b'| SELF CARE GUIDECreating Your Personal Nurse BrandWhat unique qualities canyou offer? By Ersilia Pompilio RN, MSN,PNPS ymbols define brands. Nike hasnurse Halloween costumes. Many nurses may promote themselves as a their swoosh, Apple has their bit- In a recent press briefing on COVID-19,specific brand or nurse personality in social ten Macintosh, and nurses once hadDr. Deborah Birx referred to healthcare pro- media but have very little merit to support their caps. They leave an everlasting image infessionals as soldiers. Perhaps this is becausewhat they can actually do in real life. Even the subconscious reprogramming that occursshe served in the Army and worked at Walterthough a nurse can have over 10,000 follow-within the consumer. The American MarketingReed Army Medical Center. Hence, in herers on Instagram, they may in actuality have Association defines a brand as a name, term,eyes and perception, everyone is now a soldiervery little nursing expertise to strengthen sign, symbol, or design or combination offighting a war.their brand. designs intended to identify the goods and ser- COVID-19 has turned nurses into soldiers,Nurses automatically fall into the healer vices of one seller or group of sellers and to dif- as hospitals are rebranded as frontlines. Thisarchetype. This is the driving motivation of ferentiate them from those of competition.has created much confusion amongst thethe nurse brand. The Nurse as a brand is a Brands tell stories about businesses andnursing profession and the general popula- source of promise to the healthcare sector: what they have to offer to the consumer.tion. Soldiers are trained to kill. They havehospital, clinic, universities or any place where Equally, the identity of the person construct- proper gear to defend themselves. Nursesyou may find a nurse these days. The nursing ing their own personal brand is important. Asare trained to heal. They are lacking Personalprofession is constantly evolving. If you can the cap was retired from the nursing profes- Protective Equipment (PPE). Frontlines arethink it, you can make it into something that sion, who did Nurses become?where battles are fought. Hospitals are wherehas to do with nursing. patients go to convalesce. Through the illu- Developing credibility and trust is impera-FROM SEX SYMBOLS, SELF SACRIFICERS,sion of storytelling and media magic, nursestive in creating a personal nurse brand. Nurses AND DRUG ADDICTS TO HEROES ANDare now branded as soldiers fighting a war.must stand in their own personal power and SOLDIERS For many this has the potential of creatingbecome confident in their own authentic The media often portrays the Nurse Brandan identity crisis. Unless nurses are enlisted inidentity. This can be done by examining per-as being subservient to that of physicians. Ona branch of the military to serve, they neversonal goals and values in order to take charge television nurses are usually seen as forearmlearn how to fight in a war in nursing school.of your personal brand. Your personal beliefs nurses: seen on camera only from the fore- and story defines you as a nurse and deter-arms down. Realism of the nurse characterSOCIAL MEDIA AND BRANDING mines what your personal brand becomes. is often sacrificed for drama or laughs. SomeCHANGING THE STIGMA Self-evaluation is critical and can be done may even be showcased as stealing narcoticsNowadays, when we think about branding, weby answering these questions:ISTOCKfrom their patients. Lets not forget the sexymay automatically think about social media.Who am I?www.elitecme.com |2020| SELF CARE GUIDE 13'