Last night I watched “And in the end,” the final episode of “ER.”
When the show first came out, I watched it religiously. It was more relevant to my life then.
Why? My work revolved around hospitals, home health care, residency programs, organ and bone marrow transplants, and heart disease. My business really took off when I contacted every Chicago health care organization communications contact and asked them if they would like to receive my quarterly newsletter.
Business crossed over into real life.
In the midst of a project to train pharmaceutical reps on how to sell a cardiovascular drug, my father become seriously ill with congestive heart failure. When I got to the hospital and started asking questions, the medical team wanted to know if I was a cardiologist. To borrow a line from one of my writing friends, I said, “I don’t do heart surgery, but I write about it.”
Drama, hope and trauma – three things that go together in the medical world.
That’s why watching”ER” was so important to me. The show reflected my world and I wanted to be part of it. But, I quit watching it when my client mix changed.
Today, we don’t have any health care clients in our mix. That chapter closed about ten years ago. Then, retail opened followed by non-profit and government. Now, I’m moving in more of a pure leadership strategy direction while managing teams to write and produce projects.
Do I miss medical marketing? I miss hearing [and telling] the stories about what really goes on in real life – especially from a home health care perspective, but that’s what I grew up with. Every Sunday my two aunts would talk about our town’s medical events of the week: one managed a floor at our local hospital and the other commanded the control room/reception area for one of the busiest doctor’s office in town.
Watching the show last night was nostalgic. I thought about how “ER” was filming at the same hotel where I hosted a sold-out web writing conference for writers in 2002. I never saw the actors that day, but I did mention the show in the conference introduction.
Today, I’m still writing on the web and thinking about watching the last “ER” episode online one more time.
Where were you then and what do you need to be watching now?
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2 thoughts on “Branding by Being Who You Are: Right Now”
Did you ever had any experience with malicious reports of malpractice? Quite a few medical professionals have been put out of business by vindictive patients who don’t follow through with prescribed medicines etc. rather than taking the blame, they blame their positions. There is a group of medical, veterinarian and dental victims of this phenomena looking to lobby Congress for changes in electronic libel laws. We are interested in comments all PR professionals at may be interested in the project.
Did you ever had any experience with malicious reports of malpractice? Quite a few medical professionals have been put out of business by vindictive patients who don’t follow through with prescribed medicines etc. rather than taking the blame, they blame their positions. There is a group of medical, veterinarian and dental victims of this phenomena looking to lobby Congress for changes in electronic libel laws. We are interested in comments all PR professionals at may be interested in the project.