Public Health Lobbyist Career Ppt

1. Public Health Lobbyist
Allyson Swygert
September 2, 2015

2. About
 Representative for public health needs
 Responsible for making those needs known to
legislators
 Also known as Government Relations Consultant or
Public Affairs Consultant

3. History of Profession
 The American Medical Association’s mission is to
“promote the art and science of medicine for the
betterment of the public health, to advance the interests
of physicians and their patients, to promote public
health, to lobby for legislation favorable to physicians
and patients, and to raise money for medical
education”
 1873: AMA Judicial Council-deal with ethical and
constitutional issues
 1899: AMA creates Committee on National Legislation
to represent the Association's interest in Washington.

4. Daily Tasks
 Conduct research on Public Health legislation
 Participate in congressional hearings
 Educate and inform government officials on issues of
Public Health
 Persuade government officials to enact legislation to
further improve Public Health
 Manage campaigns geared toward influencing public
opinion to further needs of Public Health

5. Important Characteristics
 Excellent research skills
 Persuasive communication style
 Passion for the cause
 Creativity and ability to motivate

6. Nature of the Job
 Communicators
 Most time is spent communicating with government officials in
an effort to persuade policy initiation
 The voice of the organization
 Researchers
 Stay updated on current events that pertain to public health
and attend congressional hearings to remain current on
legislation and policy changes
 Flexible
 Work long and unusual hours including large amounts of travel
to state capitals and Washington, DC
 Relational
 Developing relationships and credibility with lawmakers and
members of the organization or sector they represent

7. Education
 Law school
 A background and knowledge of law to make it easier to
deal with elected officials who have a law background
 Graduate school
 Master’s degrees in healthcare administration, sociology,
public policy, public administration and political science
 Make sure it is related to Healthcare

8. Experience
 Entry-level public affairs and government relations jobs
 Industry associations
 Insurance companies
 Pharmaceutical companies
 Contact human resources departments of large
corporations for government relations internship
opportunities
 Internships with private consulting firms

9. Salary Range
 Upper Percent
 $300,000 or more a year
 Average for four-five years experience
 $75,000 to over $100,000 a year
 Entry-level
 $50,000 or more a year
 DC
 $91,000
 SC
 $73,000

10. Growth Potential
 Increased availability of internships
 Good salary outlook
 Research opportunities
 Increased job prospects
 Employment of all types of public relations specialists is
expected to increase 24% through 2018
 Public Health Educators and Activists are expected to
increase 21% faster than average through 2022

11. O*Net Results: Artistic
 Qualities: Creative, Independent, Expressive,
Introspective, Sensitive
 Appreciate: Beauty, Lack of Structure, Variety
 Public Health Lobbyists:
 Creative Thinking
 Independent Workers
 Expressive-Communication
 Variety

12. O*Net Results: Investigative
 Qualities: Intelligent, Logical, Curious, Insightful
 Appreciate: Solving Problems, Independent Working
 Public Health Lobbyists:
 Intelligent-Policy Reform
 Logical-Relate to Politicials
 Ethos, logos and pathos
 Independent Workers
 Curious-How can we fix this?
 Insightful-We can fix it by this…

13. O*Net Results: Enterprising
 Qualities: People Person, Natural Leader, Organized
 Appreciate: Competition, Managing, Excitement, Power
 Public Health Lobbyists:
 Working with Others
 Natural Leaders
 Competitive
 Excitement
 Power

14. Conclusion
 Government Relations Representative for public health
needs
 Communication, Research, Relationships, Flexibility,
Passionate
 Average Salary $75,000 to over $100,000 a year
 Recommended Education: Law School and/or Graduate
School
 Growth: 21-24%
 O*Net Profiles: Artistic, Investigative, Enterprising