By Kate Sheehy
Bright surgery lights beam down on doctors hovering over a patient, breathing machines are running and screens monitor the patient’s condition. Initially, this seems to be a scenario involving a human patient, but as the camera pulls away, it is evident the patient is an animal. The phrase “Veterinary Medicine Alive and Well” appears at the bottom of the screen. This public service announcement is one of Dr. Mark Silberman’s many ideas for promoting public awareness regarding the importance of veterinary medicine. As a practitioner in the Houston area of Bellaire, his creative energy recently earned him Veterinary News Network’s (VNN) Rising Star Award in radio media. By utilizing the mediums of radio and print, he is part of the emerging media frontier in the veterinary field. His efforts thus far make him well deserving of the distinction VNN has bestowed upon him.
About ten years into practicing veterinary medicine Dr. Silberman found himself representing the profession of veterinary medicine at a meeting of the Dover Club, a monthly Friday morning breakfast club. Once a month he had to stand up in front of members of other professions in Houston and inform them about the happenings in the veterinary world. It was here that he met Pierpont Communications founder and chief Phil Morabito. Impressed with Dr. Silberman’s initiative, Morabito arranged an interview with the Houston Business Journal. This fateful meeting began Dr. Silberman’s introduction into the world of communications media.
Beginning with Houston PetTalk magazine three years ago, Dr. Silberman started contributing articles to educate the public on various topics in veterinary practice. One of his goals was to provide knowledge on complicated or taboo topics about veterinary medicine to the public. For example, in one article he addressed the anxiety of pet euthanasia. There is a general sentiment, he believes, among pet owners that veterinarians think less of them if they choose to put an animal down. From the feedback he received, he was effective in generating a “guilt free feeling” among his readers, helping them to understand that this is often a necessary requirement of responsible pet ownership.
“There is no right or wrong at this point. The reason you are doing it is because you love that pet. So you’re doing it as an act of love,” Dr. Silberman says of this issue.
Writing articles for Houston PetTalk remains part of his communications agenda. It was through his work with PetTalk that Dr. Silberman was introduced to radio, his next step into the media frontier.
While working an “Ask the Vet” booth for Houston PetTalk at the Reliant Dog Show, Dr. Silberman met members of Bark Busters, an organization that trains dog trainers. They had a Saturday morning radio show and asked him to do 13 spots. He accumulated sponsors to pay for his time on the radio, and he did this each Saturday from September-December 2007. Dr. Silberman finished his contract feeling energized. He embraced the opportunity to test the effectiveness of radio as an innovative and entertaining way to turn the volume up in veterinary communications. He would like to persist in improving his abilities in broadcast. “Radio would be a blast. Radio is what I would love to do,” he says.
All professions go through periods where they are taken for granted, Silberman believes, but he also believes it is the responsibility of the members of that profession to revitalize its reputation in the public eye with positive reinforcement.
“Something needs to be said somehow, someway to just enlighten the pet public,” he says.
Using Jim Humphries’ Veterinary News Network as a resource guide to organize veterinary media, Dr. Silberman has been attempting to do just that. By incorporating topics provided by VNN into his own local interest pieces, he has been successful in increasing education among the public. Some of the subjects covered in his stories are microchips and cancer, veterinary specialists and pet safety during holidays. Getting the public excited about the impact veterinarians have in their communities is central to Dr. Silberman’s motivation. For example, with the holiday story he proposed presenting the information as a comedic narrative, knowing that when people are entertained they are more likely to listen.
Dr. Silberman says, “I want to use the media to explain and show what veterinarians really do.” As a representation of his aspiration he refers to Kevin Fitzgerald from the Animal Planet show Emergency Vets. Dr. Silberman explains that Fitzgerald relates a positive, accurate portrait of veterinarians and their work. Through the show, the public is invited to be part of what he does everyday in his practice. Dr. Silberman would like to be able to use media to stimulate this same effect.
“I want to reflect the principles that I have in my head about what I think people should know about veterinary medicine.”
When I asked what the award from VNN meant to him he responded, “It implies I am on the right track. I really do believe this is how we [veterinarians] should approach radio and I appreciate that Humphries enjoyed what I did. I’m new at this.”
Dr. Silberman realizes the work he has ahead of him in polishing his craft, but he is up to the challenge. He knows the tools he needs to be a capable representative for veterinary medicine in the public sphere. Attending the VNN conference and award ceremony in Las Vegas, Dr. Silberman was humbled by the presence of many astute figures in the veterinary media world. He noted how successful they were in getting their message across to an audience. It is inspirational for Dr. Silberman to be in such good company as he proceeds in improving his own skills. He says, “Someone told me that everyone in the audience wants you to succeed. So you master a subject and then just flat out have a conversation with them.”
The importance of veterinarians in society is a conversation that will not cease on Dr. Silberman’s end. It is an evolving dialogue that he will continue to facilitate among his peers and the public.
