- Email: [email protected]
Marketing nurse practitioners is the key to lobbying
PH C
DEPARTMENT
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
SECTION EDITOR A l l i s o n We b e r S h u re n , R N , M S N , J D Wa s h i n g t o n R e p re s e n t a t ive f o r NA P NA P A re n t Fox K i n t n e r P l o t k i n & K a h n , P L L C Wa s h i n g t o n , D C
Robert A. Hall, MEd
B
y the time your receive this issue, the elections will be over. The United States will have elected a new president. Control of the House and Senate may have changed from Republican to Democrat—or not. If your state had elections, you will have new legislators at the state capitol. The Republic, we trust, will be in good hands. After all, we helped select these folks, and if we were very good citizens, we were even involved in their campaigns. Regardless of what we think of the women and men who will make the laws and spend our tax dollars for the next 2 years, we at least now know who they are. But do they know who you are? Do these decision makers know what a nurse practitioner (NP) is, or what an NP’s role is in our health care delivery system? How about other decision makers? Do the people who deal with thousands of “covered lives” at health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, and as employer benefit managers know all they should about NPs? I wouldn’t bet on it. However, you are betting your future on it, not to mention the future of children’s health. Everyone I talk to believes that these key decision makers are poorly educated about NPs, and they believe it is imperative that they be better educated. No one thinks it would hurt, either, if we could raise the knowledge level of the general public about NPs. The knowledge isn’t already there for many reasons. In the grand scheme of things, NPs are a new profession, and old ways of thinking die hard.
November/December 200
Marketing Nurse Practitioners is the Key to Lobbying
Legislators are at the sharp point of the information glut that overwhelms all of us, because they deal with thousands of issues every year. However, it is clear that legislators and company executives cannot make good decisions unless they make informed decisions. Educating decision makers must be a key component of our legislative advocacy program.
E
ach little bit of
education you pass on increases the respect the public has for NPs, and therefore both the economic demand for your services and the political clout we wield with legislators.
Who will do this educating? You and I and your thousands of NP colleagues will. If not us, who? And if not now, when? The good news is that you do not have to do it alone, just as you do not have to treat every child in the world by yourself. However, you must do your share. Luckily, it is not difficult, it is not nearly as complicated as being a PNP, and it does not have to consume great chunks of your precious time. You are already doing it with the parents of your patients. Every time they talk to you, they learn a little more about NPs. Each little bit of education you pass on increases the respect the public has for NPs, and therefore both the economic demand for your services and the political clout we wield with legislators. Let’s look at some of the easy ways you can expand knowledge of NPs, and therefore add to our collective efforts to market the profession to legislative and corporate decision makers.
PUT A BUMPER STICKER ON YOUR CAR Putting a bumper sticker on your car sounds silly, right? But think about the cumulative effect. NAPNAP has bumper stickers that read, “Pediatric Nurse Practitioners: Advanced Health Care 4 Kids.” Every time I drive to work or the
Robert A. Hall is the Executive Director of NAPNAP. J Pediatr Health Care. (2000). 14, 321-323. Copyright © 2000 by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners. 0891-5245/2000/$12.00 + 0 25/8/111442 doi:10.1067/mph.2000.111442
321
PH LEGISLATIVE NEWS C grocery store, I know I am promoting PNPs, because the people behind me are learning that PNPs exist, and that they provide advanced health care for children. Putting that sticker on my car cost me $2 and 2 minutes of time. And it is read by dozens, sometimes hundreds of people each day. Suppose 5000 NAPNAP members had a PNP bumper sticker on their cars. Literally millions of Americans would get a positive message about PNPs every year. This is an example of how we can leverage our numbers, so that a small effort from each of us has a major impact. To get your sticker, send $2 to NAPNAP at 1101 Kings Highway North, Suite 206, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.
USE THE PRINTED WORD Even in this electronic age, most information is communicated the way I am communicating right now—through the printed word. You have daily and weekly newspapers that are eager to publish local writers. The easiest way to get in print is through a letter to the editor. Letters columns are well read, and editors like local angles—and controversy. There are unlimited topics you can write about. Remind parents of needed immunizations, push proper use of car safety seats, or talk about children and tobacco or children and guns. Use one of the bills NAPNAP is supporting or opposing as a basis for expressing your opinion. Thank a legislator for supporting a particular bill. Make sure your letter is typewritten and keep it very short, which increases your chances of publication. And always identify yourself as a PNP. Most newspapers accept letters and columns by e-mail, so it won’t even cost you a stamp. Your newspapers and consumer magazines are always looking for feature articles. Who better to write about children’s health and nursing issues than you? On NAPNAP’s Web site (www.napnap.org), we have posted an article (“Writing for Consumer Publications”) that may help you get started if you are new to consumer writing. Again, if only 500 PNPs will publish just 2 additional pieces in newspapers and magazines each year, millions of consumers will be educated about your role in children’s health. And we can do miles better than 500 writers or just 2
322
Volume 14 Number 6
Hall
pieces. In the short months since I have been executive director of NAPNAP, I have managed to place 3 columns about PNPs in 2 local daily papers and have been interviewed about PNPs in the local weekly newspaper. You, being a health care professional, have much more expertise to share than I do.
T
he goal of the
campaign will be to educate legislators and decision makers in payer organizations such as HMOs about the skills, education, abilities, and value of NPs and to counter negative propaganda about NPs from groups that want to protect their financial interests in health care.
Do not neglect the Internet as a place to disseminate information. At many sites such as www.themestream.com you can post articles you have written. These sites are especially good places to post articles you have placed elsewhere (but retained reprint rights to) that are looking for a new home.
THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD Every community has dozens of local organizations, because America is a nation of joiners. These organizations usually have one thing in common, that is, program chairs who are desperately wondering who they will get to speak at the next meeting.
Maybe the Rotary Club would like to have you speak about the history of the NP movement. Perhaps the Lions Club wants to know about children’s eye diseases. Parents groups will certainly be interested in prevention and safety topics. Or maybe the local day care center would like to hold a parents’ night—with you as the featured speaker. You cannot talk to everybody in the country, but if hundreds of PNPs are speaking to groups a couple of times a year, the message will be out there. Is this political? You bet it is. The stronger the identity of NPs with the general public, the more clout we will have with decision makers. And among those eyes reading bumper stickers, letters, and articles and those ears hearing PNPs speak will be many attached to legislators and corporate executives. At the same time, you will be increasing the demand for PNPs. Classic economic theory tells us that increased demand increases costs, thus driving PNP salaries upward.
NP NATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN Encouraging all PNPs to do their share to educate the public—and thus key decision makers—about NPs is clearly the most cost-effective way to get the message out. However, NP leaders in NAPNAP and other NP organizations recognize that is not enough. Some NPs are shy about public speaking. Some may not be good writers. A few may not want to place bumper stickers on their new cars, even to promote their profession. And all NPs are extremely busy. Thus, united action is needed as well. A few months ago, a group of NP leaders came together in Annapolis, Md, and formed what is now called the Annapolis Think Tank (ATT). That group developed the Nurse Practitioner Declaration, which has been heartily endorsed by NAPNAP and many other NP organizations. I hope you have not only seen it, but also shared it with NP colleagues and key political and corporate decision makers you have contact with. It bears repeating, and it is short, so here it is again (see Box). Please use it to get the word out. The members of the ATT realized that resolving what should be done is the easy part. Making resolutions into
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE
PH LEGISLATIVE NEWS C
Hall
BOX Nurse Practitioner Declaration Whereas nurse practitioners are experts in primary care and a variety of specialties; nurse practitioners are proven to provide high quality, cost-effective, ethical, and compassionate care; nurse practitioners provide a full range of comprehensive health care; patients report a high level of satisfaction with care from nurse practitioners; and nurse practitioners are nationally board certified; Be it resolved: patients must have access to nurse practitioners in the health care delivery system; nurse practitioners must be unencumbered from restrictive requirements that restrain their practice; and all payers must credential nurse practitioners as primary care providers. reality is much more difficult and takes unified action, hard work, and dollars. Therefore, they set out to develop an NP national marketing campaign. The campaign seeks to raise $120,000 to retain a marketing firm for a year to place news articles and educational pieces in 10 major media markets. The goal of the campaign will be to educate legislators and decision makers in payer organizations such as HMOs about the skills, education, abilities, and value of NPs and to counter negative propaganda about NPs from groups that want to protect their financial interests in health care. Ten markets were selected as being a realistic target for the funds the campaign hopes to raise from NPs and NP organizations. Because smaller media markets feed off the major markets, it is believed that this effort will have a nationwide impact. At the end of a year, the group will assess the value of the campaign to decide on future activity. The NAPNAP Executive Board has voted to contribute $10,000 to the NP National Marketing Campaign. Contributions are coming in from other NP organizations and from individual NPs, often in small donations accompanied by heart-rending stories of the latest outrage perpetrated on the donor by a system where NPs are not given
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE
appropriate professional status. The campaign is asking for NPs to donate the cost of an evening out, but any contribution will be appreciated. Contributions can be sent to NP National Marketing Campaign, PO Box 1375, Water Mill, NY 11976.
SPEAKERS NEEDED The campaign is also creating an NP speakers’ bureau to support the planned marketing effort. They are looking especially for volunteers in the following 10 media markets: New York Metro area (NJ, Conn, Pa), Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, the Miami area, the Washington DC metro area, San Francisco, Atlanta, and the Kansas City area. If you are interested in being a speaking resource for NPs, contact Nancy Sharp by telephone ([301] 469-4997), fax ([301] 4698411), or e-mail: [email protected]. She will send you a Speakers Bureau Database Form.
ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSING CAMPAIGN While supporting the NP National Marketing Campaign, NAPNAP leaders have also been meeting with a larger group representing not only NPs but also nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists.
This group hopes to develop a plan to market all advanced practice nurses, using different approaches than the ATT is using to market NPs.
THE BOTTOM LINE As I write this article, I cannot predict how successful these united efforts will be, whether they will attract the necessary support from NP organizations and individuals, or whether the campaigns will achieve their goals. I do know that the need is desperate. Ignorance and entrenched financial interests make powerful opponents. NPs are well positioned to be the providers of choice for both primary care and much specialty care in the 21st century. However, we will not get to the goals of the NP Declaration by wishing. The marketing efforts will certainly fail if we do not try at all. Educating legislators, corporate executives, and the public about NPs is the key to success in both advancing and marketing the profession. I want to always be able to say that I did my share. But it will not work unless you do your share as well. Robert A. Hall has 18 years’ experience managing associations. Before becoming an association executive, he served 5 terms in the Massachusetts state senate, retiring undefeated in 1982.
November/December 2000
323
DEPARTMENT
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
SECTION EDITOR A l l i s o n We b e r S h u re n , R N , M S N , J D Wa s h i n g t o n R e p re s e n t a t ive f o r NA P NA P A re n t Fox K i n t n e r P l o t k i n & K a h n , P L L C Wa s h i n g t o n , D C
Robert A. Hall, MEd
B
y the time your receive this issue, the elections will be over. The United States will have elected a new president. Control of the House and Senate may have changed from Republican to Democrat—or not. If your state had elections, you will have new legislators at the state capitol. The Republic, we trust, will be in good hands. After all, we helped select these folks, and if we were very good citizens, we were even involved in their campaigns. Regardless of what we think of the women and men who will make the laws and spend our tax dollars for the next 2 years, we at least now know who they are. But do they know who you are? Do these decision makers know what a nurse practitioner (NP) is, or what an NP’s role is in our health care delivery system? How about other decision makers? Do the people who deal with thousands of “covered lives” at health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, and as employer benefit managers know all they should about NPs? I wouldn’t bet on it. However, you are betting your future on it, not to mention the future of children’s health. Everyone I talk to believes that these key decision makers are poorly educated about NPs, and they believe it is imperative that they be better educated. No one thinks it would hurt, either, if we could raise the knowledge level of the general public about NPs. The knowledge isn’t already there for many reasons. In the grand scheme of things, NPs are a new profession, and old ways of thinking die hard.
November/December 200
Marketing Nurse Practitioners is the Key to Lobbying
Legislators are at the sharp point of the information glut that overwhelms all of us, because they deal with thousands of issues every year. However, it is clear that legislators and company executives cannot make good decisions unless they make informed decisions. Educating decision makers must be a key component of our legislative advocacy program.
E
ach little bit of
education you pass on increases the respect the public has for NPs, and therefore both the economic demand for your services and the political clout we wield with legislators.
Who will do this educating? You and I and your thousands of NP colleagues will. If not us, who? And if not now, when? The good news is that you do not have to do it alone, just as you do not have to treat every child in the world by yourself. However, you must do your share. Luckily, it is not difficult, it is not nearly as complicated as being a PNP, and it does not have to consume great chunks of your precious time. You are already doing it with the parents of your patients. Every time they talk to you, they learn a little more about NPs. Each little bit of education you pass on increases the respect the public has for NPs, and therefore both the economic demand for your services and the political clout we wield with legislators. Let’s look at some of the easy ways you can expand knowledge of NPs, and therefore add to our collective efforts to market the profession to legislative and corporate decision makers.
PUT A BUMPER STICKER ON YOUR CAR Putting a bumper sticker on your car sounds silly, right? But think about the cumulative effect. NAPNAP has bumper stickers that read, “Pediatric Nurse Practitioners: Advanced Health Care 4 Kids.” Every time I drive to work or the
Robert A. Hall is the Executive Director of NAPNAP. J Pediatr Health Care. (2000). 14, 321-323. Copyright © 2000 by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners. 0891-5245/2000/$12.00 + 0 25/8/111442 doi:10.1067/mph.2000.111442
321
PH LEGISLATIVE NEWS C grocery store, I know I am promoting PNPs, because the people behind me are learning that PNPs exist, and that they provide advanced health care for children. Putting that sticker on my car cost me $2 and 2 minutes of time. And it is read by dozens, sometimes hundreds of people each day. Suppose 5000 NAPNAP members had a PNP bumper sticker on their cars. Literally millions of Americans would get a positive message about PNPs every year. This is an example of how we can leverage our numbers, so that a small effort from each of us has a major impact. To get your sticker, send $2 to NAPNAP at 1101 Kings Highway North, Suite 206, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.
USE THE PRINTED WORD Even in this electronic age, most information is communicated the way I am communicating right now—through the printed word. You have daily and weekly newspapers that are eager to publish local writers. The easiest way to get in print is through a letter to the editor. Letters columns are well read, and editors like local angles—and controversy. There are unlimited topics you can write about. Remind parents of needed immunizations, push proper use of car safety seats, or talk about children and tobacco or children and guns. Use one of the bills NAPNAP is supporting or opposing as a basis for expressing your opinion. Thank a legislator for supporting a particular bill. Make sure your letter is typewritten and keep it very short, which increases your chances of publication. And always identify yourself as a PNP. Most newspapers accept letters and columns by e-mail, so it won’t even cost you a stamp. Your newspapers and consumer magazines are always looking for feature articles. Who better to write about children’s health and nursing issues than you? On NAPNAP’s Web site (www.napnap.org), we have posted an article (“Writing for Consumer Publications”) that may help you get started if you are new to consumer writing. Again, if only 500 PNPs will publish just 2 additional pieces in newspapers and magazines each year, millions of consumers will be educated about your role in children’s health. And we can do miles better than 500 writers or just 2
322
Volume 14 Number 6
Hall
pieces. In the short months since I have been executive director of NAPNAP, I have managed to place 3 columns about PNPs in 2 local daily papers and have been interviewed about PNPs in the local weekly newspaper. You, being a health care professional, have much more expertise to share than I do.
T
he goal of the
campaign will be to educate legislators and decision makers in payer organizations such as HMOs about the skills, education, abilities, and value of NPs and to counter negative propaganda about NPs from groups that want to protect their financial interests in health care.
Do not neglect the Internet as a place to disseminate information. At many sites such as www.themestream.com you can post articles you have written. These sites are especially good places to post articles you have placed elsewhere (but retained reprint rights to) that are looking for a new home.
THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD Every community has dozens of local organizations, because America is a nation of joiners. These organizations usually have one thing in common, that is, program chairs who are desperately wondering who they will get to speak at the next meeting.
Maybe the Rotary Club would like to have you speak about the history of the NP movement. Perhaps the Lions Club wants to know about children’s eye diseases. Parents groups will certainly be interested in prevention and safety topics. Or maybe the local day care center would like to hold a parents’ night—with you as the featured speaker. You cannot talk to everybody in the country, but if hundreds of PNPs are speaking to groups a couple of times a year, the message will be out there. Is this political? You bet it is. The stronger the identity of NPs with the general public, the more clout we will have with decision makers. And among those eyes reading bumper stickers, letters, and articles and those ears hearing PNPs speak will be many attached to legislators and corporate executives. At the same time, you will be increasing the demand for PNPs. Classic economic theory tells us that increased demand increases costs, thus driving PNP salaries upward.
NP NATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN Encouraging all PNPs to do their share to educate the public—and thus key decision makers—about NPs is clearly the most cost-effective way to get the message out. However, NP leaders in NAPNAP and other NP organizations recognize that is not enough. Some NPs are shy about public speaking. Some may not be good writers. A few may not want to place bumper stickers on their new cars, even to promote their profession. And all NPs are extremely busy. Thus, united action is needed as well. A few months ago, a group of NP leaders came together in Annapolis, Md, and formed what is now called the Annapolis Think Tank (ATT). That group developed the Nurse Practitioner Declaration, which has been heartily endorsed by NAPNAP and many other NP organizations. I hope you have not only seen it, but also shared it with NP colleagues and key political and corporate decision makers you have contact with. It bears repeating, and it is short, so here it is again (see Box). Please use it to get the word out. The members of the ATT realized that resolving what should be done is the easy part. Making resolutions into
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE
PH LEGISLATIVE NEWS C
Hall
BOX Nurse Practitioner Declaration Whereas nurse practitioners are experts in primary care and a variety of specialties; nurse practitioners are proven to provide high quality, cost-effective, ethical, and compassionate care; nurse practitioners provide a full range of comprehensive health care; patients report a high level of satisfaction with care from nurse practitioners; and nurse practitioners are nationally board certified; Be it resolved: patients must have access to nurse practitioners in the health care delivery system; nurse practitioners must be unencumbered from restrictive requirements that restrain their practice; and all payers must credential nurse practitioners as primary care providers. reality is much more difficult and takes unified action, hard work, and dollars. Therefore, they set out to develop an NP national marketing campaign. The campaign seeks to raise $120,000 to retain a marketing firm for a year to place news articles and educational pieces in 10 major media markets. The goal of the campaign will be to educate legislators and decision makers in payer organizations such as HMOs about the skills, education, abilities, and value of NPs and to counter negative propaganda about NPs from groups that want to protect their financial interests in health care. Ten markets were selected as being a realistic target for the funds the campaign hopes to raise from NPs and NP organizations. Because smaller media markets feed off the major markets, it is believed that this effort will have a nationwide impact. At the end of a year, the group will assess the value of the campaign to decide on future activity. The NAPNAP Executive Board has voted to contribute $10,000 to the NP National Marketing Campaign. Contributions are coming in from other NP organizations and from individual NPs, often in small donations accompanied by heart-rending stories of the latest outrage perpetrated on the donor by a system where NPs are not given
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE
appropriate professional status. The campaign is asking for NPs to donate the cost of an evening out, but any contribution will be appreciated. Contributions can be sent to NP National Marketing Campaign, PO Box 1375, Water Mill, NY 11976.
SPEAKERS NEEDED The campaign is also creating an NP speakers’ bureau to support the planned marketing effort. They are looking especially for volunteers in the following 10 media markets: New York Metro area (NJ, Conn, Pa), Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, the Miami area, the Washington DC metro area, San Francisco, Atlanta, and the Kansas City area. If you are interested in being a speaking resource for NPs, contact Nancy Sharp by telephone ([301] 469-4997), fax ([301] 4698411), or e-mail: [email protected]. She will send you a Speakers Bureau Database Form.
ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSING CAMPAIGN While supporting the NP National Marketing Campaign, NAPNAP leaders have also been meeting with a larger group representing not only NPs but also nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists.
This group hopes to develop a plan to market all advanced practice nurses, using different approaches than the ATT is using to market NPs.
THE BOTTOM LINE As I write this article, I cannot predict how successful these united efforts will be, whether they will attract the necessary support from NP organizations and individuals, or whether the campaigns will achieve their goals. I do know that the need is desperate. Ignorance and entrenched financial interests make powerful opponents. NPs are well positioned to be the providers of choice for both primary care and much specialty care in the 21st century. However, we will not get to the goals of the NP Declaration by wishing. The marketing efforts will certainly fail if we do not try at all. Educating legislators, corporate executives, and the public about NPs is the key to success in both advancing and marketing the profession. I want to always be able to say that I did my share. But it will not work unless you do your share as well. Robert A. Hall has 18 years’ experience managing associations. Before becoming an association executive, he served 5 terms in the Massachusetts state senate, retiring undefeated in 1982.
November/December 2000
323