Marketing portfolio for an Adult Nurse Practitioner position

Adult Nurse Practitioner Marketing Portfolio

"NPs diagnose and treat a wide range of health problems.

They have a unique approach and stress both care and cure.

Besides clinical care, NPs focus on health promotion, disease prevention, health education and counselling"

(About NPs, 2011, FAQs about nurse practitioners section).

To secure the opportunity to serve as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in a clinical setting

Collaborate with physicians and other professionals working in the medical facility; upholding the goals, mission, and values of the contracting sponsor

To perform therapeutic and/or corrective measures, including urgent care for adults

To formulate and implement independent decisions concerning management and treatment of identified medical problems and concerns

To initiate and participate in relevant, credible research studies and projects

To instruct individuals as well as groups of clients about health-related topics

To proffer outreach health education services in the community

To serve as preceptor for medical, nursing, NP, an/or physician assistant (PA) students

To accept after-hours calls and address after-hours problems on a rotating schedule

To contribute to the development of pertinent health education materials and publish when warranted

To participate in creating clinical practice guidelines

To consult with other healthcare providers regarding established clients admitted to hospital, home care, nursing homes, or rehabilitation

To communicate with insurers, employers, government agencies, and other appropriate health-care providers regarding established clients as necessary

To manage care of adult patients; develop plan of treatment and/or follow up as well as monitor progress. When necessary, make referral to another provider or needed arrangements for further care.

To determine when hospital admission or emergency room visit proves mandatory as well as verify resolution of illness

To serve adult patients by focusing not only in disease treatment but also prevention of disease and potential complications as well as providing counselling; facilitating health promotion and health education (Buppert, 2011).

Objectives

Maintain the quality of care for adults

Reduce medical care costs for adult patients

Augment access to primary care in underserved regions (Feder, Holahan, & Marmor, 1980)

COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE AGREEMENT

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

A. Nurse Practitioner

Name Jane Doe License Certification 00000000 CRNP-Adult

Date Designated 2011 Certifying Organization ANCC

B. Licensed Physician

Name James Smith, MD License/Certification

C. Description of Setting of Practice

1. Type of setting: The setting for the NP to practice comprises the ____ office/clinic/or of Jane Doe, MD, located at address in ____City, State .

2. Type and anticipated volume of patients: Patients consist of adult outpatients. Volume will fluctuate; typically three to five per hour; projected to replicate other

____ practices in the area.

II. Nurse Practitioner Functions Jane Doe, NP, will provide common preventive care and diagnosis as well as treatment of episodic, short-term, and stable chronic health problems. Provisions for referring patients with unstable or acute life-threatening conditions will include, however, may not be limited to:

A. Perform Comprehensive Physical Assessments of Patients as Needed Jane Doe, NP, will complete pertinent history and perform physical examination of any patient to set up a database and discover/identify the patient's immediate as well as comprehensive health care needs.

B. Prescribe Medications Prescribing of medications includes all classes applied for, excluding experimental drugs. Specifically, Jane Doe, NP, "prescribes analgesics, such as Tylenol with codeine, benzodiazepines, and certain weight reduction medications that include amphetamines. CDSs will be limited to short-term, acute episodes, such as migraine headache" (Buppert, 2007, p. 324)

C. Perform Therapeutic and Corrective Measures

Jane Doe, NP, will order and may perform such therapeutic measures deemed appropriate for an internal medicine practice. These may include, albeit, not be limited to "patient education, cleaning and dressing of superficial wounds, splinting, and irrigation of ears and eyes (Ibid.).

D. Emergency Care

Jane Doe, NP, will perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation as mandated until emergency vehicles arrive at destination. Jane Doe, NP, has successfully completed the m national cognitive and skills examination in accordance with the Standards of the American Heart

Association for Course C, Basic Life Support,

III. NURSE PRACTITIONER/PHYSICIAN RELATIONSHIP A. Referrals

Jane Doe, NP, will diagnose, evaluate, manage, and treat common acute and chronic stable conditions; seeking consultation when perceived necessary. When uncommon or unstable conditions occur, Jane Doe, NP, will record the history, complete the physical exam, acquire laboratory and other necessary data, and partake in the diagnosis with consultation. Jane Doe, NP, will then "determine to either refer to the physician consultant or to a specialty clinic or secondary treatment center or participate in dual management and treatment with a physician consultant or specialty clinic" (Buppert, 2007, p. 324). When confronted with acute life-threatening conditions, Jane Doe, NP, will complete the patient's history, conduct the necessary initial physical exam, effect a working diagnosis, execute emergency management, and immediately refer the patient to the closest emergency department.

B. Drug and Medical Guidelines Jane Doe, NP, will collaborate with the James Smith, MD, to establish and review drug and other medical guidelines. Review of guidelines will be ongoing, albeit, at a minimum of once annually.

VII. Agreement

Having read and understood the full contents of the Collaborative Practice Agreement, Jane Doe, NP, and James Smith, MD, the collaborating parties, hereto agree to be bound by its terms.

Adult Nurse Practitioner:

Printed Name____ RN license #

Certificate #____ Signature____ Date

Collaborating Physician:

Printed Name____ MD license #____ Board Certification

Signature____ Date

Revenue Potential

The following facts relating to the nurse practitioner contribute to the profession's revenue potential:

88% of NPs have earned graduate degrees

92% of NPs retain national certification

39% of NPs have secured hospital privileges with13% receiving long-term care privileges

96.5% of NPs prescribe medications; writing an average of 19 prescriptions each day

NPs hold prescriptive privilege in each state in the United States, including controlled substances in all but three states

NPs write approximately 556 million prescriptions annually

During 2008, the mean full-time NP base salary totalled $84,250, with the average full-time NP total income equalling $92,100

62% of NPs treat three to four patients each hour with 12% caring for more than five patients each hour

20% of NPs practice in frontier or rural settings

66% of NPs practice in a minimum of one primary care site; with 31% practicing in at least one non-primary care site like emergency, inpatient, surgical, or specialty practice

Malpractice rates for NPs prove to be low with only 1.4% named as primary defendant in a malpractice case

The average NP, a female (94.6%), is reportedly 48 years old; with a history of 10.5 years practice as a family NP (49%) ((About NPs, 2011, Nurse practitioner facts section).

The following four methods of payment depict contemporary ways utilized to pay employed NPs:

1. Straight salary

2. Percentage of net receipts

3. Base salary plus percentage

4. Hourly rate (Buppert, 2007, p. 315).

A nurse practitioner being paid a straight salary arrangement receives a specified, pre-determined amount to perform according to a specific job description. "In a percentage salary arrangement, an NP is paid the amount the NP bills minus accounts receivable, minus the NP'S portion of practice expenses (which includes the expense of physician consultation) (Buppert, 2007, p. 315). When a NP agrees to work for a base salary plus a percentage, the NP receives a guaranteed set salary. If the NP generates practice income over a designated set amount, albeit, the NP can earn additional salary. The NP working on an hourly basis receives payment only for the hours worked. Buppert (2007) further explains:

Straight salary and hourly are more commonly encountered arrangements than percentage or set salary plus percentage. The advantage of percentage-based salaries is the opportunity (or productive NPs to have some control over their earnings. The disadvantage is that the method sets up fellow providers in a practice as competitors for patients. No matter what arrangement an NP chooses, it is wise to focus on hard figures that document an NP'S monetary contribution to a practice and the costs of an NP

to a practice. NPs bring in income on a fee-for-service basis or a per-member-per-month basis. Figuring an NP's share of income for a fee-for-service practice is done by multiplying the number of visits by the collected fee per visit. . . . Until NPs no longer need a physician on written agreement, all NPs should expect in pay something for physician consultation. Experienced NPs often pay physician employers/consultants 10 to 15% of their net income brought to the practice.

Most employers will want a percentage of an NP'S earnings as profit. (Buppert, 2007, pp. 315-316).

Buppert (2007) recommends that NPs who believe they deserve higher salaries than surveys indicate should present their rationale for requesting a higher figure during salary negotiations. The following three points prove worth not only considering but remembering and implementing the concepts:

1. A nurse practitioner who does not ask for a higher salary figure will not receive one.

2. A nurse practitioner who does not deserve a higher salary figure will not receive it.

3. Even when a nurse practitioner asks for and may actually deserve a higher salary figure; that NP will need to "sell" the rationale to receive a higher salary figure to secure it (Buppert, 2007).

The NP will also need to negotiate benefits. The package may vary according to the following three measures:

1. What benefits best match the needs of the NP?

2. What benefits appear most reasonable?

3. What specific benefits are other NPs routinely receiving? (Buppert, 2007).

Numbers 1 and 2, however, depict the only considerations that matter. The NP also needs to consider whether the employer pays for continuing education. Additional concerns that need to be addressed that affect the bottom line of the NP's revenue potential include:

A retirement plan

Job-related expenses like a cellular telephone, beeper, and travel

Vacation

Sick leave

Malpractice insurance

Relocation expenses

Any sign-on bonus

Professional dues

Reference books and/or subscriptions to professional publications

The following table relates a comparisonof salaries relating to nurse practitioners a 2010 survey indicates:

TABLE

Average Earnings by Job Title (adapted from IOM Institute of Medicine, 2011, p. 4-20).

Position

Average Earnings

Staff Nurse

$61,706

Management/Administration

$78,356

Nurse Anesthetist

$154,221

Clinical nurse specialist

$72.856

Nurse Midwife

$82,111

Nurse Practitioner

$85,025

Patient Educator

$59.421

Patient coordinator

$62,978

Informatics nurse

$75.242

Marketing Plan

To market one's self as an adult NP, the NP could benefit from using a selection of promotional tools from the following list that Egidio (2008) suggests in the book, A Nurse Practitioner's Complete Guide to a Successful Medical House Call.

Phone books, including literal Yellow Pages as well as online listings

Radio Spots

Direct Mail

Brochures

A Web Site or Social Network

Health Fairs

Health Lectures

Business Cards