The question of physicians and renumeration for social participation makes great cocktail party, or Twitter, conversation. If you cornered me around a plate of hors d’ouvres, here’s what I might say:
I think we have a responsibility to be part of the conversation. All of us should be participating in some way. Optimally we should be making the stuff that starts conversation. At a minimum we should be contributing to the dialog.
But bandwidth is limited. The translation of great thinking and experience into digital media requires time, energy and rest. Caring for the sick is backbreaking work. For most of us, there’s little time for the generation of clever 4 minute videos following a full clinic day and family obligations.
The reality, however, is that this kind of participatory work is increasingly part of maintaining a professional reputation. I suspect that market forces will ultimately favor those with the capacity to translate what they know and the footprint on which to share.
I believe that some providers should be paid to participate professionally. It would be smart for large hospital systems and medical schools to create time for one or a small number of staff to be front and center sharing, curating, talking and making. Beyond serving as brand ambassadors for their institutions, their talents and expertise would represent something of a resource for the online community.
Public communication and patient care should not be seen as mutually exclusive, but rather as complementary. Whether a doctor’s public presence represents the best use of their time is a difficult question. I suspect it will depend on how we come to value the voice and wisdom of the physician. Or perhaps it will depend upon the value that they create beyond their traditional role.
What do you think?
h/t to @Cascadia for making me think put my head to this.
When we think about doctors using tools of communication, we assume that the only thing they are capable of is creating for patients. When people look at my blog they say, ‘why would a mother of a child with intestinal problems care about that?‘
I never said that they would.
And who said that a physician’s only use of public media is to translate health info? It’s a great service but its not all we can do. Our capacity to publish can be used in all kinds of ways. Advocacy, policy, political action, business development, health awareness, personal reflection, literary narrative, humor, quilting, and emerging technology represent a few of the pent up passions of the modern provider.
It used to be that a doctor’s ideas, thinking and avenues of expression were restricted to narrowly defined medical spaces. Everything happened in a journal when we were given permission. Public commentary was filtered through those with access to presses and broadcast towers. Pictures were taken with the white coat and stethoscope. Without them, we weren’t doctors. Not anymore. Providers once without a voice are now empowered to speak. And they’ve got more than ‘easy-to-understand health information’ on their minds.
Our ability to connect with and about patients shouldn’t be dismissed. I’ve done plenty of creating for patients. I cut my teeth writing for parenting magazines in the mid 90′s, I wrote a couple of books for parents, I have penned (or tapped) hundreds of posts centered on children’s health. But for now I find myself preoccupied with technology and medicine’s entree into the public realm. It defines me in a way that never before would have been possible.
Creating material for patients is good. But the ability to be public has created opportunities for us to think about, discuss and influence some really interesting corners of the world.
What drives you as a physician or, more importantly, as a person? What’s your passion? How can your ability to publish change the world?
