It's so important to have professional peers. Who else is going to help you come to the tough decisions about your career and practice?

Who else will sit and just listen when you need to rant a little about the difficulties of your job? Who else will help you put professional practice concerns in perspective and reason out a course of action?

Spending time with professional peers provides an opportunity to discuss issues that we all kvetch about in private. In groups, we may find that these issues affect more than just ourselves. We talk about how others have addressed similar problems. What has worked? What has been ineffective? And isn't there always power in numbers, even if that power is in making you feel not so alone in your misery?

Research has shown that social relationships have both physical and mental health benefits. People who have close pals at work are less likely to experience stress-induced hypertension than people with no social support network. People with big social circles score higher on mental function tests and are more likely to stave off dementia. Maintaining lots of close relationships helps build more neural pathways, which safeguards memory. And laughing helps us forget about the hassles of daily life.

Building a Group

But how can you connect to your tribe? I'm lucky because I live in a small state and we're able to get together pretty regularly. But even for NPs in far-flung areas, opportunities are available to find and develop a peer group.

One of my groups is my state's association of advanced practice nurses. I would encourage all NPs to join their own state associations specifically for nurse practitioners. In addition to providing a ready-made peer group, these organizations keep you up-to-date on issues that may affect your practice.

Associations offer opportunities for NP involvement on committees and outreach programs. Take a chance, and get involved. Most state associations also sponsor educational and networking programs. These are great opportunities to meet other nurse practitioners.

Alumni associations are also good resources for peer groups. Your NP program may also have an advisory board.

If it doesn't, offer to establish one. All NP programs are accredited. Accrediting bodies like to see input from "communities of interest." Trust me, your program director will bend over backwards to facilitate the establishment of an alumni NP group or advisory board.

In my practice setting, a network of NPs and physician assistants in related clinical settings has developed. We have started an e-mail list and meet for breakfast quarterly so that we can discuss issues of common interest.

The list keeps us in contact between meetings. Honestly, we didn't realize how many of us there were in the health care system until we all met at the first meeting. The room was full. Talk about the power of numbers!

Feel the Affirmation

Connecting to my tribe is powerful. I always find that I return to my professional life full of fresh energy, insights and confidence about my choice of career after interacting with my peers. I encourage you to also nurture your professional friendships. Make time to develop relationships with other people in similar jobs. You will reap the rewards of collective energy through networking and affirmation.

ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners

 I really appreciated your posting. Joining professional organizations has provided me with guidance and continuing educational opportunities. I recently joined AORN, for operating room nursing. I look forward to attending my first meeting of the local chapter. 

Andrea in New York