Public Relations and Marketing Specialist

Public Relations and Marketing Specialist

Health care public relations and marketing specialists handle internal and external communications and promotions for a health care organization.

Work Activities/Work Locations

Health care public relations and marketing specialists usually work in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation or psychiatric facilities or for health maintenance organizations (HMO’s). Their responsibilities include writing for internal publications such as newsletters, handling media/publicity calls, preparing marketing plans for various programs, planning and strategizing promotional and marketing efforts and writing and creating collateral materials to promote services. They also organize events between the organization and the public. They usually work 40-hours a week, although hours can vary due to deadlines or an unforeseen crisis involving the organization.

Education: 2-4 years

Patient Interaction: High

Physical Activity: Medium

Salary: $60,850

Job Growth: Low

Health Care Facility Administrator

Getting Started

High School Courses

High school students should study health, social sciences, English and writing courses. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. A bachelor’s degree is required — combined with experience in public relations as an intern. Recommended areas of post secondary study include communications, journalism, English, public relations & advertising, or related field. Public relations professionals can become accredited through the Public Relations Society of America or the International Association of Business Communicators.

Education and Training

Educational Institutions

Professional Organizations

American Marketing Association
130 E. Randolph St., 22nd Floor
Chicago, IL, 60601
800/AMA-1150 or 312/542-9000
www.ama.org/Pages/default.aspx

Association for Women in Communications
1717 E. Republic Rd., Suite A
Springfield, MO, 65804
417/886-8606
www.womcom.org/

International Association of Business Communicators
601 Montgomery St., Suite 1900
San Francisco, CA, 94111
800/776-4222 or 415/544-4700
www.iabc.com/

Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network
2550 University Ave. W., Suite 350-S
St. Paul, MN, 55114-1900
www.mhscn.com/

National Communication Association
1765 N. St. NW
Washington, DC, 20036
202/464-4622
www.natcom.org/Default.aspx?id=538

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
33 Maiden Ln., 11th Floor
New York, NY, 10038-5150
212/460-1400
www.prsa.org

Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development
c/o American Hospital Association
155 N. Wacker, Suite 400
Chicago, IL, 60606
312/422-3888
www.shsmd.org

Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Society
www.whprms.org/

Career Outlook

Number Employed in 2012 (Wisconsin): 7,040
Number Employed in 2014 (U.S.): 240,700
Expected Employment in 2024 (U.S.): 255,600
Percent Employment Growth (2014-2024): 6%
Expected Annual Openings: 4,360
Median Salary in 2014 (Wisconsin): $60,850

Salary information is located at Career One Stop

Wisconsin AHEC Health Careers Information Center provides the most current salary information available from CareerOneStop. CareerOneStop will have a lapse between when the information is gathered and when it is released.

Public Relations and Marketing Specialist

Work Activities/Work Locations

Related Careers

Getting Started

Educational Institutions

Career Outlook