From Marketing to Banking to Nursing with Aesthetics Specialty
By Julie Quizon, RPN
By way of introduction, I moved to Canada from the Philippines and now live in Port Elgin, Ontario. I have a degree in marketing, and my previous professions have included Marketing, working as a Bank Trader in Treasury Money Markets, and being a Junior Assistant Manager.
Upon coming to Canada, I enrolled in the nursing program at Georgian College and graduated in 2012, and now work as an RPN. I work part time at a chiropractic clinic providing foot care, and at a skincare clinic providing medical aesthetics nursing. In March 2014, I launched an independent business called Pearl Medical Skincare Clinic.
I always wanted to be an entrepreneur providing skin care services. I began this journey back in the Philippines, where I worked in a Pharmaceutical company that focused on women’s healthcare, including skincare products. I worked closely with a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon as their Territory Manager. So it was a natural fit to become an RPN and proceed to a Medical Aesthetics specialty.
Building a business is hard – especially at the beginning. For me, a complicating factor has been that I am new to the country and don’t know a lot of people in the community. So I have to go out of my way to introduce myself, to network, and to really seek out the ‘right’ people to help me. The other challenge is that my nursing services are only covered by Veterans Affairs, and not fully covered by insurance companies (as compared to other services like Chiropractic and Physiotherapist).
I believe that RPNs in Independent Business (IB) should be more recognized and valued in our modern health care system. My goal is to help raise the profile of RPNs in IB, the importance of Nursing Services in the eyes of insurers, and to encourage more nurses to become IB owners.
The rewards of nursing are great. I enjoy helping patients with their problems within my scope of practice and delivering excellent treatment to patients with respect and dignity. There is nothing like a patient’s “thank you”, relief, smile on their face, and their referral to friends in the community. Growing my practice and touching lives is very fulfilling and rewarding!
I believe that being an EntrepreNURSEshipTM(Entrepreneur and Nurse) has unlimited potential and possibilities. Wherever you came from, whatever your age, and however you start, nurses have strong intuition and initiative, and we should see ourselves as “Titans”. The passion of pursuing what we love to do is more powerful than the noise that can distract us from reaching our goals. We can conquer, make tomorrow bigger that today, and never cease to learn in our fields. Cross-complex learning encourages us to be more open, more creative, and become aware that we can be more.
Becoming a member of IBSIG has been beneficial. I have become more aware of the standard of nursing practice set out by CNO, and more about independent practice. I have also learned about what other RPNs in IB are doing. This gives me comfort to know that there is a supportive group of nurses with unanimous purpose out there to share their knowledge. I look forward to meeting IBSIG members.
A couple final thoughts…
“What you do today will affect your future”. Let’s aim for a bright future!
“Be obsessed with mastering your craft, until you become expert and reach perfection. When you become excellent in your craft, people will seek you.”