~~

Guest Editorial

Marketing Strategies for the Nineties

Paul Barrett, RN, MSN

To increase public awareness of the services that nurse specialists can provide to consumers, a marketing pro- gram that makes full use of the telephone directory is needed. Sadly, the public has little awareness that nurse specialists are nurses in advance practice, licensed by in- dividual states, certified by the American Nurses Associa- tion, and educated with at least a master's degree in nursing. But with correct planning, it will be possible to turn to the Yellow Pages to find a listing such as:

Nurse specialist-nursologist

Adult Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners Mental Health Nurse Practitioners Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Mental Health

Geriatric Nurse Practitioners Nurse Practitioners

Indeed, nurse specialists have the right to be recog- nized by the public for their potential to provide cost-ef- fective, primary health care in the promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health. But to do so, nurse specialists must stand together and educate the public. W e live in a nursing poverty paradigm; the existence of nursing has suffered under its own control as it is used by others to make a profit. Nurse specialists need to change.

Change is defined as an intended or designed attempt by an individual, group, organization, or larger social system to influence directly the status quo of itself, an- other organism, or situation (Lancaster & Lancaster, 1982). What needs to change? To begin with, clinical specialists need to gain visibility to the public as indepen- dent practitioners, so they will be utilized in the health- care market. In addition, the public view and knowledge of the nurse specialist must be bolstered, because nurse specialists have endured with the lack of cohesion as a profession, and have suffered through stereotyping, myths, and misunderstandings.

cialists in the Yellow Pages to see the need for change. Under "Nursing Services" of the Yellow Pages through- out the United States are included the listings of "Home Health, I' "Hi-Tech," "Nurse Assistants," and

One only has to research the marketing of nurse spe-

"Speech Therapist." But where is the nurse specialist?

stacle to change in nursing is the strong stereotypical image of nursing as the handmaiden to the physician. This old image must be changed to an image of an auton- omous practitioner. Nurse specialists can only control their own destiny by wisely marketing its image and function. Stated another way, to meet the needs of the public, clinical specialists need to get a foothold in the world of marketing, not as nurses from an agency, but as an independent practitioners.

In order for nurse specialists to be successful in mar- keting, it's essential they articulate a set of goals that will precisely define the benefits they can offer the consumer. The Yellow Pages can help potential consumers decide to use the service of clinical specialists once nurses learn the appropriate use of elements of factual information, infor- mation positioning, information differentiation, and infor- mational design layout. A n y marketing plan for the nine- ties must involve such approaches, which will ultimately result in educating the potential consumer to the role of the nurse specialist (Wright, 1992; Edmunds, 1991). The time to act is now!

Robinson (1991) and Paul (1991) believe a major ob-

References

Edmunds, W. (1991). After 26 years, it's time for 'NP' to be a household name. Nurse Practifioner, 26(22) , 59.

Lancaster, J . , & Lancaster, W. (1982). The nurse as a changeagent. St. Louis: Mosby.

Paul, A. (1991). Remodeling the image of nursing: A powerful strategy for clinical nurse specialist. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 5,

Robinson, J. (1991). Project 2000: The role of resistance in the pro- cess of professional growth. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 16,

Wright, K. (1992). A marketing plan for the nineties. Journal of

156-158.

820-824.

Enterostomd Nurses, 19, 1-4.

Paul Barrett, is a graduate student in Miami, FL, and is working on a project to promote professionalism of nurse specialists using the Yellow Pages throughout the United States.

Perspectives in Psychiatric Care Vol. 29, No. 4, October-December, 1993 3