OF late, because of the continuing rise of Alzheimer’s Disease which affects a part of the brain involving thought, memory and language, many articles have espoused not retiring from one’s profession because of the health benefits of keeping an active and nimble mind.
If there is one industry where practitioners never really retire, it is in public relations and communications. Why so? Because in this field, one’s experience and expertise is honed over time.
First, the senior practitioner has an enviable network—whether it be the media contacts, the government functionaries, private sector partners and colleagues in the profession—these are people whom you have built relationships with over time.
Trust, a key component and core value of a communications professional, is one that is best tested over time and circumstances.
Second, the seasoned practitioner has a mastery of tools and techniques which make him not just technically competent but an expert.
Third is the maturity and the ability to think strategically. So, an excellent pr professional is one who has a good understanding of the business and how he can support the company’s goals and aspirations. He also has the ability to work with cross-functional teams and provide value to the team.
And so, if I simply examine the circle of IPRA members, our small group of senior practitioners, no one has really retired and is simply enjoying the fruits of a long and successful career whether as a corporate executive or a business owner. Everyone of us has pursued passion projects, enhanced our talents, discovered and rediscovered new gifts that will allow us to live each day with meaning and purpose.
Like wine, the PR professional gets better over time. Every practitioner must strive to be part of senior management and have the ability to shape policy. The wisdom and expertise acquired through years of experience can only make a PR professional even more valuable and indispensable.
I myself took an early retirement from my corporate job in the pharmaceutical industry to devote my time in advancing patient rights and working towards health for all. Having been exposed to the health care system, I saw the stark realities of a system that is broken and fragmented. And so, I vowed to do my share albeit in a different capacity where I lead the different patient advocacy groups to have their voices heard by the government.
It is a challenge to advocate for a particular disease. There is often a need to create awareness of the disease in order to make people aware of what patients go through in battling their condition. And this is where the skills of a good communicator are useful because it is about story-telling. The patient is most effective when he is able to share his personal experience with the disease and the challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis.
However, pushing for health policy is a different ballgame altogether. There is a need to be evidence-based, and so facts and statistics play a major role in determining policy. The communicator’s ability to translate evidence into something easily understood and digested comes in handy.
Fourth, the communicators’ skill in amplifying the disease condition and create a sense of urgency to move people into action is most critical. And finally, the ability to bring stakeholders to work together is a skill that someone who has earned the trust and respect of people can only be possible. At the end of the day, it will always be a battle of budget and focus and those advocacies which get attention are those who have champions willing to push the agenda forward.
And so here I am, nine years in the non-profit sector and still trying my best to be the change I need to see and articulating a vision for Health for All.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Karen Alparce-Villanueva is currently President of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO) and Founder, Myeloma Support for Patient Empowerment, Access and Knowledge. She is also Board Member of other non-profit organizations namely the Patients For Patient Safety of the International Alliance of Patient Organizations (IAPO) as well as the Patient Safety Advisory Board (Asia-Pacific). She also sits as Council Member of the International Patient Advisory of the British Medical Journal and Member of the Advisory Board of the Health Equity Program of the College of Public Health University of the Philippines, Manila and Board Member of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
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