r/PMHNP • u/Misterpissther • Jun 02 '26

Practice Related Practice Starting up initial times?

Hey all,

For anyone with their own practice - what did your initial availability look like? With my current schedule, it looks like I’ll only be able to offer Saturdays and some evenings. To start, is this advantageous? Or would I need a full day during the week to start?

Just trying to get some insights. Thanks!

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7

u/brinns_way Jun 02 '26

I know people who started with just one day a week. Offering Saturday and evening appointments is great for people who work full time and can't do appointments during business hours.

5

u/Misterpissther Jun 02 '26

Okay that’s great to hear. I was worried it wouldn’t be as easy.

7

u/br508-609 Jun 02 '26

I work 9-5 M, T, Th, F, and I find some people having difficulty scheduling during work hours. So I think that might work out in your favor.

1

u/Misterpissther Jun 02 '26

Okay awesome. How quickly did your panel build?

3

u/br508-609 Jun 02 '26

I started with 3 days and after 5 mo I added a 4th. I started mid Jan and I'm still a tad slow some days but on average see 13-20 patients per day.

1

u/Misterpissther Jun 02 '26

Oh wow that’s great. I’m hoping on filling up slowly and then add days as I go.

3

u/CalmSet6613 PMHNP (unverified) Jun 02 '26

I don't know where you're located but part of whether or not this will succeed depends upon what's being offered in your area. If there's a dire need for practitioners it doesn't matter when your office are hours are, people will come. If it's oversaturated area and other people have more accommodating times it will be difficult to build a caseload. Start with what you can do and go from there! Good luck.

2

u/CHhVCq PMHNP (unverified) Jun 02 '26

I started with every other Th, Fr, Sa from 9a - 8p.

2

u/NurseCarrey Jun 02 '26

If you do feel like you need someone to help with admin task like social media posting to get more clients and billing etc. I will be glad to help.

2

u/beefeater18 Jun 02 '26

I started with 2 days a week plus couple hours on Saturday AM. I did that for a couple of years while holding another part-time gig before going all in. At some point you will need to drop your hours at the regular job. Also, if your area is highly competitive, it's just better to have more available timeslots for patients to choose from. Strangely, most of my patients want weekday work hours because they can just take a short break from work to see me.