I have not seen the advertising by the pump companies to which many are 
referring - and therefore am making no comment on whether they have 
overstepped the mark or not.

Business is a necessity of life. And if a business doesn't market, then it 
doesn't exist for long.

Employees may think that commercial interests are beneath them but, further 
up the ladder, if those commercial interests aren't carefully managed then 
their employment won't last long. I don't see anyone criticizing the 
marketing ploys used by the private hospitals that employ many of us... and 
those paid by government are receiving their wages from the taxes paid to 
the government from businesses.
Lactation consultants who want to continue to earn a living have to promote 
their services - and they use marketing to do it. Is it a perceived need we 
are creating when we suggest that mothers come to see us prenatally? We 
don't think so - we know that we can prevent lots of problems if they do, 
saving them money later, but I daresay the majority of the population would 
consider we are just creating a need where they don't think one exists. 
What one person considers to be a necessity, ie a pump or a prenatal 
consult, another may consider to be a need created by marketing.

My point - business and marketing are not dirty words as practiced by 
ethical companies. Employees on the whole are not working for altruistic 
reasons either - they are just as dependent on someone with business skills 
doing good marketing as those of us who get our money directly from our 
clients.

Denise Fisher
Health e-Learning

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