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Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
Practice Perfect Editor
Assistant Professor,
Dept. of Podiatric Medicine,
Surgery & Biomechanics
College of Podiatric Medicine
Western University of
Health Sciences,
St, Pomona, CA |
Branding Podiatric Medicine
There have been several discussions on the eTalk forum, with the underlying theme of advertising who we are as podiatric physicians. We hear about Vision 2015, parity, and podiatric physicians in the news. When I was in practice in Oregon, the OPMA was planning a media push to educate the public about us. Each of us spends time marketing our practices, meeting doctors, doing screenings, speaking at local events, etc. And yet, with all this work, we as a profession are still not well known. I still have patients who tell me they didn’t know I “did that type of work” or “podiatrists do surgery?” So, despite our individual and local marketing, the general population still doesn’t know our full capabilities. College students still don’t know about podiatric medicine as a possible career choice. How do we change this once and for all? How do we become the household name? How do we brand podiatry?
I’m not a marketing expert, but here are a few of my thoughts to brand podiatry:
What is the Goal?
First, we need to ask, what exactly is our advertising goal? My answer;we want anyone who thinks about foot or ankle to instantly make the association with podiatry. Once that finally occurs, anyone with a lower extremity problem will naturally request a podiatrist.
How do we Gauge Progress?
Second, we need to create a method to track our progress. There must be a way in which after, say, 6 months to a year, we as a profession can see how successful we are and modify our approach based on our outcomes.
We Must Unify Our Image
Third, we need to finish the job of unifying our appearance to both the public and the medical community. We need one type of residency - podiatric medicine, biomechanics, PM&S model, but we need to take the last step. It’s fine if you want to be a biomechanist vs. a surgeon when you’re in practice. The residency training should comprehensively incorporate both of these.
We Must Do the Research
Fourth, we need to up our research game. When it comes to respect within the medical field this is the only way to do it. I agree with those who’ve argued our podiatric universities should be leading the way. We need to bring all the schools together, drop the politics, and create a research consortium that maximizes the resources within our field.
Podiatry Must Become an Epidemic
Fifth, we need to cause a podiatric epidemic. Not the bad kind of epidemic. I’m referring here to Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point. A tipping point is a term from epidemiology; where an infection goes from a small number of individuals, tipping rapidly into an epidemic. Gladwell discusses, in his excellent book, the mechanisms in which this occurs in situations outside of the medical profession. One example he discusses, is the incredible drop in crime in New York City during the 1990s. To summarize, he uses three mechanisms that work together to cause a tipping point:
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The “law of the few” with connectors (individuals who bring large groups of people together – think of a node), mavens (people who connect us with information), and salesmen (those individuals able to convince us).
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The stickiness factor: that something about a message that makes it hang around in our minds.
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The power of context: the conditions around which an event occurs are pivotal to that event “tipping” into something larger
For those that haven’t read Gladwell’s book, I highly recommend it for a fascinating read. We should use these concepts as a guide to actively create a tipping point in podiatric awareness and manufacture a podiatric epidemic. The one thing we need to succeed, is a clear vision and to stop working as individuals. Until that happens, we’ll never reach the visibility we think we deserve.
Keep writing in with your thoughts and comments. Better yet, post them in our eTalk forum. Best wishes.
Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Practice Perfect Editor
[email protected]
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