| |
May 2000
Volume 64 |
Number 5
|
| |
WHAT'S NEW IN ...
|
| Communicating
to the Public as Top Gun in Anesthesiology |
R. Lawrence Sullivan, Jr., M.D., Chair
Committee on Communications
One of my favorite movies is "Top Gun." Many fans of the genre
display a cult-like familiarity with the movie's dialogue. My
youngest son and his friends frequently recite the script, mimicking
the key characters with macho humor. A very memorable scene in
the movie takes place when "Maverick" (Tom Cruise) and his partner
"Goose" (Anthony Edwards) describe their unbelievable and unfriendly
encounter with a new high-performance Mig jet. They brush close
to the Russian fighter plane at supersonic speeds over the Indian
Ocean, even performing an inverted maneuver to the astonishment
of the Russian pilot. Their incredulous instructor (Kelly McGillis)
asks Maverick and Goose what they were doing during this aerial
acrobatic engagement. Their reply was "communicating," with a
finger gesture commonly known to be obscene. I want to reassure
ASA membership that, even despite recent pronouncements by HCFA,
the members of the Committee on Communications have not yet resorted
to this method of delivering our message.
Communications, as a strategic element of a professional society,
may be a difficult concept for many physicians to grasp. It is
essential for any organization to ensure that their customers,
in this case patients and other physicians, correctly understand
the products or services that the organization provides and that
the information be provided in a positive light. It is equally
essential that the members of such an organization be fully informed
of any pertinent activities and new developments in their respective
field.
In that sense, ASA is committed to the accurate and timely transmission
of important information, either directly or through the media,
to the membership and to patients about the many aspects of our
specialty that have contributed to advances in medicine and to
the health of the population. Although ASA retains experts in
communications to facilitate this goal, much of the strategy is
dependent on the ability of anesthesiologists themselves being
able to deliver pertinent and powerful messages. In general, ASA
communications activities are focused in two directions: to anesthesiologists,
in the form of message development, public speaking and media
spokesperson training; and to the public and our patients,
in the form of patient education brochures, audiovisual teaching
aids, mini-internships, video news releases and Web site activity.
The Committee on Communications coordinates much of this activity
with the help of the ASA Communications Department, without whom
this effort would be unsuccessful. Many of these activities are
ongoing, but some are new or different and thus worth mentioning.
Last year, with patient safety as a guiding theme, ASA produced
and distributed a video news release (VNR) on the potential problems
that can occur with patients who take herbal medications. This
production was distributed nationwide and was estimated to have
been seen on television by as many as 38.5 million people and
to have been heard on the radio by another 7 million. Considering
the minimal cost of production and distribution, it was a huge
success. Because of the widespread interest generated by this
VNR, ASA was then asked by the Food and Drug Administration, which
was holding public hearings on the safety of this unregulated
industry, to testify on the safety of botanical (herbal) products.
Subsequently, with the creative expertise of Jessie A. Leak, M.D.,
two colorful and informative brochures on herbal products were
developed, one for physicians and one for patients. Single copies
of these brochures are available to ASA members for free, and
for $15 per 100 copies. There is no doubt that ASA has directly
influenced how patients are screened preoperatively for nonprescriptive
drug use. This year, ASA has produced another VNR, which was released
in March 2000. It too preaches patient safety, with a focus on
office-based surgery and anesthesia. Both of these VNRs are available
for viewing on the ASA Web site at, then click
on the link.
Because of the immense success of the Leadership Spokesperson
Training Program (LSTP), held each year in Washington, D.C., prior
to the ASA Legislative Conference, the ASA Board of Directors
decided to provide similar media training at the state level.
This is referred to as the Regional Spokesperson Training Program
(RSTP). So far, RSTPs have been presented in California, Florida
and New York.
This year, it is anticipated that RSTPs will be conducted in
another two or three states. Media training through RSTP is available
to any state component society that requests it and can offer
a commitment of a minimum of 12 ASA members as participants (maximum
of 20). Although many issues addressed at the national level also
have local implications, the RSTPs tend to focus on current issues
that are being addressed at the state government level.
With the expansion of the spokesperson training programs, it
is the intent of the Committee on Communications to broaden the
role of media spokespersons within the Society. Currently ASA
uses a list of trained anesthesiologists as a resource to respond
to queries from the media, be it television, radio or print. With
the availability of rapid electronic communication (blast fax/e-mail),
ASA can now use this resource for a broad-based, message-specific,
rapid-response network or media response network. All graduates
from LSTP or RSTP are expected to be a part of this team.
Each year ASA members receive a copy of the "Publications and
Services Catalogue." Among other things, this catalogue lists
the various public education resources including brochures on
seven different subjects (e.g., ambulatory, pediatrics, pain,
senior citizens), three prepared speeches intended for lay audiences
and six slide shows with suggested scripts. Although ASA members
and numerous health care facilities regularly order the brochures
in large quantities for patient dissemination, the brochures have
also been available on the ASA Web site. Soon, the audiovisual
slides will also be downloadable from the Web site.
For many years, ASA has provided a media award in three different
categories: television, radio and print. This year for the first
time, ASA will expand the award categories to include Web-based
media. ASA is dependent on member submission of candidates for
such awards, and I urge all members to help us identify worthy
recipients who provide quality reports on anesthesia-related subjects.
Nominations should be forwarded to the ASA Executive Office by
June 1, 2000, for presentations released between June 1
of the previous year and May 31 of the current year.
In some forums, communication may seem like verbal "dog fighting."
Although we may "feel the need for speed," a well-reasoned, even-tempered,
factual yet persuasive presentation is the heart and soul of effective
message delivery. If we make proper use of our "wingman" (ASA
staff), we can strategically deploy our messages to the correct
targets with the impact of a sonic boom. With the "right stuff,"
you too can be Top Gun in the communications arena.
R. Lawrence Sullivan, Jr., M.D., is a Staff
Anesthesiologist at O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California.
ASA NEWSLETTER Now Available on Handheld
Computers
J. Kent Garman, M.D.
This article continues Dr. Garman's discussion
(March
2000 ASA NEWSLETTER)
of the advancements in the PalmPilot™ and the
role they can play in the physician's practice.
You can now carry the entire text of
each month's issue of the ASA NEWSLETTER in
your PalmPilot™, Visor™ or Windows CE™
handheld computer. As each new issue is published,
it is automatically updated on the Web site.
The free program AvantGo allows you
to automatically download updated information from
various Web sites. Other information available includes
New England Journal of Medicine abstracts,
Wall Street Journal, New York Times,
Handheld Med News and Infoworld. The
free drug information database ePocrates
also uses AvantGo to automatically update its drug
information.
The list of downloadable sites grows
daily and can only be appreciated by visiting the
Web site. When you synchronize your handheld with
your desktop computer, the information in AvantGo
is automatically made current, while old information
is deleted.
In order to accomplish this, you must
first download and install the free program AvantGo
. Just follow the clear and simple instructions on
the AvantGo Web site.
After you install AvantGo, go to the
<www.asahq.org/NEWSLETTERS/homepage.html>and
click on "Current
Issues."
We hope you will enjoy this new technology.
|
|
return to top
Home >Newsletters
>May 2000Home >Test |