[westcoastgirl]

I came across this thread on MSN's money community boards about minute-clinics and was dismayed at many of the posts, lots of misconceptions.

Anyone else read it? A few real life PA and NPs are on there to try to clarify but they could use more posts from real mid-levels......

http://moneycentral.msn.com/communit...gestyle=money1

[DaisyRN, ACNP]

This has just lit a fire under my butt :

There is a GREAT NEED for education in our communities regarding the benefits that MLPs can offer. It makes me wanna make a commercial or something! *lol* There are way too many misconceptions about us that are giving us a bad rep. Just means we have to work harder to prove these misconceptions are in fact, MISconceptions. Thanks for posting.

[traumaRUs]

Daisy - we need to be advocates in public - join your state's APN association, go to your state capitol, lobby.

[DaisyRN, ACNP]

Well, its funny because in all honesty... a fire has been under my butt for a while now. I am in a community where NPs are still a relatively newer concept. I've thought about setting up an open forum for community people to come and talk to some of us NPs... I've thought about putting an article in the paper... I've thought about creating brochures to put in the PCP/clinic waiting rooms (I designed a heart health brochure that was put in a waiting room during my RN-BSN program)... I have all these ideas to reach the public on a local level. And I am a member of probably 6 national organizations and 3 local/state organizations, at least. I'm going to the AANP conference in June and plan to seek some guidance from that experience, plus use it as an opp for, like you said, lobbying... afterall, it will be in Washington, DC!

[westcoastgirl]

I think MSN is also "public". There are many ways to represent and advocate and I belong to NP organizations too. However it's also good sometimes to remember the public includes people outside of healthcare, who latch onto the name Wal-Mart and thought that meant imported Chinese providers!

Each and every day my behavior and professionalism is also a way of advocating for midlevels, regardless of who is my audience.

[traumaRUs]

Daisy and Westcoastgirl - you are both so right. Anything we do in public does reflect on us and our profession.