Conversations with the Inspiring Chrissy Pacheco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Pacheco.

Chrissy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been a nurse for 20 years (wow, how time flies!). I moved to Scottsdale in 2003 after falling in love with the beauty of Arizona on a weekend vacation. When I was 20 years old, I was working as a medical assistant. After doing that job for a short time, I decided I wanted to go into nursing. At the time, I had a 2-year-old child and no money for college, so I started working at a hospital in the medical records department because I knew that if I worked there for a year, they would pay for my nursing degree. I obtained my Associate’s degree in 1999, then, four years later, I received my Bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, which is where I am originally from. I started out as a labor & delivery nurse for the first eight years of my career, then entered the Pre-op/PACU arena in 2007, which is where I have remained ever since.

In 2013, I went back to school and obtained a Masters degree in Nursing with an emphasis in leadership. I have been a clinical instructor for various Maricopa County Community Colleges and thought to have my Masters would be beneficial to my students. Meanwhile, I was hired as a nursing supervisor at a sister hospital. I went in knowing that the culture there was broken and had high hopes for being instrumental in making big changes. Talk about banging my head against a wall! It wasn’t long before I realized that I was fighting a losing battle and getting burnt out so quickly I questioned if I even wanted to stay in the nursing field. I moved out of the supervisor role and into my job as a recovery room nurse at an outpatient surgery center. I regularly had patients who needed someone to take them home from surgery and to care for them because they either had no family or they were traveling from out of town and were alone. I started researching concierge nursing services and found that, surprisingly enough, this was almost an untouched market. I slowly decreased my hours at work and started to build my concept and business plan into what it is today.

In April of 2018, I formally started Concierge Nursing Solutions or “Concierge-rn.” I am a concierge nurse specializing in recovering patients after surgery, as well as a consultant for nurses in the United States who are pursuing small business opportunities as concierge nurses. I wasn’t super busy right away, so I took yet another plunge into the world of aesthetics and received my certification as a nurse injector in September of 2017 with one of the industries’ leading injectors. I have since been blessed with the opportunity to work with the fantastic team at Contour You MedSpa in North Scottsdale, the fourth flagship SkinCeuticals skin clinic in the nation. The knowledge and professionalism of my co-workers are second to none. I love my jobs!

Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? Nope, but whoever said it was going to be easy right? There’s a quote by Fredrick Douglas that I embraced a long time ago “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

I started my adult life as a single mother, so I definitely could have gone down another path. I knew the day I struck a deal with my high school principal to be able to graduate with my class, pregnant or not, that I was not going to be just another statistic. I wanted to prove I had what it took to be successful despite what I was up against. I had obstacles all along the way, but I always found a way to overcome thanks to the support of my family and the positive successful people I have surrounded myself with. No matter who you are or where you have come from, you must seize every opportunity along the way. Even those who don’t have a family to support them, there are so many places to find the support you need to do what you want to do. Don’t wait for the opportunities to find you, there are a lot of untapped resources out there to help you succeed, go get them! Many years ago, I was told that if I wanted to be successful, I had to surround myself with the people I wanted to be like. Best advise ever.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Concierge-RN and Contour You MedSpa story. Tell us more about the business.
I am proud to say I am a nurse entrepreneur. I am a Certified Ambulatory PeriAnesthesia Nurse, which is a nationally recognized certification that validates my specialized knowledge and experience as a perianesthesia nurse. I also have an extensive history of caring for patients with chronic or complex pain issues. My business specializes in providing personalized care to patients in their homes or hotel rooms while they recover from various surgical procedures. I partner with a concierge medicine doctor that is instrumental in providing me with clients in need of my services and a Home Care agency that will take over a patient’s day to day after their nursing needs have been met. I have a heart for volunteering that has taken me abroad on three mission trips to Nicaragua and El Salvador, I have also been involved with Habitat for Humanity, Make A Wish Foundation and The Teal It Up foundation, which helps to raise funds for the fight against Ovarian Cancer. As far as the fight against opioid and heroin abuse, I am always willing to do whatever comes my way to be a part of getting this national public health crisis under control. My compassion for my patients and love of my community keeps me actively involved in giving back any way I can.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I definitely feel like my life experiences have molded me into the person I am today, both personally and professionally. I grew up in Albuquerque New Mexico going to a private school. Neither of my parents went to college, so they worked very hard to pay the tuition. I have sisters and we all have college educations, so I know my parents did something right! They taught us that hard work, dedication and family is always a priority. Being a young mother did wonder for my resilience. I truly believe the situation I got myself into was the very thing that made me strong enough to overcome the many obstacles I would encounter throughout my life. Teen motherhood is not easy and I realized quickly that I had a choice in the path I could take, and the path of least resistance was not always the best one. There is a bible verse I remind myself of when I feel like throwing in the towel, “You will reap a harvest if you don’t give up. If you quit, you will reap what you sow.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.concierge-rn.com
• Phone: 480-490-1757
• Email: chrissy@concierge-rn.com
• Instagram: @conciergenurse @faces_by_chrissy
• Facebook: Concierge RN

Image Credit:
Professional Images by acerimelephotography.com

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