My passion for journalism--in all its evolving forms--and expertise in medical writing can strengthen the level of communications and patient/customer engagement in businesses throughout the health care industry. I'm enthusiastic and organized, creative and meticulous.For my entire career in newspapers, my work has been more of a calling than a job, and now I am excited to use that background in a career that makes use of new media. With health representing one of the top reasons people use the Internet, my skills and experience are especially valuable.
Looking for a writer who can appeal to your audience as well as search engines? I enjoy search engine optimization and interacting through social media. (Follow me on Twitter!) I've got experience creating e-newsletters and making health- and fitness-related videos, too. Need excellence in production of online content? This is one of my strengths. Blogging is often considered a pain for organizations--but I'm good at it, and I like it. I maintain a health-related blog called DementiAwareness because of a personal interest.
If you count launching a school "newspaper" that was produced on mimeograph paper, my career in newspapers began in 7th grade. My first professional job came my senior year of college when I signed on as the night cops reporter at the El Paso Times. I was recruited to Syracuse in 1988, from an Investigative Reporters and Editors conference. Later, I spent six years as an adjunct professor in Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Of course I have accumulated quite a few clips along with several awards and fellowships in 22 years at The Syracuse Newspapers. But I've also honed skills that are useful outside of a newsroom. I'm used to meeting deadlines (sometimes of hours, sometimes of months) and juggling multiple projects at once. I excel at gathering information and then explaining the complicated in a short amount of space. I'm a critical thinker who looks for multiple perspectives and knows how to question authority.
For the past six years, I've served as Health & Fitness Editor at The Syracuse Post-Standard, writing and editing content for a weekly Health & Fitness section and a bi-monthly Healthy CNY magazine supplement. My duties have included managing freelance writers and interns, collaborating with artists and photographers. I'm a versatile writer, staying busy freelancing for a variety of general circulation magazines and clinical journals and trade publications with different editorial guidelines, styles and voices.
When I'm invested in something I care about, I pour everything into that commitment. I became a paramedic and volunteered on the area's busiest ambulance squad for 10 years; that allowed me to practice prehospital medicine and become comfortable with the language at a time when I covered medicine for the newspaper. When "managed care" was emerging and I found myself writing about insurance coverage, I completed a master's degree program in Health Services Management and Policy. When my beat expanded to include fitness, I enrolled in--and completed over three years--a black belt training program.
In some ways, my heart will always belong to newspapers. They are my upbringing, where I have matured as a writer and communicator. Much as I love the industry, I realize that an evolution in news dissemination is underway. The future is full of uncertainty. It's also full of possibility. Let's talk about how I can help you stay connected with your patients/customers/readers.
Reach me at Amberink@twcny.rr.com
