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‘There’s an NP for that’: Campaign highlights essential role of Nurse Practitioners
July 30, 2025
In communities across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are changing the way people receive healthcare. They lead clinics, diagnose illnesses, write prescriptions, and support individuals and families through complex health journeys. Sometimes, they are the only healthcare professional available in an area.
NPs are highly trained, independent healthcare providers who offer both primary and specialized care. They diagnose, treat, prescribe medications, and develop long-term health plans. They do all of this while integrating a holistic, patient-centred approach to care.
Despite the essential role of NPs, many of them say they feel underrepresented, unseen, and misunderstood. People often place NPs somewhere between a Registered Nurse (RN) and a physician. This lack of clarity is not just frustrating for NPs, but it also undermines their professional identity and impacts efficiencies of our health system.
Our union’s new campaign is to change that.
Bringing clarity to the profession
‘There’s an NP for that’ will help educate the public and raise awareness of the full scope and value of NPs in our healthcare system.
This is an exciting new chapter in our decades-long work to advocate for recognition, fairness, and professional clarity in nursing. The campaign builds directly on the momentum of the Clarity Project, which gained wide recognition during 2014–2015 for introducing the RN uniform and promoting visibility for the designation. That initiative helped the public distinguish the RN role in healthcare settings—a huge win for recognition.
“As we continue to celebrate the Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland and Labrador’s (RNUNL) 50th year, we’re reflecting on everything our union has accomplished,” says Margot Antle, NP and RNU Board Member. “Recognizing NPs as leaders in healthcare is a crucial part of building a stronger, more effective public system.”
Collaborating with members
At our recent biennial convention, we made a commitment to strengthen the recognition of our members designations. A resolution was passed with strong support from members to create a public campaign.
We built ‘There’s an NP for that’ from the ground up in collaboration with NPs all over the province. Their feedback, insights, and stories informed every aspect, especially the messages.
We wanted to ensure that our members’ voices shape the campaign. We conducted two rounds of in-person focus groups with NPs in various regions. We also shared surveys to collect additional information on messaging and advocacy work surrounding NP funding models, public understanding of NP roles, and key priorities for better recognition within the healthcare system. NPs also detailed their scope of work so that the campaign can reflect what there’s an NP for.
“As Newfoundland and Labrador’s healthcare system faces ongoing strain, we need to fully rely on the expertise of professionals like NPs,” says Mark Aylward, NP and RNUNL Board Member. “It is important that this support isn’t just with words, but with respect and recognition.”
Where to find the campaign
The heart of the campaign lives at npforthat.ca. This digital hub is packed with information, resources, and calls to action. Additional campaign content will appear across social media, local media outlets, radio, billboards, and in RNUNL communications. We will also be sharing information at the Royal St. John’s Regatta. You can come find us at our booth on July 30.
No matter where you see the ads, the goal is the same: help us increase awareness and start conversations about the essential role of NPs. You can do so by:
- Sharing campaign posts from RNUNL’s social media channels.
- Snapping photos of campaign ads in your community and posting them online.
- Starting conversations about the campaign in your workplace, home, and community.
This launch marks the first phase of the campaign. The second phase will be a more peer-to-peer approach to show how NPs offer holistic care. The third and final phase will give NPs a platform to rebuild their identity and express nuances of their role through storytelling.
‘There’s an NP for that’ isn’t just a slogan. It’s a truth we’re ready to tell. We can do that together.