Nurses across the nation visit Nurse.com for the wealth of information we provide that supports their career and education goals.
With more than 600 courses, our extensive library of continuing education (CE) articles and webinars keeps nurses in the know. Topics range from compassion fatigue to a popular CE module on how to coach patients for improved health outcomes.
Nurses flock to free CE courses and webinars. Each time a nurse lands on the Nurse.com continuing education page it becomes a type of educational engagement opportunity. It introduces them to organizations that support the content, their brand and their products. That translates into high visibility for the supporting organization.
Expand brand exposure with an educational engagement opportunity
Whether a university supports a career-related webinar to build their BSN program, or a hospital promotes CE courses on topics such as suicide prevention, this type of educational engagement opportunity content is heavily branded with their name and logo along with Nurse.com’s branding, said Alison Reichert, director of education services at OnCourse Learning Healthcare, a part of Relias.
“In terms of branding, it puts the organization’s name in front, it says we care what the nurses are going through and lets them know what topics are in the forefront,” she said. “From the nursing side, it helps them learn about specific topics.”
When organizations co-brand with us and support a CE course, it allows them to reach nurses through free or low-cost education opportunities.
Reaching nurse learners is smart recruiting
Besides branding, organizations opt for educational engagement opportunities because of their versatility. Funding for webinars and continuing education modules can help organizations achieve different outcomes to match their goals, said Stephanie Pruitt, client executive for OnCourse Learning Healthcare, a part of Relias.
“Educational engagement opportunities help organizations hit recruitment goals and increase course completions” she said.
When organizations offer specialty classes, such as an educational engagement opportunity, nurses are targeted with highly specialized skills. It makes sense to use it as part of the overall recruiting strategy.
“If a hospital is hiring NICU nurses, they might pick NICU courses,” Pruitt said.
In higher education, many already use this educational approach to increase alumni engagement, according to a report from Hanover Research, titled “2016 Trends In Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment and Technology.”
Universities now offer more lifelong-learning classes, continuing education opportunities, webinars and online resources to help boost engagement numbers, according to the report.
Building trustworthy content requires subject matter experts
By co-branding with Nurse.com, your brand recognition grows while you build trust. Why? Because nurses know we carry high standards for educational content and have a stringent vetting process.
“The general consensus is that Nurse.com is a trusted source for education, and if a client attaches their name to an educational engagement opportunity, it gives them more credibility,” Pruitt said.
To minimize bias, we work with an extensive team of healthcare experts across multiple disciplines, said Maria Morales, MSN, RN, CPAN, director of clinical education at OnCourse Learning Healthcare, a part of Relias.
“We have regular planning meetings with multiple professions,” Morales said.
These include professionals in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, medicine and more.
Since this interprofessional network is so comprehensive, “Nurse.com can merge trending topics and relevant conversations across the academic and clinical worlds,” Morales said.
Having such expertise at our fingertips keeps Nurse.com on the pulse of emerging trends, innovative research and technology — something Morales said often translates into increased patient safety and better healthcare delivery.
If that’s not enough — let’s remember who develops the content. Nurses and other licensed healthcare professionals.
Tangible, useful information provides high visibility
After nurses complete their CE modules, the engagement opportunities are ongoing for the sponsor or underwriter of the content.
Educational engagement opportunities are designed to increase engagement by incorporating email marketing and social media messaging into the package, Pruitt said. By adding these features, it creates more touch points for the customer to engage with nurses and continue building that relationship.
Since customers also receive demographic information from nurses, Pruitt said an educational engagement opportunity is yet another way to expand your reach and interact and market to nurse learners.
We also capture the future educational plans of nurses by asking how soon they are likely to enroll in school — in six months, one year or longer.
Do you want to know what nurses really think?
The two survey questions at the end of each continuing education course give customers a chance to ask nurses for valuable information.
For example, a commercial company might ask if a sanitizing wipe helps them to perform job duties more efficiently or to improve patient safety.
“It’s almost like a miniature focus group,” Pruitt said.