sustainability in nursing. 

One doesn’t go into the nursing profession for the incredible pay, endless lunch breaks, or major accolades. You become, and stay, a nurse because you are keenly connected to the human experience, and you want to do something for the world that is bigger than yourself. I argue that your pride in your profession will translate into business meaningfully, and Emma is a perfect example. She takes immense pride in her work, and she cares about the nursing community at large. Nurse Fern is more than just a business; in a climate of mass marketing, her authenticity shines through. 

Finding good support to surround yourself with is one of the most important tasks when transitioning from bedside to business. Nurses make the best teammates. During any given shift, we are housekeeping; we are social workers; we are pharmacy; we are emotional support systems. For twelve hours, we shut off our personal lives to be there for others, and this skill is so valuable in business. But just like you need your fellow nurses during a hard shift, you need them in business, and that is exactly what Emma is to The Nursing Beat. Every nurse entrepreneur has a genius waiting to erupt, but they must find the right people to unlock it.