The goals of the Symposium were to help attendees envision how to communicate their health and healthcare stories so as to effectively influence the public and policy/decision makers; and to develop confidence, skills and strategies to share their expertise in public and policy spaces, including with non-conventional audiences beyond the health sector.
The Symposium was inspired in part by the findings of the Woodhull Study Revisited: Nursesā Representation in Health News Media 20 Years Later (2018), that shows Nurses actually lost ground in terms of representation in media in the past 20 years, from a starting position of almost invisible. Meanwhile, nursesā voice and expertise are similarly under-represented in policy and governance spheres. Which means nurses are not yet fulfilling their social responsibility towards Health for All.
The event was comprised of two panels; Working with Journalists, Storytellers and the People who have the Power to Act and Using Social Media Effectively and Ethically for Positive Impact. Panelists provided a range of expertise and insights in photojournalism, broadcasting, communications, nursing, academics, policy and lobbying. They shared their experiences frankly and generously, some stepping outside their usual spheres to purposefully consider and include the nursing reality. Panelists offered tangible, usable tips and tactics for getting nursesā voices heard, on diverse media and policyĀ platforms.
Panelists and audience members engaged in discussions about current barriers to nursesā voices being heard in public spaces. These ranged from systems-level regulatory and organizational vetoes on nurses speaking to journalists, to general lack of understanding of each otherās roles in media, nursing, and policy, to individual-level discomfort with putting oneself āout thereā. āEven now, I hate having this microphone in my face,ā acknowledged one audience member with a smile as she stood up to ask a question, ābut Iām going to ask my question.ā
The final message was clear, certain and urgent: nurses must take up the call to āvoiceā. If the buzz in the room during the celebratory reception is any indicator, we are on our way. A huge thank you to all who made this a successful event!
