Communication Insights: Applying College Concepts into the World of PR

Upon display in the hallway of the office, there is a quote from Jack Nicholson written on
a dry erase board stating, The minute that you are not learning, I believe youre dead. After
spending my final semester of college interning in the community relations and marketing
department at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, in a society where there are constant updates
in technology, politics and channels of communication, I couldnt agree more with Nicholsons
point of view. I believe that from news stories and features to public relations or marketing
strategies, there is always something for the communication field to teach its practitioners and
myself. During my time at PRMC, I not only gained real-world experience in communications,
but I also learned the involvement that goes into a career in public relations, why this field is the
right fit for me, and what my strengths and weaknesses are in this point in the development of
my career. Furthermore, my time at the Medical Center taught me how to work as a team in a
professional atmosphere, validate that I chose the correct career path, transform adversity into
opportunity and execute various public relations strategies that will ultimately lead me to success
in my future endeavors.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
The thing that surprised me the most during my internship at PRMC is the amount of
team work that is exhibited on a daily basis. I always imagined public relations as a cut-throat
and demanding career, but until my internship, I hadnt recognized that there is an entire staff
working together to create marketing campaigns, plan and execute events and influence a
positive change to the community. In our department, to my surprise I learned that not every

article used for a specific medium is always a 100 percent original piece, and tasks dont only
cross one persons desk for completion. The Live Well campaign was originally created for
members of the hospital and the community to adapt healthier lifestyles. While this effort is led
by Laren, PRMCs marketing manager, Larry, the orange figure associated with the movement
was brought to life by Darren, the graphic designer and expands within the community relations
department.
The Live Well article that was used for the cover of the winter issue of Lifestyles was
first used in an issue of HealthFocus before it was re-purposed into the version I created and
displayed on the work samples page of my webfolio. Though this seemed like a totally foreign
concept to me at first, Rhonda told me that as long as the story was generated in our department,
we can re-use it without falling subject to plagiarism. Additionally, an article is often passed
around the office to be proofed before it is actually published. The proof of Lifestyles was edited
twice by most of the department and the Constant Contact newsletter was always reviewed by
Gwenn, community relations specialist, after I first gave it to Rhonda to look over. I determined
writing that reaches the hands of several people working toward a common goal is beneficial
because each person can offer their own insights into how to making it a stronger. From what I
had the chance to observe in this particular office, I concluded Roger to be excellent at phrasing
words in a clever and intelligent way, while Rhonda is knowledgeable in grammar rules and
Gwenns strengths include editing and paying close attention to detail. Though other offices
may have different guidelines and procedures, this aspect makes me feel more comfortable and
credible because I must admit, I am not always the best proof reader of my own work.
Megan Koester, Public Relations

I have always thought that communications was the correct field for me, but I wasnt
always sure about journalism and public relations until I transferred to Salisbury University.
When I read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in middle school, I always identified with
the character Bridget, who would be the first to jump in and defend her friends if they were being
picked on. Being identified as the fighter of my core group of friends at a young age, I have
always defended the reputations of those I care about and stood up for them during tough times.
Although I never witnessed any crisis management tactics in effect during my internship, I saw
first-hand how to positively represent an organization and I believe that I will succeed in doing
so in my career field.
Because of my loyalty to people, building and maintaining relationships has always been
important to me. Through the length of my internship, I learned the importance of establishing
working relationships with journalists and other media outlets that Professor Scovell taught us in
CMAT 340. The community relations and marketing staff have contacts at several local
companies including WBOC, Salisbury Independent, and local radio stations. In preparation for
the Drive-Thru Flu Clinic each year, Roger gets his flu shot on the air with Randy and Whiskey
during the morning show on Froggy 99.9. According to Professor Scovells class lecture, by
making a personal appearance Roger is not only promoting a hospital event, but creating news.
His relationship with Randy and Whiskey further insures that publicity will be generated not
only for that one event, but for any taking place in the future.
A Rocky Start to Smooth Sailing
As I began my internship, I was so eager and excited to gain experience and I had spent
the summer on Pinterest reading tips on how to be the best intern possible. I genuinely couldnt

wait to be taken under the wing of the community relations and marketing department. However,
I was working so many hours bartending to pay for the opportunity that it caused me to oversleep
during my second week. Since they hadnt yet had the chance to get to know me, I feel like they
assumed the worst as Roger told me he didnt know if I was the right fit for the organization and
that I disappointed him. Not only did this mistake cause them to lose faith in me and my ability
to contribute to the Medical Center, but I was discouraged because it made me think that they
couldnt rely on me and I no longer thought I was worthy of this internship. Because I realized
that my actions were counter-productive, I changed my availability at work so I could guarantee
there would never be an incident like that again. Although I knew I could change their opinions
of me, until about the middle of October, I feel like I only spoke when I was spoken to and was
very introverted while I was at the office. I am a very outgoing person and wanted to network
and get the most out of my internship, so after some time had passed, I finally regained my
confidence and continued to do my best and was proud of the work I was doing.
After some time passed after my mistake, I could tell that they realized I was competent
in completing the work they assigned me and I felt like I was contributing to the team. Through
this I learned that if you work hard, maintain a professional attitude and your commitment to an
organization, things will turn around. Although I did do some stereotypical intern duties such as
filing and organizing, it was very fulfilling to see press releases I wrote in the newspaper and on
the WBOC website. As my writing and work continued, I finally knew that they regained faith
in me when Rhonda told me that out of all the interns the department had mentored in the past, I
was one of their better writers. At one point she even went online and looked to see what job
openings were listed in the hospital and encouraged me to apply for them. It meant so much to
me that the department would be willing to recommend me for a job. After I gave Hank the

portion I completed for his community benefit report, he sent Rhonda an email saying that I did a
wonderful job and stopped by my office to thank me and to chat. While setting up for the Health
Council meeting, I paid close attention to the place settings and quickly fixed any issues that
were sub-par as it was important to make sure nothing could go wrong to decrease the Medical
Centers credibility during a presentation to the community. On my last day, I was surprised with
cupcakes and a parting gift and Chris, Roger, Laren, and Gwenn thanked me for all that I had
done. Laren told me to let her know if I ever needed a reference when I began applying for jobs.
The fact that they took a personal interest in me made me feel like I was part of the team and that
I wasnt just another intern passing through to complete a graduation requirement.
From the Classroom to the Real World
Although at this point it is slightly embarrassing to admit, I originally decided that I
wanted to go into a career in public relations after years of watching Samanthas character on
Sex and the City. Samantha was always attending the hottest New York events and seemed to
possess social connections with everyone in the city. Now I realize that only pieces of this
Hollywood exaggeration were accurate as only the social aspects of the job were shown instead
of the strategies of public relations campaigns. The first strategy I was introduced to was the
Peninsula Partners email newsletter I sent monthly through Constant Contact, followed by a
direct mail campaign, and the planning of a major event. In the creation of Lifestyles, I now
possess a deeper understanding of feature writing and the effort it takes to create a publication.
The goal of this type of newsletter is to convey a message to encourage community
involvement while maintaining a relationship and enhancing the quality of the target audiences
lifestyles (Diggs-Brown, 2013, 121). For this specific publication, the target audience is those

who are 55-years-old and above and reside in communities nearby the Medical Center. The key
to newsletters is to send them at regular intervals while including a calendar or dates of
community events (Diggs-Brown, 2013, p. 121). With the exception of Septembers issue when I
first started, I made sure that our newsletter sent as close to the first of the month as possible and
included the dates and times of Medical Center and Peninsula Partners sponsored events. The
Rhonda message as the introduction of the newsletter incorporates the personal, humaninterest touch that Diggs-Brown stated in The PR Styleguide (121). Like discussed in public
relations writing with Professor Scovell, we checked the percent of members who opened the
email, as it is a valuable tool to tracking brand awareness. Because not all elderly folks stay upto-date with email and technology or may have unfortunately passed away, it was difficult to
accurately measure the effectiveness of the publication. Although the outcomes were hard to
measure for this specific target audience, newsletters are beneficial because of the immediacy of
the internet and are cost-efficient in comparison to paper newsletters with postage costs (DiggsBrown, 2013, p. 127).
Another difficult task to complete was the direct mail campaign for the Veterans Day
Flu Clinic, offering free flu shots to all veterans and their spouses. According to Diggs-Brown
(2013), Direct mail campaigns are marketing and public communication tools used by
organizations to contact the target audience/customer directly, (43). According to Diggs-Brown,
for direct mail campaigns to be successful, the offer advertised should include something free to
generate a response (43). The civic organization mailing list I used to complete this campaign
consisted of local VFWs, American Legions, Lions Clubs and churches. While these
organizations specifically represented the audience we intended to reach for a flu clinic
organized for veterans, some of the addresses and P.O. boxes were incorrect. Initially we sent out

the flyers using bulk mail since there were over 300 addresses on the list, but they were slowly
returned, leading to further research. Because we hand to send out another round of flyers, this
campaign didnt seem to be very cost-efficient. Although there was also a press release to
generate news about this event, not as many veterans showed up to get their flu shot as we had
hoped.
While I witnessed the effort in planning events during my practicum with the Salisbury
Jaycees, through the planning and execution of the Drive-Thru Flu Clinic, I saw first-hand the
procedures necessary to carry out an event including project management, briefing staff, risk
management, and measuring outcomes. As stated in Professor Scovells event planning class,
when executing an event, it is important to brief your staff on policies, duties, and regulations to
ensure the event is executed with as little risk as possible. While volunteers were notified of
dress code regulations and that children were not permitted, there were still issues as a nurse was
dressed inappropriately and a couple volunteers brought children with them. While working the
check-in booth both days of the Drive-Thru Flu Clinic, I made sure volunteers understood their
responsibilities as a consent giver and consent taker on the line of the drive-thru as job
descriptions are important in the successful execution of a major event. During the post- DriveThru Flu Clinic meeting, the event committee measured the outcome by creating the list of plus
and deltas and came up with some different ideas to put into effect for next years event.
Throughout the meetings I attended, I understood the importance of project management
that Scovell taught in his event planning class. As Scovell explained in lecture, project
management includes systematically planning and implementing activities to ensure project
completion on time, within budget, and to the required specifications. In planning an event as
large-scale as this one, I learned that it is extremely important to have effective verbal and

written communication skills to make sure all workers are knowledgeable of their duties and can
contribute to implementing a successful event.
In Dr. Coxs class, advanced feature storytelling, we created an online news publication
on WordPress entitled The Squawk. Though Coffey Communications and my efforts creating
Lifestyles, I understand how to produce a publication. Though I became familiar with writing
features in classes with Dr. Bailey and Dr. Simmons, advanced feature storytelling enriched me
with a greater understanding of the journalistic field that carried on into my work at the Medical
Center. According to Cox, features are meant to connect to readers in meaningful ways, provide
a deeper look at the human experience, and illustrate a relevant topic. Though I didnt write the
entire Live Well article for Lifestyles, Coxs class helped me better understand how to write an
effective feature, how to tell a story using quotes and how Evergreen stories are used.
Additionally, when I was asked to write the Facebook articles for Laren, she told me not to be
afraid to use bullets. Because of this, 5 Things to Think About When Looking for a New
Physician and You Found a Physician, Now What? were inspired by the Buzzfeed type
features she taught us in class. These articles led me to promote the physician offices of
Peninsula Regional Medical Group and influence the audience to take charge of their health.
Because of my internship, I now possess a deeper understanding of how feature writing
contributes to public relations and marketing efforts.
Though originally I wanted to work for a public relations firm with clients companies to
publicize, I now think I may want to find a job working within the public relations department of
an organization. I believe that working in the public relations unit of a specific company is
equally if not more rewarding because instead of representing multiple organizations, I would
have the opportunity to put all my effort in benefiting a specific one. Because of my internship, I

realize the importance of working together on various strategies including newsletters, direct
mail campaigns, event planning, and feature writing to benefit one common organization. I can
now recognize my strengths and weaknesses as a professional and a practitioner of public
relations and have come out on top against adversity. At PRMC, the group I had the advantage of
working with not only maintains the image and reputation of the Medical Center, but further
expands to help the communities it serves.

References
Diggs-Brown, Barbara. 2013. The PR Styleguide. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.