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Issues Update
American Journal of Nursing -
January, 2003 - Volume 103, Issue 1
Media Relations 101
The ANA and other nurse leaders encourage nurses to reach out to the media.
As president of the New Hampshire Nurses Association, Susan Fetzer, PhD, RN, has repeatedly found herself in the media spotlight—providing the voice and face of nursing for a wide range of issues. Sometimes she’s had ample time to prepare, sometimes not.
For example, this summer Fetzer was baking cookies with her daughter when she received a phone call asking if she could come to the local TV studio at noon to give an RN’s perspective on a new report on the nursing shortage penned by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). It was 10 am, and she hadn’t seen a copy of the report.
Unwilling to pass on a crucial media opportunity, Fetzer got her hands on the report, donned her “TV outfit,” and drove to the studio while her 15-year-old daughter read JCAHO’s findings aloud.
When working with the media, Fetzer maintains, it is important to strike when the iron is hot.
“When the media need information, they often want you to be available now—not a day later, not six hours later,” she said. “If you can’t accommodate them, they will just find someone else.”
And that someone might not necessarily be a nurse or have the best interest of nurses or health care consumers at heart.
In demand
Blame it on aging baby boomers or a news machine that must be fed 24/7, but stories about health care are hot. Major newspapers have entire sections devoted to them. And radio and TV stations, as well as print and online publications, are constantly churning out stories on everything from the latest medical breakthroughs to trends within the health care industry. Nursing issues, such as RN staffing shortages, patient safety, and mandatory overtime, have been on media radar screens for some time now—stories kept alive largely by nurses. The ANA and its constituent member associations (CMAs) take a proactive approach to ensuring that RNs’ voices on vital issues are heard. They accomplish this, in part, by placing nurse members front and center at press conferences, congressional hearings, and rallies, and by promoting nurses as essential news sources. The ANA and CMAs also are constantly fielding calls from general media and specialized nursing media personnel who want to talk with “a real, live nurse.”
“The media want to speak to us because we’re nurses, and nurses need to realize that we’re starting from a very positive place,” said ANA president Barbara Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP. “The public trusts us, as confirmed by the annual Gallup polls on honesty and ethics. People look to us to help them understand health care issues—for themselves and their families.”
Blakeney and other nurses believe that it’s important for nurses to build on that foundation of trust by sharing their knowledge with the media and, in turn, the public. “Many nurses shy away from media opportunities, because they don’t think of themselves as having the skills they need to work with reporters,” said Illinois Nurses Association president Mary Maryland, PhD, RN, APRN,BC, who frequently speaks to the media on health and nursing issues. “They might not think of themselves as health care experts, but they are.”
Furthermore, nurses have inherently strong communication skills that they use in their practice, such as when they instruct their patients in the use of medications.
Jumping in
Fetzer considers talking with the media a form of public speaking—reportedly most people’s number-one fear. “But with practice comes improvement, and more comfort,” Maryland added.
Nurses can ease into the spokesperson role by first presenting information on a hot health care topic in a group setting where they already feel comfortable—such as the PTA or a church group—Maryland said. As a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, knowing she is performing a public service and talking about something she believes in make her feel more comfortable. The ANA and many CMAs offer materials and training programs designed to help nurses become more adept at dealing with journalists. They also assist nurses serving as spokespersons to prepare for interviews and media events, such as press conferences promoting nurse-friendly legislation. Entire books have been written about how to become media savvy (Fetzer recommends From Silence to Voice: What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public by Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon.) The following, however, are some general suggestions that nurses accustomed to working with reporters have found helpful in navigating media waters.
Be prepared—or at least as prepared as possible given a reporter’s deadline. Before agreeing to do an interview, nurses should be clear on what topic to be discussed is and the reporter’s goals for the story, and they should have the knowledge necessary to address the issue.
If there is time to prepare, Maryland suggests researching the topic online. If a reporter is writing a story on diabetes, for instance, look up the latest information on blood glucose tests or relevant legislation. “Knowing up-to-date information gives you credibility,” Maryland said.
Staying on top of issues surrounding nursing and health care also is crucial for nurses who routinely need to take calls from people with tight deadlines, according to Fetzer.
“I always have three or four facts or figures in my head about pertinent issues,” Fetzer said. “For example, New Hampshire currently is experiencing a 10% shortage of nurses.”
Further, Fetzer believes that it’s good to have two or three anecdotes in mind on major issues, such as the nursing shortage, to show their effect on consumers or the industry.
On the other hand, Blakeney warns nurses to stay away from subjects with which they have only superficial knowledge. Many reporters have strong health care backgrounds; they often are looking for the nursing perspective or for nurses to confirm or deny information.
“I turned down an interview because I felt I was not the appropriate content person,” she said. “But I helped the reporter by setting up an interview with another nurse.”
Maryland said, “It’s perfectly okay to say you don’t know the answer to a specific question. You can offer to get the answer and call back or refer them to someone else. But never compromise your integrity.”
Stick to three or four key points, or sound bites, that will drive home your message, and repeat them during the interview. For example, here are some of the ANA’s consistent messages on the importance of appropriate RN staffing: hospitals are jeopardizing the safety and quality of patient care by replacing nurses with unskilled, unlicensed personnel; information on nurse staffing should be available to the public so consumers can make informed choices about their hospitalizations; and RNs are the best value in health care, because patients recover more quickly when nurses provide care.
Make it easy for the media. Meet reporters’ deadlines and provide them with clear, concise information. “Let reporters know you are available, interested, and willing to provide them with the information they need,” Maryland said. By being accommodating, the media will be more apt to call back for comments on other articles, including those in which nursing’s voice should be heard. Said Blakeney, “You want to get in their Rolodexes.”
Stay on track. Most RNs have encountered articles in which the headlines or the content sensationalized an issue, such as medical errors, or that present a negative image of nurses. But Blakeney contends that most reporters have no hidden agenda. To get a story back on track, nurses suggest sticking to the predetermined key points, using phrases such as “I think the important point is . . .” Avoid repeating any negative language a reporter might pick up on.
When Maryland has addressed the topic of medical errors, for example, she’s focused her comments on the need to address systemic problems, appropriate nurse staffing, and enhanced technology.
“Nurses can turn a negative into a positive by sticking with the facts and big-picture thinking in which solutions are offered,” she said.
For more information on working with the media, go to the ANA’s Web site, www.nursingworld.org and click on RN=Real News. ANA also offers RN=Real News: The ANA Media Relations and You, a tool kit for nurses that contains a video and a 93-page notebook designed to helps RNs and nursing organizations build and improve their media skills to further nursing’s causes. Go to www.nursesbooks.org to order. For a continuing education module on media relations, RN=RealNews, go to www.nursingworld.org/ce/cecatalog.cfm. To register to become a media speaker, e-mail rn=realnews@ana.org or call (202) 651-7197.
Susan Trossman is the senior reporter for the American Nurse at the ANA.
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