Abstract
To what degree do or should marketing and nursing overlap? If marketing is about meeting patient needs, who better than the nursing staff to inform marketing decisions? Meeting patient needs profitably ensures that patient care can continue to move toward excellence. As competition continues to intensify and reimbursement remains insufficient, using all of the healthcare system's available intellectual capital is imperative to achieving maximum competitive advantage. The author applies current marketing theory to the healthcare environment and provides practical suggestions on how nursing administrators and staff can work collaboratively with marketing colleagues to develop and implement strategic marketing programs. This is the first in a series of 3 articles, which will move readers from broad marketing strategy to specific applications. The second (June, 2002) and third articles (July/August, 2002) will focus on internal marketing and using professional certification as a marketing tool.