Rebranding of the The Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners

The Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP)  is considering a rebranding of our organization. Currently, there are two nursing organizations in Pennsylvania using the acronym PASNAP; our organization and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. While our organization is a nonprofit that exists to support, promote, and educate school nurses, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals is a labor union. The existence of two very different organizations with the same acronym is causing confusion that is negatively impacting our organization. With the increased use of online resources and social media, more confusion and problems are arising for the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners and the nurses we strive to serve.

• When you Google PASNAP,  The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals is the first listing. This has made it difficult for school nurses and student school nurses to find our site.
• We have collaborated with Penn State on Educational Programs. On one of the flyers, Penn State utilized The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals’ logo.
• Legislators in Harrisburg have associated political endorsements made by The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals with The Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners. This is problematic because their positions often do not reflect our interests.

Although the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP) has existed longer, The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals officially registered their name before we did.

To eliminate this problem, we are considering a name change to clarify our identity and separate us from any association with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. This would eliminate misidentification in media and communications and ensure that our organization's unique role is understood.  With this goal in mind, we are asking for your creative input and plan to launch a Name Change contest. After our annual conference in March, we will be accepting submissions of an updated name and logo from our members. The Executive Committee will then pick the best submission using the following guidelines:

• Submissions can only be made by PASNAP members.
• It must promote the professionalism of PA Certified School Nurses.
• The name cannot be registered by any other organization.
• The submission must not violate any copyright laws.
• The nurse making a submission will relinquish all rights to the Name and Logo submitted.

Once a submission is selected by the executive board, the new name must be approved by the members who attend the annual meeting by a ⅔ vote.

The winner of the contest will be featured in the Pulse, and will be granted $100 off of the following Annual Conference.