Lots of people know about Twitter and what its many functions are. But Twitter as a lifesaver is probably something that you don’t hear about a lot. Leigh Fazzina was in a triathalon race last week in Connecticut when her bike crashed. Her cell phone could not make any voice calls. However, she did figure out that she could send out text:
3 Twitter accounts, SMS and MMS messages, BlackBerry Instant Message (BBM) and voice. I knew Twitter would get me an immediate response as my messages would be sent to the 1,000 or so people in my network. I also knew that my Twitter network being comprised of mostly healthcare communications/public relations colleagues would take me seriously…Remember, it was getting dark and I needed help immediately…
One of her many followers was @DrJonathan on Twitter and he describes in the video interview above from Doctor Anonymous Show 175, what he and a lot of her other followers did — they called the local authorities to let them know their friend was hurt and could not make a voice call. Read more »
Although it happened a few weeks ago, I only recently learned of the “retirement” of the blog called “Medic999” by EMS social media superstar Mark Glencourse who works in the United Kingdom. I only learned of Mark and his blog (which was recognized as the 2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year) in the past few months in association with the hugely popular Chronicles of EMS project (see the first episode on video here).
In stating why he was stopping his blog, unfortunately, I find similar thoughts being shared by the medical colleagues I know about why people either stop blogging or don’t ever start in the first place:
I find it a shame that the reason for this blog ending is the general lack of understanding of blogging and social media. I feel that I have promoted best practice, shared my passion for the job that I do, and hopefully have shown all readers what it is that makes EMS and those that devote their lives to it so special.
However, there still remains a general unease about social media and blogging in the health service. Read more »
June 6-12 was National Headache Awareness Week. If you would like more information, check out the website of the National Headache Foundation. Below are two TV interviews that took place this week on local morning TV news shows talking about headaches:
If you find these helpful, I encourage you to check out my other TV interviews at MikeSevilla.TV.
May is American Stroke Month as designated by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. As I talk about in this video, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and every 40 seconds someone in the United States suffers from a stroke.
The key thing to recognize is that symptoms are sudden — whether it’s weakness on one side of the body, difficulty with talking, difficulty with walking, or other neurological changes. One of the important things to remember is that even subtle weakness or difficulty with speech can be an early sign. Read more »
What is a leader? What is a family medicine leader? Giving a clear and concise answer to these questions have been a challenge for me as I have taken on different leadership tasks and positions.
I can’t believe that it was 10 years ago when I gave my first speech in seeking national office for my professional organization. I was in the final year of my residency, and my colleagues had to convince me to “just give it a go.”
I had done a bunch of stuff on the state level. But, I didn’t feel my game was ready for “prime time” -– meaning being on a national stage. I remember that speech like it was yesterday. My heart still pounds and my hands still get sweaty thinking about it. At the time, it was the most stressful couple of minutes of my life. Read more »
It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…
I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…
I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…
When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…
I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…
May is American Stroke Month as designated by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. As I talk about in 
