NP Week
Be Active During National Nurse Practitioner Week
National Nurse Practitioner Week is held annually to celebrate these exceptional health care providers and to remind lawmakers of the importance of removing outdated barriers to practice so that NPs will be allowed to practice to the full extent of their experience and education.
NP Week 2018 is November 11–17
The NP role needs you! This special week offers numerous opportunities to bring recognition to the NP role and increase awareness of the exceptional care that NPs provide. The NP Week Proclamation and resource guide are available to assist you in the annual celebration. The resource guide includes information such as a sample news release, talking points, an NP fact sheet, community activities, a media interview guide, posters and guidelines for writing a letter to the editor.
See What's Happening with NP Week in Real Time
Get Involved: NP Week Activities
- Invite local, state and federal elected officials to your practice site to tour and become aware of the many health care services NPs provide.
- Obtain a proclamation from your local authority (mayor, city council, city manager) or state official (governor, lieutenant governor, senators, representatives) proclaiming November 11–17, 2018, as National Nurse Practitioner Week, aka, NP Week! Call their offices to find out the procedures for obtaining a proclamation. When you send in the proclamation (see sample proclamation), include back-up information, like the NP Fact Sheet. Also include information about local NPs and any planned activities in recognition of NP Week.
- Contact the local media to let them know about NP Week and to share any planned activities. Create and distribute NP Week news releases. (See sample news release.)
- Plan a special reception with other NP groups in your area to recognize the good works of nurse practitioners.
- Write a letter to the editor extolling the virtues of the many services provided by NPs to their patients and the communities they serve. Find out the newspaper’s requirements for considering letters and comply with them—e.g., should it be typed, double-spaced, maximum length? Keep the focus relevant, timely and local. Identify your special expertise as an NP.
- Host a fun run or other public athletic participation event with proceeds going to a local charity.
- Encourage your practice or local or state NP group to co-sponsor a community event, such as a health fair at a shopping mall or other public venue, to capture the attention of the public—some of whom may not be familiar with NPs.
- Contact your local hospitals, schools and libraries to ask about setting up NP posters, distributing NP brochures and other information showcasing National NP Week and any future opportunities at these locations.
- Inquire about speaking opportunities at schools to let students know about NPs—you can do this during career day also. Even elementary school students could be a target audience. Conduct a coloring contest at the elementary school level about students’ perceptions of what a nurse practitioner is and does.
- Contact local civic groups such as rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, PTAs, girls and boys clubs, etc., to get on the agenda to present a program on health care in general and NPs in particular. It is never too early (or too late) to spread the word about NPs.
- Contact local media (print, TV and radio), and ask them to run a public service announcement (PSA). Provide audio or written copy to radio stations, depending on their preferred format (radio, TV and digital ads are provided in the NP Week Resource Guide). Volunteer to be a guest on a local talk show to spread the word about NPs and NP Week.
- Start a chat on Twitter using the hashtag #NPWeek, and post messages on other social media sites.
2018 NP Week Proclamation Map
Each state’s efforts to secure an NP Week proclamation will be showcased on AANP’s annual NP Week Proclamation Map. Make sure your state is included on the map! Email your proclamations and photos to socialmedia@aanp.org. States that receive proclamations signed by their governors will be green on the map, or even better, highlighted with pictures of NPs who were present for the signing or an image of the proclamation itself. Proclamations were signed by governors of 44 states in 2017. Congratulations to NPs in Pennsylvania for submitting the first NP Week proclamation of 2018!
