John Atkinson, public relations manager for East Alabama Medical Center, has some advice for public relations students and practitioners who are considering working in health care.

The public relations manager said that in his field practitioners work with a wide range of audiences and situations. He said that when he started work with EAMC nearly 12 years ago, it took some time for him to adjust to his new job.

Atkinson said that he had to get acclimated to the environment. In the health care field, the practitioner is exposed to disease, medical problems and trauma on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

"You have to be ready to deal with sad stuff," he said.

The Auburn University alumna has to be cautious when performing media relations for the hospital. As a public relations practitioner, Atkinson must be able to answer questions and confirm information from the media while observing the laws of patient confidentiality in the health field.

Since Atkinson has been at the hospital, he has seen it grow from about 1,500 employees to nearly 2,700. Public relations has changed in many ways for Atkinson in the past decade.

He has overseen the redesign of the EAMC Web site and adapted new technologies like memos that gave way to e-mail and other electronic communication.

The world moves at a faster pace; the same is true for the media and public relations.

"The media want their news faster and faster," Atkinson said. "You used to have longer to react."

The hospital spokesperson said that there is a big difference between public relations now, and the public relations he learned at AU nearly 17 years ago.

There are many challenges in health care public relations, but Atkinson said that he has learned to deal with and thrive in those situations.

The practitioner said that people working in health care have to get used to the surgeries and traumas. Sometimes Atkinson will end up in the operating room more than once in a year to record and release presentations about new surgeries.

Prospective practitioners to the health care field can expect to visit the emergency room frequently to report to the media about wrecks, stabbings and gunshot wounds, he said.

"You can't have a squeamish stomach," he said.

Other parts of Atkinson's job are similar to other public relations jobs. He writes, develops and edits the company newsletter. There is a constant flow of communication in and out of his office through e-mail, phone calls and the occasional knock at the door. He works with hospital information technology specialists to develop the hospital's Web site and intranet.

He said that he writes news releases, but not many. He also stays in touch with the media.

"They have my cell phone number, and they are not afraid to use it," Atkinson said with a laugh.

For Atkinson, the most challenging part of his job is having to work with patients and their families so the hospital can release their condition to the media. He said it can be a touchy and difficult matter.

"You always have to say something," he said.

All career fields are filled with challenges; the field of health care public relations is no different. Some of the challenges in health care will involve tragedy, but not all.

For more than a decade, Atkinson has been meeting the challenges of health care public relations. He had only three words for the people who liked the health care job description.

"Go for it," he said.


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