JMC Internship Report

Margaret Stegall

Greenville Health System

Public Relations Intern
Karen Potter, supervisor
June 20-July 29, 2016
132 hours

My internship at Greenville Health System provided me with an

incredible opportunity to be a part of the day-to-day business of public
relations. My classroom experience prepared me well for the tasks I was
assigned, but being a part of the office helped me to take what I know and
put it into real-world scenarios.
Some of my tasks included creating a press kit about a new Greenville
Memorial Campus expansion, creating a public relations plan for a new GHS
hospital in Spartanburg, writing press releases and contest entries, writing
blog posts, and creating social media content based on blogs, podcasts, and
upcoming GHS events. I also got some experience writing GHS internal
communications and compiling a resource manual for GHS public relations to
make available to the public. I was able to get experience with many
different aspects of hospital PR. There was a balance of short, time-sensitive
projects and more long-term assignments, which taught me time
management and how to prioritize.
GHS, while a hospital, is a business, and I learned a lot about their
balance between providing quality healthcare and running a profitable
business. The PR department has to have a consistent message and be
careful how they word all messages to their publics. I also learned a lot about
all the different publics GHS reachesconsumers, physicians, internal staff,
community leaders, legislators, and media. I learned that GHS has to make a
lot of decisions about what and when to disclose to the public, how to best
communicate internally, and how to respond in crisis situations. Often our

assignments changed last minutes because administrators changed their

plan. However, GHS recognizes the importance of public relations and my
supervisor, the PR manger, is often consulted on how best to communicate.
The Greenville Health System puts a lot of effort into educations,
whether that means school sponsorships or college internships. My
experience as a public relations intern allowed me to experience public
relations, community relations, and marketing first hand, all while learning
about the healthcare system and the ways people respond to different
messaging and how different departments come together for a common
purpose. My supervisor and the others I worked with gave me a variety of
opportunities and allowed me to attend meetings and be involved in many
different aspects of the department. I also had several opportunities to give
feedback on the internship experience. The educational component of GHS is
one of the strongest PR efforts. Through educational internships GHS is
growing a dedicated consumer base and equipping the next generation of
GHS ambassadors and employees. I loved being involved in planning the
social media editorial calendar and researching current topics for blog posts
and press releases. I also enjoyed getting to attend meetings and seeing how
PR plays a role in decision making. I was also able to make connections with
people working in different departments of GHS and interview hospital staff
for the blog. Through an interview with a Child Life Specialist I was able to
get helpful information for graduate school and make important connections
for future internships and jobs.

One area that I wish I would have had more experience in would be
dealing with the media. I would have liked to have attended some press
conferences and media interviews. I was able to speak to a few reporters
who attend GHS board meetings, but I did not have much direct contact with
the media, although I learned that GHS does have a good relationship with
local media. This is especially important because GHS is the largest employer
in the Upstate, and the people who live here have a lot invested in the
system. I also would have liked to have more experience actually posting on
social media and the opportunity to learn more about the audiences GHS
reaches on social media and what the hospital has found to be effective in
communicating over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. The use of
social media is one area that I believe GHS as a whole can improve in, and I
will be interested to see how they continue to adapt their social media
strategy to compete with growing alternative healthcare options in the
Upstate.
I learned that my education has equipped me well to understand the
process of public relations and to accomplish the assignments given to me. I
was comfortable writing and researching, and I understood the PR
terminology and was comfortable in the healthcare setting. I accomplished
tasks quickly and my supervisor recommended my work to other
departments. I especially appreciated what I learned in Public Relations
Writing and Social Media Management. Creating a social media campaign
and a PR plan were the class assignments that best prepared me to work at

GHS. My familiarity with Greenville was also a strength. I was able to create
content easily and connect with people I worked with. One example of that is
a blog post I did on things for families to do in Greenville and a series on
Twitter about the Saturday Farmers Market.
One area I would like to grow in is being able to come up with original
ideas for PR or community relations campaigns. At GHS there were many
opportunities for creative brainstorming, and as I become more comfortable
with my abilities and my knowledge of healthcare, Id like to be able to come
up with new ideas based on a clear understanding of GHSs publics. I would
also like to receive more instruction in areas such as marketing and
community relations, because this internship taught me how closely those
areas are tied to public relations. While different, each department has a
common goal and most of the time all had parts to contribute to any project
we worked on.
Technology played a big part in my internship experience, especially in
working with the social media department and compiling the online
community resource manual. GHS communicates almost exclusively digitally
within the system, and the editorial department creates mostly online
content. However, there are still a lot of uses for traditional media. Print
journalists cover board meetings and changes in the system, and GHS
produces several print magazines and mailers. Because GHS services such a
wide variety of people, it is important to communicate on all levels of

technology. It was interesting to hear those in the PR department decide on

the best ways to get their message to the publics.
The most important lesson I learned throughout this internship was
how to apply a biblical worldview to this corporate environment. I was able to
write about family-friendly activities, how to compassionately care for those
being treated at GHS, and how GHS should best keep children safe at
pediatric facilities. It was important to think biblically about these issues and
present them as clearly as possible. I also enjoyed the time I was able to
spend getting to know my co-workers and hearing their backgrounds and
stories. It was encouraging to hear their positive experiences with Bob Jones
students and graduates, which have, most importantly, been a good
reflection of Christ.
Working in the healthcare system has been my goal for many years,
and healthcare has been the focus of my previous internship and my
classwork. This internship has solidified my desire to work in this field and
my belief in the importance of communication for healthcare. The work GHS
does in research, treatment, and education can only be done through
informing people of the importance of that research, treatment, and
education. A system as large as GHS is not effective if employees within the
system are not on the same page and if the public does not have a clear
understanding of the organizations vision. It is so important to have people
who are passionate about GHS communicating for GHS, and I was privileged
to work with people who are not only incredible talented, experienced, and

connected, but who are also dedicated to GHSs vision of Heal

Compassionately. Teach Innovatively. Improve Constantly. My internship was
an excellent example of the dedication of GHS to teach innovatively
through hands-on, real-world experience.