You take the call - Dealing with calls from the public and the press

1. You take the call - Dealing with calls from the public and the press

2. G. Donald Frey, Ph.D. The Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC Dorothy Pirovano Public Communications, Inc Chicago, Il

3. I Oh - Hi - I am going on a trip to Europe and I am worried about the radiation exposure

4. Response • How do you respond to a call like this? • How do you help the caller? • How do you meet your professional obligations?

5. Identify Yourself

6. Identify Self • Who you are • What you are • Where you work Good Afternoon I am Dr Don Frey I am a medical physicist I work here in the radiology department here at MUSC

7. Source of Calls • Radiation Safety Office • Hospital Patient Information Line • Hospital Public Relations • Person’s Practitioner Suggested Call • Person Knows Who I Am The caller may not know who you are and they probably won’t understand what a medical physicist is.

8. General Question Medical Physics Consultation Refer to Other Practitioner Identify Yourself Define Nature of Call

9. MP Consult vs General Question • Might results affect medical care of patient? • Do measurements need to be made? • Do complex calculations need to be done?

10. Refer to Other Practitioner • General medical problems • People needing mental health care • People with possible radiation injury

11. General Question Identify Yourself Define Nature of Call Medical Consumer Ionizing radiation E&M Cancer clusters etc.

12. General Question Identify Yourself Define Nature of Call Medical Consumer Consumer products Airtravel Radioactive material etc.

13. General Question Identify Yourself Clarify Question Define Nature of Call

14. Clarify the Question • Is this a routine question? • Why is the person concerned enough to call? • What does the caller know? • Specific background • General education level & intelligence

15. I Oh - Hi - I am going on a trip to Europe and I am worried about the radiation exposure

16. Talking with callers • Pay attention to what the individual is saying • Ask yourself “Do I understand what the person is trying to ask me?” • Summarize now and then • Restate what the person is saying in your own words

17. Talking with callers • If the caller’s comments are lengthy make comments to indicate you are listening - “uh-huh” • Ask questions to clarify your understanding

18. When are you going? Do you fly often? Who is going with you? Why are you concerned about the radiation exposure? The caller had a young daughter that she wanted to take to Europe to see her grandparents. The daughter had had meconium aspiration and had had several chest films right after she was born.

19. General Question Identify Yourself Clarify Question Define Nature of Call Provide Facts

20. Provide Factual Information • Factual information • Appropriate detail based on your perception of caller’s ability to understand

21. General Question Identify Yourself Clarify Question Define Nature of Call Provide Facts Put Facts into Context

22. Put the Facts into Context • Compare to background radiation • Compare to exposure of radiation workers • Compare to pregnant radiation workers

23. General Question Identify Yourself Clarify Question Define Nature of Call Provide Facts Put Facts into Context Conclusions

24. Draw Conclusions • If possible let caller draw conclusions • More likely to get long term buy in • More likely to really understand • Caller’s conclusions don’t have to be the “correct” ones • If caller can’t draw conclusions provide tentative conclusions

25. Identify Yourself General Question Clarify Question Define Nature of Call Provide Facts Put Facts into Context End Call Conclusions

26. End Call • Provide a brief summary • Try to insure that caller is comfortable • Provide a mechanism for the caller to contact you in the future

27. Cancer Scares • Wide variety of issues • Power lines • Cell phones • … • Do you know enough to comment? • This is one of the hardest because of uncertainties

28. Cancer Scare • For the “intelligent” lay person • “The Cancer Cluster Myth” by Atul Gawande • New Yorker - Feb 8, 1999

29. Individuals that Need Referral to a Medical Practitioner

30. I Doctor - they said you might be able to help me. My neighbor is poisoning me with radiation from my TV set

31. I Doctor can you help me? I am sure I have radiation all over my body.

32. Doc - I used to be an industrial radiographer in the army and we were awfully careless. Now I get these terrible headaches and I feel just terrible? Do you think these headaches can be due to the radiation? I

33. Individuals that should be referred to other practitioners • Treat person with respect and interest • Try to find out where they get their other medical care • Encourage them to call their physician or mental health agency • Calls are not common but management is important

34. Dealing with the Fourth Estate

35. Most journalists are restless voyeurs who see the warts on the world, the imperfections in people and places…. gloom is their game, the spectacle their passion, normality their nemesis. Gay Talese :The Kingdom and the Power

36. Why deal with the media? • We wish to make a particular point about our institutions • We are trying to be sure the public is properly informed about medical physics issues • We are trying to protect the interests of our institutions • We are trying to preserve public order after a disaster

37. Preparing for the Interview • Determine if you are the right person for the interview • Prepare yourself • Select your primary message • Select examples to illustrate your main point • Have supporting documentation

38. Determine if you are the right person • How do you fit in the overall development of the story? • Does the reporter have a point of view • Are you • One of many? • The center piece? • The counterpoint

39. Determine if you are the right person • Do you have the knowledge to help the reporter? • If not can you suggest an alternative? • Additional people to interview

40. Prepare yourself • Watch the program or read the publication • Google the reporter – read other stories • Develop a sense of the “audience” • General level of the audience • What do they want to know?

41. Select your primary message • Two points (one primary & one secondary) that you want to make • This is the most important thing you can do • Knowing the points you want to make ahead of time keep you from floundering • Knowing your points allows you to take control of the interview

42. You are going to be interviewed on the subject of IMRT (or FFDM) What is your main point?

43. Select examples • The media like examples that involve people in life situations that the audience will relate to • e.g – A women called me last week and asked if she should delay her mammogram until a digital unit was available in the area. “I told her …”

44. Supporting Data and Documents • Media like to have facts and figures to support your main point • The Print Media especially like documents that they can read that give the background on the story • Use a highlighter to point them at your key points • Remember the are intelligent but ignorant

45. Techniques - General • Emphasize your main points • Anticipate key questions • Be concise • Conversation with friend • Tell the truth • “off the record” • “no comment”

46. Emphasize your main points • State them more than once • Use strong language • “This is very important” • “Let me emphasize this point” • “If there is one thing people should remember ..” • All this makes the reporter think this should be used

47. Anticipate Key Questions • What would you ask yourself • Who, What, Where, Why, When, How • Practice with an intelligent but ignorant person • Not a medical physicist or a physician

48. Be concise • Avoid • Long sentences • Jargon • Big Words • The audience won’t understand them • If you can’t say something in a simple way don’t say it

49. Tell the truth • Don’t mislead • Don’t hide behind nuance • Don’t make up details • Especially with print media you can “get back to them”

50. Off the record • There is no such thing • If you don’t want to see it in print don’t say it • Attribute to “knowledgeable source” • Use information to get the same thing from another source • Just forget