Well, life as an intern was a bit of a mixture of different feelings, it was educative, it was enjoyable and it was a bit frustrating at times.
A hospital is where a lot of people come on daily basis for their health issues, some come to visit their sick relatives. And with that large number of people visiting an organization on daily basis, they are bound to be complaints either from the staff or the customers themselves.
Public Relations Office dealt with complaints on daily basis. I had patients coming to complain about the fact that they did not find the help that they needed.
During my time,I had two incidents that were brought to me and were very challenging. First issue was about an infant who was delivered and then administered wrong medication. The infant got sick and it was only realized after two days that indeed the pharmacist who was on charge administered wrong medication. The parents of the baby wanted to sue the hospital.
So i had to make sure that this incident does not reach the newspapers before we sat down with the parents to try and solve the issue. The issue was resolved successfully and the pharmacist who was on charge during the day was suspended.
The other incident involved a gentlemen who had undergone an operation on his testicles while he was still fourteen. At the moment, this gentlemen is twenty six years. So after twelve years since the operation was done, the customer came with his complaints, since he was only regarded as a minor then, that meant his parents took decisions on his behalf. He told us that after he reached his puberty age, he started experiencing some problems. Because the testicles are needed to produce testosterone to help provide the bones with strength, he has always felt weak due to the fact that he lacks testosterone in his body.
I sat down with both the complaint and the Hospital manager to see the way forward. The hospital decided to provide him with medication that would with his situation, the medication this gentlemen was offered is expensive and the fact that he could not afford it meant that the hospital had to agree to provide him with it monthly.
The two cases were all solved amicably and i was involved in solving the two cases.
Salvador..
7 comments:
Hi Salvador. Wow, that would have been extremely challenging. I didn't realise the Public Relations department dealt with these mishap issues, it really opens your eyes to what challenges PR professionals would face in a hospital setting. I'm full of questions now, did you know how to deal with such a heavy issue as a student? During my internship so far I have not had to deal with issues that affect the personal lives of families thus would have a very little idea how to resolve such an issue. Thanks for sharing your experience and good luck for the future! Sarah
Hi Sarah. Well, it was very challenging, it needed experience of which i did not have.
But through the help i got from my supervisor, i got to comprehend the challenges i will face throughout my stay there. As students, we are taught that PR is all about creating annual reports,communication messages,consultancy, just to mention a few.
But when you get into the real world,where now you have to implement what you learnt, you will find that what is needed from you is completely different from your expectations.The expectations also depends on the organisation you work for.
Thanks for your comment Sarah and good luck on your future plans as well..
Hi Salvador,
I'm so glad to hear that you were successful in resolving these issues. It must have been challenging and I'm thankful that I don't need to handle these issues during my internship(at least for now).
It's a great experience though. I'm sure you will look back on this and give yourself a pat on your back when you're done.
All the best for the rest of your internship! :)
Would love to hear more in detail about what issues you encountered during your internship.
Hi Salvador,
Wow, imagine being thrown into the thick of things during an internship! Hospitals and PR make a very challenging combination, and while it was daunting, it must have been so insightful being able to see how crisis management and communication takes place. My organisation works with people impacted by domestic violence, and while we have yet to experience any sort of crisis (I hope we never do!), we have been thoroughly briefed about privacy and keeping names and faces secret, etc.
I'm glad you've made it through these just fine, and hope you'll continue learning in such an exciting manner!
Danielle
Hi Andrew.
Thanks for the compliment on my work. But of course it was very challenging, given the fact that i was only new in the field. I had to make sure i comprehend whatever i learnt from class precisely and fast in order to tackle the issues at my disposal.
It was all a great experience for me at the end of the day.
Best Regards.
Hi Danielle.
Thanks a lot for your comment Danielle.
Indeed Hospitals and PR make a very challenging combination. Large numbers of people visit hospitals daily and thus problems or complaints will always be there, therefore we as PR practitioners have to make sure that this issues do not reach the media and damage the image of the hospital.
Seems you are well placed in a good organisation, good luck in all you do.
Best Regards.
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