How I Started a Private Practice: A Nurse Practitioner’s Story

Psychiatric nurse practitioner Nicole tells the story of how she got from nursing school to running her own private practice with her spouse — including first working as a contractor, and pivoting from an in-person practice to telehealth during the pandemic. She touches on her motivation to get into nursing, how online degree programs in nursing are changing the game, and advice she received from mentors along the way. She compares private practice to her professional experience working in community health, and talks about how she strives for work/life balance as a nurse and business owner.

Learn more about being a nurse practitioner, job responsibilities, how to become one, and average annual salaries in our nurse practitioner career overview guide.