Here is the general job description for the position:

Job Posting Number: 11585BR
Job Posting Title: Public Affairs Associate
Job Posting Category: Business Professional
Work Site: MN – Rochester
Department: Public Affairs

Job Description
The Associate in Public Affairs will assist with strategic marketing and communication consultation to various clients. This position provides input and support with the strategic content and execution of social media. The associate will assist in the implementation of system-wide Public Affairs strategies; ensuring messages are effective, accurate and timely. This position will respond to news media requests or designates an alternate resource. The associate will assist in the evaluation of communication and marketing plans to ensure they align with the institution’s mission. This position will be assigned to various projects as necessary. The associate must have the ability to work in a complex environment with multi-dimensional points of view, self-motivated, self-directed and highly organized. The associate will promote a productive, collegial workplace and be a professional ambassador for Mayo Clinic. Belief in the mission and strong ethical conduct is essential. Must be proficient with information technology and management of database and internet applications. This position requires occasional travel and the flexibility to work weekends and evenings as necessary (009935-41673).

See the full posting and apply here.

The Summit cornerstone of a week-long series of social media learning and networking events Oct. 15-19, 2012 on our Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minn. The Summit and pre-conference workshops run from Oct. 16-18, and Ragan Communications has set a price of $695 (saving $500 off the regular price) for anyone registering by midnight on Friday, May 11.

Other events during the week include Social Media Residency (Oct. 15-16) and the annual member meeting for Mayo Clinic’s Social Media Health Network  (Oct. 18-19). We will have more details on both events in the coming weeks, but if you’re planning to attend the Summit, now is the best time to register. The price will never be lower that it is between now and Friday night.

Sign up here.

As a bonus, members of the Social Media Health Network get to pick one of the pre-conference workshops to attend at no cost (saving another $345). Further details are here in the Network member site; if you would like information on how your organization can join the Network, click here.

If you have questions, ask them in the comments below or contact us by email or by phone at 507-538-0492.

The third installment of the 2012 Social Media Residency will meet June 25-26 on our Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minnesota.

The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media provides in-depth training in social media strategy, planning and execution through our two-day Social Media Residency course. The training will be provided on each Mayo Clinic campus at least twice during 2012.

[tweet about this event using #SMinMN]

The residency provides training for Mayo Clinic employees, but is open to others on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more about the program. Tuition is discounted for members of Mayo’s Social Media Health Network (SMHN).

Residency curriculum includes:

• Twitter chats
• Facebook privacy management and friends lists
• Pinterest
• Yammer
• How to start and manage a blog
• Hands on shooting and editing video
• and much more!

For more information and to register:

• Download Agenda/Curriculum
• Download Registration Form

Lodging: Blocks of rooms have been reserved at the hotels listed below until June 3, 2012. Mention “Social Media Residency” when making your reservation.

Doubletree by Hilton - $129/night, call 507-281-8000

Hilton Garden Inn – $109/night, call 507-285-1234 *SOLD OUT* 5/4/12

Other residency sessions scheduled in 2012 include:

• Sept. 25-26 at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Oct. 15-16 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
• Nov. 29-30 in Jacksonville, Fla.

If you have questions, or for information on joining the SMHN, contact the Center for Social Media at 507-538-0492 or by email.

Here’s how you indicate your donor status on Facebook:

Congratulations to Facebook for adding this important health-related feature!

The National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) is a non-profit organization supported by Proton Center members and is the Voice of the Proton Community. The NAPT promotes education and public awareness about the clinical benefits of Proton Beam Radiation Therapy. Founded in 1990, NAPT is an advocate for the advancement of Proton Therapy, promoting the therapeutic benefits of its use for cancer treatment in the U.S. and abroad. It serves as a resource center for patients, families, physicians, and the news media.

NAPT is committed to advancing public awareness about the benefits of Proton Therapy. We invite you to join us on Facebook to say up to date on the latest news in the Proton Community, and visit our YouTube Channel for a more in depth look at Proton Therapy treatment.

Proton Therapy evolved out of discoveries made during the Manhattan Project following the Second World War, which allowed the development of high energy particle accelerators. Dr. Robert R. Wilson, a physicist who had worked on these impressive machines, published a paper in 1946 that first proposed the medical use of protons for cancer therapy. The first use of protons to treat patients with certain cancers occurred less than 10 years later, while research and laboratory applications continued to increase rapidly over the next three decades. But it was not until the opening of the Proton Treatment Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) in southern California that the full benefits of this new treatment modality could be offered to patients in a clinical setting. Loma Linda was the first to build a hospital based proton center and treated its first patient with proton therapy in October of 1990.

Hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding went into the development of the high energy physics technology that accelerated the application of proton beam radiation therapy. Much of the early work was done at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) outside Chicago. The U.S. now has 9 regional proton facilities providing cancer treatment to patients nationwide. View our map for  locations of proton therapy centers.

We’d like to increase patient participation in events like these because we realize it can otherwise be difficult for them to attend.

To kick-start patient participation in this event, we’re offering a substantial savings of over 75% to the first ten ePatients who register to attend using this link and discount code: EPATIENTS.

This is a unique opportunity for patients to receive best-in-class social media education from national health care social media thinkers and leaders and to have their voices heard.

You can find more details about this event from this post.

This special e-patient pricing is for the first 10 to register, so do it now.

This event will provide best-in-class social media education to healthcare professionals in the tri-state area and beyond. In addition, our own Lee Aase and Dr. Farris Timimi will be presenting on Mayo Clinic’s social media experience and philosophy.

It will also feature national #hcsm thinkers and leaders including:

• Ed Bennett, University of Maryland Medical Center
• Chris Boyer, Inova Health System
• Margaret Fontana, Meridian Health Care
• Kathleen Kearns, Continuum Health Partners
• Dr. Howard Luks, University Orthopedics PC
• Dr. Katie Malbon, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center
• Dr. Mike Sevilla, Family Medicine physician and blogger

Whether you’re new to social media or are a seasoned Tweeter, we encourage you to take advantage of this special opportunity to learn from national thought leaders.

See the conference agenda for more details. Regular registration is $895, but for members of Mayo Clinic’s Social Media Health Network it’s $695.

For information on joining the Social Media Health Network and the associated benefits — including credits to further reduce or even eliminate event registration fees — see this page.

Network members can get further details here (member login required.)

• Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry
• Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete
• Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal

Following these simple rules can prevent most social media miscues, and keep you out of the Friday Faux Pas series.

Don’t lie: a good rule in general, it is particularly important online, where nothing is transient and everything is searchable.

Don’t pry: Do not seek out personal health care data or potential protected health information as a part of a social platform conversation.

Don’t cheat: We’ve all heard the old proverb that “Cheaters never prosper,” but some harbor lingering doubts about whether it’s true. In social media, cutting corners is much more likely to be discovered and exposed, and when the truth is revealed it won’t be pretty. Everyone makes mistakes; confess yours immediately. Intentionally “gaming” the system, however, will not reflect well on you or your organization.

Can’t delete: this is an important rule: if it’s still in Google’s cache, you can’t put it in the trash.  The most effective tool to address this is a strategic pause before you post.  Count to 3 and think:

• 1- To whom are you posting/Who is your audience?
• 2-Is this post appropriate for all ages?
• 3-Does my post add value to the ongoing conversation?

Don’t steal, don’t reveal:  Give credit where it’s due, and acknowledge those who inspired you or provided information you’re passing along. In Twitter it’s as simple as a retweet or a mention, while in a blog you can share link love. And if information is proprietary or confidential, don’t disclose it in social platforms.

Keeping this simple is critical, but there are some additional rules that are worth remembering and applying.

• Don’t endorse as a matter of course.
• Supervisors: Don’t initiate an employee friend request at your own behest.
• Separate your circle of friends from patients you mend.
• Corporate logo in your username is a no go.
• Adding a disclaimer is probably saner.
• Don’t practice on the Internet, regardless of your good intent.
• Always surmise that HIPAA applies.
• Speak on your behalf, not that of staff.
• Anonymity is really gimmicky
• If you chat about your company, identify abundantly

Here is the critical message.  The same general rules that apply to offline behavior apply to online behavior.  The difference is the platform online can leverage a mistake to a much wider audience.

Errors will occur no matter how careful you are.  That’s why you must develop a social media policy and provide orientation and training, and when you or others in your organization make mistakes, view them as learning opportunities.

There is great power in the conversation.  Know the risks and behave accordingly, but do not be so risk averse that you do not participate.

You may want to elaborate in your social media guidelines or policy, but these 12 words provide a solid foundation.

Farris Timimi, M.D., is medical director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media.

So if you’re wondering what you might take away from Social Media Residency at Mayo Clinic, here’s a sampling:

• Impressions? Hip people with a sense of humor, hands on learning, attendees from a variety of backgrounds (some neuro, some research….jackpot), new topic in which I’m interested……this was going to go well. And it did.
• Attending a Social Media Residency sounded daunting at first thought but it’s absolutely essential in healthcare today to be connected with the appropriate audience. Having the opportunity to learn from experts in the field is great.  Have wanted to move beyond Facebook so what better opportunity could there be!  In one day there was an opportunity to experience Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Yammer …
• Day 2 will bring an opportunity to learn Pinterest, Blogging and more. Already have had the opportunity to connect with colleagues on new projects as well as opportunities to use social media to promote existing work.
• Short flip cam videos introducing a doctor to new patient, a little snippet of a physician explaining her research in her own words, maybe a blog that new residents contribute to. The idea of starting a Facebook group of potential residents after they interview is something I’d have never thought of, but makes perfect sense. I’ve learned the tools are there and, when used wisely, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Mayo did it. The world has yet to explode.
• I appreciated getting more insight into such resources as Buffer, the Facebook Timeline and YouTube editing features. And I found the conversation about protecting privacy and remaining professional valuable.
• My favorite message from the first day of the conference came from Dr. Farris Timimi -Just like in a good marriage, you’re judged more by how well you listen than what you say.
• The residency covered enough fundamental information to help those just starting out on certain platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook. And it helped those who already have an established presence in those areas by sharing the latest tools to best use those platforms.

The next Social Media Residency session of 2012 will meet April 24-25 on our campus in Scottsdale, Arizona. Tuition is discounted for members of Mayo’s Social Media Health Network and for Mayo Clinic employees.

[tweet about this event using #SMinAZ]

For more information and to register:

• Download Agenda/Curriculum
• Download Registration Form

If you have questions, please contact the Center for Social Media at 507-538-0492 or by email.

And check out this post about our conference coming to New York City in May!

The second Social Media Residency cohort of 2012 will meet April 24-25 on our Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale, Arizona.

[tweet about this event using #SMinAZ]

Social Media Residency provides training for Mayo Clinic employees, but is open to others on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more about the program. Tuition is discounted for members of Mayo’s Social Media Health Network.

Residency curriculum includes:

• Twitter chats
• Facebook privacy management and friends lists
• Pinterest
• How to start and manage a blog
• Hands on shooting and editing video
• and much more!

For more information and to register:

• Download Agenda/Curriculum
• Download Registration Form

Lodging:

Arizona: A block of rooms have been reserved at the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains. Please call 800-228-9290 or 480-502-3836 and identify yourself as part of the Social Media Residency Group to get the discounted room rate of $149.

Other residency sessions scheduled in 2012 include:

• June 25-26 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
• Sept. 25-26 at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Oct. 15-16 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
• Nov. 29-30 in Jacksonville, Fla.

If you have questions, or for information on joining the Network, contact the Center for Social Media at 507-538-0492 or by email.