In order for any health facility to survive it not only needs to provide it’s patients with good medical care, it also needs to develop and maintain both a good reputation and the trust of its patients and the community at large. The doctors, nurses and other medical personnel cannot accomplish these tasks all on their own, which is why a good Health care PR specialist is essential to most medical facilities including hospitals, health centers, large clinics and medical laboratories.
It is the job of the Health Care PR team to interact with the medical teams, patients, public, and the media. A Health Care PR team member or specialist therefore, needs exceptional communication skills both verbal and written.
Some of the duties of the Health care PR department include:
- Writing internal publications and newsletters
- Handling calls and inquiries
- Writing and publishing pamphlets and brochures to promote the facility
- Dealing with the media
- Arranging events to help people build trust and promote the services the facility has to offer.
- Sending out press releases and promoting beneficial news stories.
Depending on the facility, the PR department may be in charge of arranging such public services as free blood pressure or hearing check-ups, News stories about the record number of births, or patients treated by facility, Press releases giving information on new technology or services, Newsletters apprising the public of new treatment options, and the addition of new members of the medical team.
In short, it is the Health Care PR specialists who keep the public aware of everything the medical facility is doing to help ensure that the medical facility is prepared to meet to meet the needs of its patients and give them quality care.
It is also the PR departments duty to be available to give updates when a medical emergency occurs that concerns the general public such flu epidemics and other health PR issues, often times arranging for doctors or nurses to speak about ways to reduce the chances of catching a disease or spreading it.
In order to become a Health Care PR specialist, having a high school degree or the equivalent is mandatory. Most health facilities also require a bachelor’s degree as well as requiring any applicant for a PR position to have served an internship in the Public relations field.
Majors for the bachelor’s degree can be in any number of fields such as communications, journalism. English, Public relations and advertising. Most people start out in this field working under a supervisor and being giving small assignments, and working up to more and more responsibilities depending on their skill sets, and their ability to learn.
With more demand for medical services than ever before and the growing number of clinics, hospitals, and research facilities, employment opportunities for people wishing to part of a Health care public relations team is bright. It can be an extremely rewarding job that is normally confined to a regular 40 hour week, but may on occasion require one to work on week-ends or even longer hours if the need arises.
