Talking to the Press???

[rmprn]

I need some advice here and maybe some reassurance from my fellow RNs.

I spoke to a reporter who was asking my opinion about proposed legislation in our state that would make it "harder to sue doctors for FOLLOWING the living will of a patient." I said that I would support such legislation because I have seen many cases where a patient's living will is NOT FOLLOWED because the family pressures the doctors to "do everything."

So the reporter wrote an article and quoted me, butchered my words and such to make it look like I said that I see advanced directives (living wills) being ignored on a regular basis (which I do, but still, the quote sounds very harsh).

The article did not state my place of employment, but it did state my name and the city where I live, and my specialy (ICU).

Despite the fact that I don't like the context in which my words were used, the statements I made were true. I read many of your posts in the "Witholding of treatment in Elderly patients" thread where you expressed your heartbreak at seeing living wills ignored because the family cannot let go. We all know it happens every day. I for one think something should be done about it, and we should follow a patients wishes ESPECIALLY when they do everything "right" by having it "in writing" as they are told to do.

But I am scared that my employers may read the article and I may get in trouble. My last name is common and I can deny that it was me at all, but I don't know if they will believe me. IF they even read the article. Or I could say I was misquoted (which Iwas). didn't name names or say anything specific. Still, I am having second thoughts about talking to this reporter. Too late though! It's done.

Have any of you ever talked to the press and been reprimanded? CAN you be reprimanded? I mean, we do live in America. That doesn't mean I'm safe though. Just wondering if any of you have ever been quoted on TV or in the paper and faced any consequences.

Should I change my name and start job hunting?

Please guys, try not to scare me too much!

[ratchit]

You can deny everything. Problem being some people will assume it's you but never ask you about it. So people will think you said it and won't ever give you a chance to deny it.

Or you can write a letter to the editor saying that way your edited comments were printed did not reflect what you said to the reporter. Request a retraction, which no one will read but you can keep a copy of and bring out in case you are ever reprimanded.

I doubt discipline is legal in this case, but if you're worried about it, maybe you could bring the situation to your manager's attention and ask "for her guidance" in writing your letter to the editor? Best defense is a good offense and all...

I was interviewed for a nursing journal a couple years ago and was also upset at how my comments were altered. Some of my comments were accurate, but the question they asked me was not exactly the question they printed. In some places, they took parts of different sentences and spliced them together. I did not like the way I or my thoughts were portrayed. The author deferred to the publisher, who sent me a lawyer-like email saying the comments were accurate and there would be no retraction. I had never asked for a retraction, just that the comments be deleted from any further use or printing of the article and that I never be contacted by them again. I also cancelled my subscription.

I also have a distinctive last name. I have never been asked about it since then. I've never noticed any fall out from it either, even though it was printed in a national magazine.

If you don't hear about it in the next couple months, I'd say you don't have to worry about it.

[breanna]

It is the press's job to print, not the truth, not everything, but SOMETHING. And that something should be as interesting as possible - so an interesting slant must be created.

I am so sorry that you had to get burned. It happens every day. I know that does not help and am sorry you had to go through that. I feel so bad for you.

Common to nursing and press (media or PR) specialists:

There is much to know.

Successes are rewarding.

Mistakes can be devastating.

Please, before anyone talks to the press, take a course (at least read some books) on how to deal with the press. They are powerful and like defibrillators can be powerfully helpful or powerfully deadly. There are some great books out for the non-media professional.

I know a few people who are nurses and media specialists - seek someone like that out an get your training if you don't want to read about it.

We really need to get these skills for ourselves in the midst of what is going on in nursing and healthcare. How powerful we could be if we learned to use this tool for the best advantage!!!

Good luck.

[-jt]

For what? You dont mention your employers name. You dont mention any pts name. You did nothing wrong. I speak to reporters all the time and let them publish my name. Usually its about nurses working conditions, the decline of care in the hospital due to cost cutting & short staffing. Not stuff the hospital is happy to see. I have written articles with strong opinions too. My employer's public relations dept sends me copies of anything they find with my name in it. Like I dont know its there and havent already gotten my own copy? Sometimes theres no note with whatever they send me. Sometimes theres a little comment attached like "thanks for your advocacy" or something like that. Occasionally I am tempted to call them and ask if they meant it or were just being facetious. I mean should I read that comment as being said with sarcasm? I dont know. I just ignore it. I think theyre just trying to intimidate with the knowledge that they knew I talked. So what? I have to right to free speech and an opinion. As long as I didnt say anything that could identify them by name in a bad light or violate a pts confidentiality, theres nothing they can say about what I spend my own time doing. If they try to discipline you or intimidate for what you did, stand up to them and fight it.

References for speaking to the media:

Nurses in The Media

http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/press/press.html

RN Media Relations and You - the inside scoop on reporters

http://nursingworld.org/mods/mod230/cernfull.htm

Bernice Buresh's and Suzanne Gordon's "From Silence to Voice" - either read the book or attend the lecture presentations http://www.silencetovoice.com/lectures.html

[jemb]

If you would like to correct the information, write a letter to the editor and request that your letter be published to correct the misstatements.

Anytime we speak with someone (reporter, family member, or anyone else) who is not familiar with the everyday workings and jargon of any specialized activity, whether it is a profession or avocation, we have to be aware that what we say might be misinterpreted. It is not always intentional, either. Sometimes it is simply the result of erroneous preconceptions or limited experience with the subject at hand.

And then, there are always the tabloids...

[carolce]

I used to work for a public relations for a hospital in TEX, and all our employees were told not to respond unless first talking to a PR person. If your employers get mad, it may be because you talked to the press without them knowing it, not because of what you said.

[sjoe]

1) If you did the interview while you were at work (i.e. "on the company's time and dime"), you should have gotten authorization first, since they were paying for the time that you were spending with the press.

2) If this was on your own time, and you did not hold yourself out to be a representative of any particular organization, then you simply spoke your mind and were paraphrased accurately--even though the writer happened to focus on an aspect of your statements that you did not want that writer to focus on. That, however, is the writer's business, not yours.

3) If the article was accurate (and you report that it was) why are you so scared to stand up for your own thoughts, opinions, and ideas? Where's your courage and personal integrity? This is not the Soviet Union, you know, unless we citizens willingly surrender our own thoughts and expressions in the face of any potential opposition. Anyone who objects to your statements (or to my post, for that matter), is invited to read the US Constitution and GET OVER IT.

[mattsmom81]

they just like to think they do.

I remember being chastised by management because I didn't anticipate and avoid a slew of reporters in the halls after the Delta crash in Dallas in the mid 80's.

I transferred a crash victim out of ICU on order, and ran into reporters in the hallway. I was never told they were there, BTW.

IMHO administrators are afraid of our HONESTY and THAT is what drives them.