Journalism in Emergency Medicine

EMRA*Cast Hosts Shreyans Sanghvi, DO, and Ranjita Raghavan, MD, explore the budding but ever-so-important field of medical journalism with emergency physician, author, and renowned public speaker Amy Faith Ho, MD, MPH. Early in her medical school days, Dr. Ho’s personal accounts of navigating the hard knocks of clerkship as a third-year medical student on an OB/GYN rotation would pave the way for a decorated career in journalism. From TED talks, to coveted pieces on NPR and Forbes, and even authoring her very own children’s book - appreciate Dr. Ho’s unique perspective on how to explore this niche cross-section between medicine and journalism.

OVERVIEW

It may not surprise you to hear that scientific journalism, born in the 1700s, was considered a landmark innovation in the field of medicine. After all, the creation of knowledge influencing patient care would need an equally vetted medium to disseminate that info to physicians and scientists around the world.

The 18^th and 19th centuries would see the birth of iconic publications like the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, and JAMA that would continue to impact even today our perception and practice of medicine.

But seen more and more in our current society, mainstream media and the press have an increasing influence on literature dissemination to the lay public. In fact, a 1991 study would demonstrate that NEJM published articles covered in adjunct by The New York Times would receive up to 75% percent more citations for a subsequent decade, than those published in NEJM alone.

So how does the budding physician-journalist navigate a career so poised with scientific, ethical, and moral responsibility?

Amy Faith Ho, MD, MPH, discusses the lessons she’s learned engineering her personal brand of medical journalism alongside experts in the field.

Dr. Ho currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief of Clinical Informatics at John Peter Smith Hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth and is an active leader within the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Young Physicians Section.

References

1. Safari S, Baratloo A, Yousefifard M. Medical Journalism and Emergency Medicine. Emerg (Tehran). 2015;3(3):83-86.
2. Nouri S, Khoong EC, Lyles CR, Karliner L. Addressing Equity in Telemedicine for Chronic Disease Management During the Covid-19 Pandemic. NEJM Catalyst. May 4, 2020.