What Does Non-Profit Healthcare PR Mean?

As PR student and a member of two of Temple's largest PR organizations, I've heard of many of the different areas of PR one can get into: sports, lifestyle, fashion, non-profit, corporate, etc. One that I haven't heard very often is non-profit health care.

For the past three years I have played with the idea of going to medical school. I love medicine, learning about it, hearing about people's stories, and everything in between. But I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to math and science, and so I've put medical school on the back burner for the moment. Instead, I looked into different hospitals and health organizations. All of them have PR teams. On Friday, I had lunch from the PR manager at Shriners Hospital for Children to learn more about what exactly non-profit healthcare PR is. And I fell in love.

Part of what the PR department at a hospital does is learn about patients. Through telling the story of a patient, the PR rep can then tie-in a mention of the hospital, e.g. a new machine that allows for John Doe to walk for the first time in 20 years, etc. Just like any other industries, you will pitch reporters, create internal newsletters, and the like. But you get to talk to people every day who you are directly helping. By spreading the word about your hospital, more people will be interested and inclined to seek help at your hospital or donate.

For someone who has been struggling about their career for forever now, it feels so relieving to finally find my place in the world, a place that I'm passionate about. I would encourage anyone out there struggling to find their path to just dabble in everything, it may take awhile but you'll find your place too :)