From RN to JD: The Journey From Patient Care to Practice

I graduated from law school in May 2014 without a job prospect or opportunity. I was living in Maryland and knew I would get a healthcare law, risk management, or government job based on my professional experience and law school internships. I worked hard to finish law school and wanted to quit many times. However, I had a vision of combining my nursing and legal knowledge to improve healthcare. So, after pushing through to finish and not having a job, I quickly realized that my dreams were not about to become a reality as soon as I expected.

Then, I failed the bar and had no idea what to do next, so I decided to get back into healthcare temporarily. A friend connected me with a Texas company hiring hospice nurses and paying more money than I had ever made. I soon found myself on a seven-year journey to leave healthcare for good and practice as an attorney. When I took that job, I told myself that I would take my time to "figure it out," but I didn't even know what I was trying to figure out in the first place. Over the last seven years, I would start a job and quickly realize I had so much more to offer and then spend the next six months figuring out how to get back on track and find a job using both of my degrees or at least my law degree.

I eventually passed the February Bar in 2016 and even launched my law firm in the summer of 2017, but I still lacked clarity on what I was trying to do. I applied to dozens of jobs that I thought fit into my goals of improving healthcare for patients and providers, and I received so many NOs (and much silence). As the years passed, I forgot why I even went to law school and my original vision. Then the pandemic hit, and the reality of death being so close made me reflect on what I truly wanted to do.

I left my job as a manager at a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center and started working as a travel nurse at the beginning of the pandemic. I now had more time and money to think about my future and reflect on my past. I began to listen to the world's problems and started using my systems thinking to create solutions. With that, I realized that my law practice would be the vehicle to fulfill my dreams of combining my nursing and law degrees to help both patients and providers.

I hired a coach, built a website, and built my community on Instagram. I knew I needed a bigger platform and that success would not come easy without the nursing community's support. I quickly stood out on social media as an anomaly, a nurse, and a lawyer who was also young, down to earth, and incredibly relatable. After investing in marketing courses to refine my message, I hit my stride in January 2021. I finally had found my people and my place.

Last year took me on a rollercoaster as I worked as a nurse full-time and in my practice part-time, but the empowered nurses, nurse practitioners, and eventually clients from other industries fueled me to keep going. I even wrote a book about my journey of building a business while working as a travel nurse during the pandemic. My solutions-based thinking helped me create a course to teach healthcare workers how to document. I then learned more about nurses and nurse practitioners, starting medical spas, IV hydration clinics, and aesthetic businesses. However, many lacked the tools and resources to decrease risk and liability, so I created The Healthcare Business Starter Kit.

I am on a mission, but I am not alone. The journey from patient care to practice has been extended, but it has been worth it. If I had not taken the long road, I would have missed out on valuable experiences that gave me the knowledge I needed to support my healthcare community today. I am so proud of myself, and I encourage anyone who has found themselves on the long road to their dreams to keep going.

You can learn more about me and my practice at www.irnisewilliams.com.