April 4, 2011

Nurses get expert education in negotiation

Expert negotiator Ronald Shapiro recently taught more than 60 nurses “How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins” at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. The famed Baltimore sports agent and attorney shared his knowledge with Doctor of Nursing Practice students, who are nurse practitioners, administrators and leaders in nursing.

“Nurses probably negotiate more than any other group of people we work with at the Shapiro Institute,” he said.

They not only negotiate in their personal lives, he noted, but professionally as well—to see programs implemented, budgets approved and patient care adjusted. They go through the process with their peers, patients, pharmacies and other health care professionals.

With all this responsibility, Shapiro said, nurses “ought to be well-equipped to negotiate.”

Shapiro delivered a four-hour seminar that included tips on preparing for negotiations, probing to discover other people’s needs during the negotiating process and how to make a proposal.