Home Health Nurse Marketer -- How do I prove to my boss that I need clinical training

[jetrout]

I have been working for a home health agency for the past four years now and have "climbed the ladder" since I was first hired -- started out as a CNA, then was a home care supervisor and now I am the referral relation coordinator. My current responsbilities involve that similar of a nurse liason -- working with facilities, the local hospital, and physicians to market our services and provide communication between offices for referrals. I have been wanting to go back to nursing school for some time now and feel that now is the time to do it. My plan is to get my LPN (quicker and less time out of work) and then attempt an online LPN-BSN online bridge program. In order to go back to school I will need to adjust my work schedule but I cannot afford to not work -- need the income and benefits (have a four month old son!) How do I convince my boss that a clinical background in my position would be beneficial for them? What benefits would this background provide over someone who was a non-clinical liason/marketer?

I plan to submit a proposal to my boss soon outlining my goals and plan for returing to school.

Thank you!!

[KateRN1]

Wow, there are so many reasons that a clinical background is helpful for a marketer. First, just understanding how nursing works is a big step. Being able to talk to the nurses at any facility or doctor's office in their own language and be able to understand and be understood is a huge help. In most states, an LPN can take telephone orders, which cuts down on the number of phone calls that need to be made to facilitate the referral and to coordinate care with other agencies, such as pharmacies for IV cases. You wouldn't have to take a clinical person with you for presentations to answer clinical questions because you'd have the knowledge. In every home care agency I've worked at, the marketers with a clinical background understood the business and generated more and better referrals than those without a clinical education. I think it would do your agency a world of good to have a marketer who is also a nurse. You could even do visits for extra money and/or to follow up on patients for your referral sources. I would love to see it a requirement that marketers have a clinical background, it definitely makes a huge difference in my opinion.