Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Michelle,

I agree you don't need (or have time to conduct) a full-blown survey to get a feel for the field. Save the big survey for AFTER you are hired.

But just to give your proposal the right flavor, don't you or family members or friends have primary physicians that you could contact (informally) to pick their brain about their hot buttons with regard to oncology referrals? You said you are in a really large city, so surely you know people who know a doctor or two or three that would be willing to help a friend of a friend.

Basically, I'm suggesting you contact those primary care doctors with whom you already have even a very peripheral relationship (e.g., "I'm Mrs. Burgess' daughter," or, "My friend Suzy told me you were expecting my call and that you could help me out on a fact-finding mission," or, "This is Michelle Burgess, your patient / former patient.")

Anyway, by contacting just a few doctors who are already known to you or your family AND who are already in positions to make referrals to oncologists, you can get their take on how stuff works and what turns them on. If your friends/family make warm referrals out of these, you might even be able to call the doctors at home. (Stranger things have happened.) But if you have to call them at work, you don't necessarily have to talk to the primary doctor in any given office. Sometimes the nurse who handles referrals or other admin duties might have the time to visit instead.

In the end, it's VOILA!--no survey necessary, but you might just get some valuable insight on how to shape your proposal. And it could be pretty quick turnaround. And, yes, send thank you notes.

-- Paul