Every year the last full week in January is designated as National Nurse Anesthetist week.  This is our opportunity to capture media coverage and let the world know who we are and what we do.   PROCRNA.com encourages you to offer “CRNA for a day” to your local nursing school.  Welcome students at the head of the table as they rotate through the operating room.

The picture on this posting and the suggestions below come directly from the AANA web site.  Click here to view the original posting from the AANA.

National Nurse Anesthetists Week Ideas

 

There are countless possibilities for promoting your profession during National Nurse Anesthetists Week, January 22-28, 2012.  Have you considered the following?

1.                  Legislative Day.  Invite your state legislators to a breakfast or coffee at a gathering place near the state capitol, or recruit state association members to pay a visit to your legislators’ offices.

 

Many state associations have had success with legislative days in years past.  If you are interested in organizing a legislative day for your own state association, be sure to contact your state lobbyist for input on state rules and regulations concerning giving gifts to, entertaining, and lobbying legislators.

 

1. Community Calendars.  Contact your local newspapers and radio/television stations and ask to have your National Nurse Anesthetists Week activities included in their Community Calendars.

 

1. Proclamations.  Some states are already contacting their legislators, governors, and community leaders to have the week of January 22-28, 2012, publicly proclaimed as National Nurse Anesthetists Week.  Try contacting the appointment secretary at the state capitol or governor’s office for information on how to proceed.  (See the sample proclamation included in this section of the website.)

 

1. Career Days.  Contact local junior high schools and high schools, junior colleges, and colleges/universities regarding speaking and exhibiting opportunities to promote careers in nurse anesthesia.

 

1. Public Speaking.  Opportunities for public speaking are limitless.  Contact your chamber of commerce, community center, high school, park district, local chapters of professional associations, or clubs, to name a few possibilities.  Or stay closer to home and arrange to give a presentation at the hospital or healthcare facility where you work.  Target the general public or specific market segments like senior citizens, other healthcare professionals, expectant mothers, etc.

 

1. Billboards.  For previous Nurse Anesthetists Weeks, a few states purchased billboard advertising space and reported great results.  The Delaware Association of Nurse Anesthetists borrowed from the 2005 Nurse Anesthetists Week materials (“How Do You Say Quality Anesthesia Care?”) to create a billboard that appeared along a busy highway during Nurse Anesthetists Week 2006.  AANA has some information concerning billboards that is available upon request.  For more comprehensive information, however, search “billboards” on the Internet.  Also, if you would like to find out more about DANA’s billboard project, contact Del Price, Jr., CRNA, MSN, via email at delsleeper@aol.com.

 

1. Table-top Displays.  Obtain permission from your hospital, ambulatory surgical center, or physician’s office to set up a table-top display during National Nurse Anesthetists Week.  Put out brochures, giveaways, and a bowl of candy, tack up a poster or two, or get more elaborate and run the videotape The Best Kept Secret in Healthcare: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, which is available through the AANA Bookstore.

 

1. Educate Acquaintances about CRNAs.  Make it a point during Nurse Anesthetists Week to explain to as many family members, friends, patients, and others as possible, exactly who you are and what you do.  The world needs to know, and you are the best ambassador to deliver this message on a one-to-one basis.  In fact, make delivering the message part of your daily routine.

 

1. Phone-System Message.  Obtain permission to record a message about CRNAs and Nurse Anesthetists Week on your hospital’s phone system.  When callers to the hospital are put on hold, they will hear the educational/promotional message.

 

1. Cinema Ads.
   The following information consists of generalized pricing that may vary depending on the number of movie screens at your local cinema complex.  For instance, if the cost to show a 30-second public service announcement during the 20 minute preview portion of the movie were $40 per screen, and the theatre has 20 screens, it would cost a total of $800 per week to advertise in that theatre.  However, if the theatre complex has four screens, the cost would be $160 per week.  In addition, most theaters show an ad for an average of four times per day (at no additional cost), and there may be a one-time cost to digitize the ad. Most theatres contract with a third part company who handles all of their advertising.  National CineMedia places advertising in the following movie theatres: AMC, Regal, Century, United Artist, Edwards, and Cinemark.  The contact number is 1-800-828-2828. Please call for current figures.

 

11.       Magazine Covers.  Northeast Medical Center in Concord, N.C., won an honorable mention in the 2003 PR Recognition Award contest for creatively educating patients and their families about nurse anesthetists.  The CRNAs there purchased magazine subscriptions for the hospital’s waiting rooms, and placed each issue of the magazines in clear, protective plastic covers.  On each cover they then placed a large sticker that stated the magazines were compliments of the anesthesia department and provided information about nurse anesthetists.  The information was read by countless people throughout the year.

 

Special thanks to those CRNAs who offered ideas and suggestions for Nurse Anesthetists Week.  Additional ideas and suggestions are always welcome!  Please send to Christopher Bettin, AANA Senior Director of Communications, at cbettin@aana.com.