Nursing services: an imperative to health care marketing

Nurses comprise a significant portion of the work force in any health care organization. This work force is one having the maximum exposure to patients. Further, they work hand in hand with the various departments of the organization. Though an unintended consequence of nursing care, nurses form a potential marketing tool for any health care organization. In that marketing tool role, however, there are hindrances that nurses face. These may result in an unhappy work environment and potentially impact the overall image of the organization. Added to this, nurses may not always be equipped with the knowledge and expertise they need to meet current demands of their position and thus not promote the best nursing role for marketing purposes. Interestingly, good nursing care goes hand-in-hand with good marketing efforts in spite of this being an unintended consequence. The promotion of a strong and highly capable nursing image is an important strategy in marketing of health care services. The evolution of professional organizations and accreditation agencies has resulted in setting specific standards of practice for nursing graduates. These standards help to ensure delivery of patient care of some predetermined quality. Indirectly this offers marketability to the organization by promotion of the nursing image. At the executive level, nurse leaders can play an important role in development of nursing strategy formulation and at the same time influence strategic marketing design. This paper provides an overview of the role nurses may play in certain aspects of marketing.