Teaching doctors journalism skills in the fellowship in journalism and health impact: A new way to build competence in advocacy

Abstract

Advocacy is the expression of support of a cause and is considered a core competency for physicians, encompassing a unique body of knowledge and skills that must be practiced, yet it is not included in traditional medical education.¹ Physicians are less engaged in advocacy than the general public because of a lack of training, a lack of modelling by leaders and a fear of negative professional consequences.¹

Journalism skills enable physicians to develop competence in advocacy by shaping public discourse of complex issues. The University of Toronto's School of Public Health provides intensive journalism training to physicians across the career spectrum as well as other health professionals through a 7-month, experiential part-time Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact we call a learning newsroom where advocacy competencies are learned, practiced and demonstrated.

A 10-day hybrid bootcamp introduces participants to news judgement, narrative interviewing, clear writing for lay audiences, audio work and basic reporting skills, enabling them to identify and investigate newsworthy ideas. Fellows then meet weekly in ‘news bureaus’ with experienced journalists (‘bureau chiefs’) who help them shape story ideas and develop pitches. The programme pitches Fellows' ideas weekly to media partners worldwide, which then commission those stories from Fellows. Bureau chiefs mentor Fellows through their reporting, writing, and editing processes, before the outlet publishes or airs the story. Fellows generate advocacy outputs with immediate public impact while participating and simultaneously integrate advocacy competencies through mentored, experiential learning. Longitudinal modules on podcasting, social media, investigative tradecraft and longform features run concurrently through monthly, synchronous hybrid seminars taught by practicing journalists. Alumni have the option to attend monthly mentorship meetings by videoconference.

Physicians and health professionals are remarkably adept at converting clinical/academic skills to journalism. Since 2012, 252 students, including 67 physicians have produced more than 1200 stories published or aired by over 150 media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Scientific American, The British Medical Journal, The Lancet and others. Over 20 physicians built significant careers as reporters for The Dallas Morning News, VOX, ABC, CNN, NPR and CBC; as senior editors and communications leaders (Stanford University, healthydebate.ca, Canadian Medical Association Journal); as podcast entrepreneurs (CMAJ podcasts; Race, Health and Happiness); and as documentary contributors (EmergencyNYC – Netflix).

Informal surveys have revealed encouraging preliminary participant insights. Scheduling and curricular flexibility based on individual needs and goals were important. They often found it difficult to shift from the role of expert, sought by reporters, to that of reporter seeking others' expertise, but are capable of this shift with coaching and practice. They can find it difficult to shift perspectives from their own priorities to patient and community priorities. Participants report that journalism disciplines have helped them improve patient counselling and interprofessional skills, and report participating in advocacy through journalism mitigates feelings of powerlessness and burnout. Institutions can model and scale this fellowship by partnering with local news organisations, journalism faculty and established physician advocates.

Blair L. Bigham: Conceptualization; writing–original draft; methodology; writing–review and editing; data curation; project administration. Robert Steiner: Conceptualization; writing–original draft; writing–review and editing.