Course Description
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) systems face challenging environments. However, strategies can be developed that go beyond merely reacting to what occurs in the environment. This course presents public relations planning so that a disaster or even a scandal can be turned into an opportunity. In addition, this course offers a basic understanding of marketing strategies that can help offset market pressures and demands.Course Outline
This online course includes video components, textbook and supplementary readings designed to guide your learning experience. Multiple choice quizzes will be included for you to test your knowledge but do not contribute to your final mark. Graded assessments will provide the opportunity for you to apply the module learnings to your emergency medical services environment.
- Part One: Overview of Marketing and Public Relations Concepts
This section offers an introduction to the basic principles, concepts and theoretical models of both public relations and marketing. - Part Two: Marketing within the Health Care setting
This section will examine ways the typical marketing models, principles and concepts introduced in Part One, can be modified for successful application with the EMS field. - Part Three: Public Relations and Crisis Communications for Health Care
In this section, you will examine how public relations models and concepts can be applied as crisis communication strategies within healthcare settings. Using a case study approach, you will examine public relations strategies as critical to effectively communicating risk and directing necessary public health actions. - Part Four: Analysis & Application of Marketing and Public Relations for Health Care
This section will focus on applying the combination of both marketing and public relations strategies to create effective health campaigns. This unit will give you an opportunity to apply the material introduced in the previous sections to create a social marketing campaign for a healthcare setting or organization of your choice.
What You Will Learn
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:1. Learn basic concepts of public relations and marketing.
2. Distinguish the differences between public relations and marketing.
3. Appreciate how marketing strategies vary when designed for the public good or a public service.
4. Develop a marketing plan specific to the emergency health service system of the students’ choice.
5. Develop and evaluate an emergency health services public relations plan.
6. Facilitate a collaborative activity between the emergency health organization of the students’ choice and some of its stakeholders.
Notes
This course is offered by Dalhousie University’s School of Health Administration.
By completing registration here, you will be enrolled via OpenCredit, a Dalhousie program that allows people to complete for-credit courses without enrolling in a degree program. OpenCredit is administered by the Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development.
Students are expected to abide by all Dalhousie University policies. While enrolled in the course, you will have access to academic services including:
- Library Access
- Writing Centre
- Bissett Student Success Centre
- Student Accessibility Centre
- Black Student Advising Centre
- Indigenous Student Centre
Please note OpenCredit students do NOT have access to auxiliary on-campus services such as the Health Centre, DalPlex, etc.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be provided a Record of Achievement indicating your grade and the number of credit hours achieved. If you later enroll in a program at Dalhousie for which this course can be counted towards the requirements, you can apply to have the credit hours transferred to your permanent student record through the Registrar’s Office.