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Call For Submissions: Grand Rounds At Better Health

Grand Rounds logoGrand Rounds will be hosted right here at “home” at Better Health on Tuesday, March 22th, 2011.

Please send your blog-post submissions via e-mail by 12:00AM midnight CT on Saturday, March 19th, to: maria.gifford@getbetterhealth.com.

Please include:

  •  “Submission for Grand Rounds” in the subject line of your e-mail.
  • Your name (blog author), the name of your blog, and the URL of your specific blog-post submission.
  • A short summary (1 to 3 sentences) of your blog post.

There’s no specific theme for this edition of Grand Rounds — just send us something really smart or deep or profound that will move us and make us all think harder about health and medicine.

For more information, please see the Grand Rounds Submissions Guidelines. We look forward to receiving your submissions and featuring them here next week. Thank you!

– Maria Gifford, Director of Content, Better Health

Social Media For Doctors: The Pros And Cons

The pros and cons of social media for physicians are nicely reviewed by a number of prominent medbloggers (including yours truly) by Bonnie Ellerin in her recent white paper (pdf). An excerpt:

There is a profound change sweeping the world of medicine. Technology is the driver, but it has nothing to do with a new drug, device or procedure. Rather it is about the change in physician behavior and mindset that technology — the Internet more specifically — has unleashed. Today, physicians of all ages and specialties are online, whether via laptop, desktop, or mobile.

With physicians’ acceptance of technology has come a new type of openness among a small but growing number. In the past, the only doctors who were likely to air views publicly were medical journalists. But, today, there are physicians who blog, tweet, email with patients, post videos, even check-in on Foursquare. If you have any doubt, just look at the “Favorite Blogs” section of a physician blogger or scan the list of followers/following of any doctor on Twitter, and you’ll get a sense of how many of them are getting social. Far more than you thought.

Read more HERE.

-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist.

h/t: @hjlucks on Twitter via Smartblog On Social Media.

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*

Should Doctors Be Socially Anonymous?

I don’t think doctors should be socially anonymous. We need to be seen. Here’s why going underground isn’t good policy for physicians:

Anonymity makes you say stupid things. When you’re shouting from the crowd it’s easy to talk smack.  Come up to the podium, clear your throat, and say something intelligent. You’re a physician, not a hooligan.

It’s 2010: Anonymity died a long time ago. You think anonymity offers shelter? You’re funny, you are. Anonymity is a myth. You can create a cockamamie pseudonym, but you can’t hide.  And if I don’t find you, the plaintiff attorneys will. They found Flea.

Being a weanie is no excuse. Just as you’re unlikely to consult a lawyer before speaking at a cocktail party, commenting as Dr. You is unlikely to kill you or land you in court. Just a few pointers: Don’t talk about patients, help people out, and be nice. Trust me, I’m a doctor. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*

“Killer” Grand Rounds From Down Under

Grand RoundsBetter Health’s Grand Rounds this week is hosted by the ever-so-crafty Life in the Fast Lane team of Australian physicians at the Utopian College of Emergency for Medicine.

These docs “take great pleasure in sharing their medical experiences, clinical knowledge and insights into waiting-room medicine with health-conscious technophiles to facilitate the learning process by providing diverse and hopefully entertaining reading material.” It’s always worth a read (and a chuckle), no doubt.

With the theme of “Killer Posts” (just a hint — hate to blow the surprise), this edition of Grand Rounds is sure to educate in more ways than one! Experience it HERE.

Unease About Blogging And Social Media In Medicine

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 »

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

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…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

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