Why bother blogging?

Posted on: 12-17-2010 by: BJC Health

I was not interested in blogging. In fact, I was against it. Off the top of my head, I directed at the clinic’s business manager a number of reasons why a specialist physician should not need to write a blog: “It’s just not done! Medical specialists don’t market…..We don’t need to….It looks unprofessional….what would my colleagues think!”

I admitted to not having a Facebook account. I couldn’t possibly see myself as a twit or should that be, twitterer. I avoided social networking as I had wanted to keep a low profile and had little understanding about how it worked. It seemed too scary and full of risks. I knew I was right and that this was not a good idea.

A few months later, and the business manager became more insistent. He had spent time learning about social networking and was convinced that it was an important space for BJC Health to inhabit. BJC Health will one day, be the leader in the provision of Connected Care. At present, we operate clinics at Chatswood, Brookvale and Parramatta. We constantly strive to provide patients with exceptional care, and are working hard to create an exceptional work environment and culture. We focus on rheumatology, physiotherapy and other allied health services. In such a dynamic environment where we focus so strongly on the needs of both our patients and the people who work with us, should we not embrace the fastest growing mode of communication?

Communication. That did hit one of my buttons. I email a lot. I get frustrated a lot by tardy replies. I like the gratification of a quick response, some sort of acknowledgement. Still, that wasn’t enough and social networking for me was again placed in the to-do list for some other day.

The business manager kept reading, talking to friends, learning. He even attended a webinar or two. It’s an efficient way to market an idea or a clinic. It’s a way to be heard, loud and far. We passionately care about BJC Health, and the model of integrated, high quality, multi-disciplinary healthcare we provide. Social networking was a way to spread our philosophy and to reach a broader audience. This did sound good in theory. I was still not sure the benefits would outweigh the risks I perceived. Not to mention all the extra time it would take.

A few more weeks passed. During this time, I experienced a strange run of patients developing unpredictable, serious side effects to medications I commonly use to treat their pain and to prevent their joint destruction. In all cases, the patients attended hospital and there were aspects to their treatment that suggested a lack of understanding about their underlying disease states and the medications they were using. And this lack of understanding occurred on the part of the staff treating them, and to an extent, the patient’s family members. I had previously thought that I was good at communicating and educating my patients. I need to do better. I accept that I have a responsibility to educate the people around them, both medical and social. One way of doing this is through this blog.

I hope to share with you my thoughts on musculoskeletal disease, healthcare in general, and our Connected Care philosophy. While I know that I am opinionated, I hope that I can interest you and maybe, even educate you in some way. Who knows, I may even be able to use social media to actually help someone.

Categories: Social Media & Communication Tags: arthritis, bjc health, blog, dr irwin lim, rheumatology, rheumatology sydney, specialist

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http://www.rheumablog.wordpress.com Wren Hi, Dr. Lim, I’ve had RA for 23 years, but it has only been during the last three years or so that I’ve really learned about this disease, thanks to Internet medical websites and patient/doctor bloggers. When I was first diagnosed, there was very little info about RA available to patients. My doctor at the time, an internist, explained the basics to me, but of course, the basics really aren’t enough. I spent many, many years deeply frustrated by having to take medicines with unpleasant and sometimes dangerous side-effects, only to discover that, one by one, they didn’t relieve my pain nor cure my disease. Today, I understand a lot more about RA and the drugs used to treat it. I know and accept that RA is a uniquely individual disease; not only do the symptoms and intensity of the disease vary from person to person, but how each person’s body reacts to the different drugs varies as well. I understand, now, my own frustration and anger (and have forgiven myself for it). And I also understand how frustrated my poor internal medicine doc must have been when his compassionate attempts to treat me failed time and time again. Today, with the help of a good rheumatologist, a combination of drugs and a much better education about the disease itself, my RA is under fair control. I guess what I’m saying here is thank you. I’m simply delighted that good doctors like yourself are doing all they can to educate not only their patients about their illnesses, but also pass that vital information on to the world at large. It’s SO important for patients to understand all they can about the diseases they battle, particularly diseases like RA: mysterious, terribly painful, potentially disabling, sometimes deadly and so far, incurable. Thank you for taking the time to post about your specialty and the diseases you treat. Your dedication, care and compassion for those of us who cope with these diseases is greatly appreciated. I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future. Knowledge translates to hope and empowers us all.
http://bjcconnectedcare.com/ Dr Irwin Lim Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Wren. I am realising more & more the frustration, anger & hopelessness that patients with these chronic diseases feel. As a doctor just working away in a consulting room, its easy to forget this side of things, and easy to brush these issues aside in the bustle of a busy clinic.
http://rustedrunner.blogspot.com/ Wendy Thank you Dr. Lim for your blog! I was diagnosed with RA in 2001 and my best information has come from the internet. I’ve learned much more from other RA patients on forums and through blogs than my doctor could teach me in our limited time together. Doctor appointments are often an information overload so we simply can’t take in and digest all we are told. Having good places to go to online, that will reiterate what we need to hear when we are ready to hear it, is incredibly valuable. I started my blog at the behest of a doctor (not one of my physicians, but a friend) because he felt my story would be helpful and give hope to other RA patients. After 6 years of battling RA, I took up running and have found it incredibly helpful. Via the internet, I have also found several other people with RA who distance run and have had similar results in controlling RA through intensive exercise. Thank you for taking the time to contribute sound and useful information to the sea of knowledge so many of us are navigating in an attempt to improve out lives.

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Why bother blogging?