• A reporter wants to interview someone about
ASA’s new practice parameter on intraoperative
awareness — and her deadline is in a few hours
…
•
A grandmother calls, wanting to do some research
because her 4-year-old granddaughter will be having
an MRI under general anesthesia …
•
A high school student sends an e-mail requesting
information about the profession of anesthesiology
for a class project …
•
An ASA member calls, asking what he can do about
a newspaper article that portrays only one side
of an important anesthesia issue …
ll of these inquiries to the ASA Communications Department
occurred recently in the same week. Because of our
strong communications program, we were able to respond
to each request in a timely manner. ASA has the tools,
programs and resources necessary to assist the public,
our legislators, other health care providers and our
members with issues relating to the profession of
anesthesiology.
The Communications Department works very closely with
the ASA leadership, the Washington Office and many
of ASA’s committees and task forces in not only
responding to situations but also by proactively advocating
ASA’s position on many issues. ASA staff act
as ombudsmen to the public and manage the day-to-day
details of media relations and publications. They
work especially closely with the Committee on Communications
in the development and implementation of many products
and programs, including public and patient education
materials, spokesperson training programs and the
development of a “media response network.”
Responding to Issues
When a potentially confusing or controversial issue
related to anesthesiology is brought to the attention
of the public, the position of all anesthesiologists
and ASA must be effectively communicated. Sometimes
a topic will appear in the press, last for one day,
then never reappear. Often an issue that has been
around for years will attain heightened public attention
for some period of time because of action by an organization
(which may be ASA), because of a public relations
campaign or because of a lone media story or even
a movie. There is much “behind the scenes”
work in coordinating a strategy and response to these
issues. This often involves discussion among ASA leaders,
committee chairs, ASA members with a particular area
of expertise and staff in both the Park Ridge and
Washington offices. Occasionally, this is done on
very short notice when a particular topic receives
intense media coverage or scrutiny and must be addressed
in a relatively short period of time, sometimes within
hours.
With more longstanding issues, ASA’s communications
strategy includes educational brochures, news releases,
feature articles, video news releases and “hot
topic” discussions at our various spokesperson
training programs. We also provide speaking points
to members who wish to speak to the media, the public
or legislators, in conjunction with our governmental
affairs staff, about a particular issue. Soon we will
have a collection of Web-based “FAQ” sheets
that will provide the public with much-needed information
on common anesthesiology topics (see
article on page 10).
One of the most immediate, efficient and successful
means of responding to an issue in the media is to
submit a letter to the editor of the publication in
question. Our strategy is for the ASA President or
another designated expert to submit a letter communicating
the most important points for ASA and its members.
We couple this with letters from individual anesthesiologists
who can speak passionately about the issue from the
personal experience that comes from treating patients.
Communications staff are happy to advise members who
wish to submit such letters.
Responding to Media Inquiries
Unfortunately not all media stories about anesthesiology
include an interview with an ASA member or even information
obtained from ASA. That would be a worthy goal. While
the Communications Department knows about the stories
for which we are contacted, there are many more stories
“out there” that we find through clip
services or as ASA members forward them to us. Of
the several hundred stories in 2005 that mentioned
anesthesia, ASA or anesthesiologists, about 225 involved
direct contact with the reporter. Many more were inspired
by one of the news releases ASA distributes throughout
the year. In some cases, a reporter will contact a
local hospital to get a source for information. All
of these scenarios are opportunities for ASA’s
messages to get to the public. You can do this with
the help of the Communications Department through
key speaking points to include in your conversation.
This is enhanced by offering reporters a link to the
ASA Web site and, specifically, patient/public educational
materials, governmental or legislative affairs documents
or other relevant print pieces.
Public Education
ASA’s proactive public education efforts revolve
largely around materials developed by our Committee
on Communications (COC) in conjunction with many of
our clinical specialty committees. The COC meets several
times each year, has an active listserve and is involved
in the following: production and updating of patient
education materials; creation of the Doctors Day kit
and video news release (with a different timely theme
each year — see story on page 8); exhibits at
the meetings of other medical societies that have
an interest in anesthesiology; and coordination and
planning of our many spokesperson training programs.
The COC also provides a Communications Workshop at
the ASA Annual Meeting and, in 2005, held a special
Spokesperson Training workshop for residents (see
article on page 12). To date,
ASA has trained more than 700 spokespersons in various
parts of the country since the inception of the Spokesperson
Training Program in 1988. A goal for the upcoming
year is to keep this “media response network”
engaged and active by providing more tools, kits,
story ideas and contacts for members so that they
can succeed at forging and sustaining relationships
with their local media.
The Communications Department, again working closely
with ASA leadership, COC and other members, also initiates
news releases promoting new studies that demonstrate
the value of anesthesiologists’ services and
the important research being done by our members.
A recent example was a research study showing the
safe and efficacious use of labor epidurals in early
labor.
Strategic Public Outreach
Generated from a task force more than two years ago,
ASA aimed to improve the public’s understanding
of the profession of anesthesiology through its Strategic
Public Outreach initiative. The program aims to help
state component societies implement communication
programs tailored to their specific needs and audiences.
It also facilitates special projects in response to
specific issues on the national radar screen to ensure
that an accurate picture of anesthesiology is portrayed
and to maximize the positive image of our profession.
ASA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Strategic Public Outreach,
chaired by Carolyn F. Bannister, M.D., is responsible
for this program. State-level activities undertaken
in the last year in Colorado and Washington, D.C.,
have included sponsorship of “tag lines”
on National Public Radio, spokesperson training and
help in promoting local outreach events such as health
fairs and workshops.
Call Us!
The ASA Communications Department and COC invite members
to contact us with questions about media interviews,
responses to articles, spokesperson training, patient
education materials and the ASA NEWSLETTER.
Members are encouraged to check the ASA Web site regularly
at <www.ASAhq.org>
for information to assist with communication and for
updates on current issues of importance to our specialty,
our patients and our members.
New Staff
At this time, we would like to introduce ASA’s
new Public Relations Manager, Donna E. Habich, who
joined us in December. Ms. Habich has extensive experience
in communications work in the health care, corporate
and nonprofit arenas. Welcome, Donna!
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Michael H. Entrup, M.D., is Chair, Department
of Anesthesiology, Lahey Clinic, Burlington,
Massachusetts. |
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Gina
A. Steiner has been Director of Communications
at ASA since March 2004. |
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