Social Media in the Medical Industry

Careful and conservative attitude

Those in the medical field tend to be conservative and careful about social media. This is understandable.  By writing something that is stored in cyberspace forever, health care providers and medical organizations open themselves up to potential lawsuits now or 20 years from now.

While social media is being adopted by some organizations in the medical industry (e.g., the Mayo Clinic) very effectively, in general, it seems that health care is slow to jump on the social media bandwagon.  Health care providers are concerned about opening themselves up to negativity and lawsuits (easy for this to happen in that field) and don’t see the need yet to invest time and resources in developing social media strategies.  

Little “need” to engage

The medical industry is different from other industries where attracting clients or customers is important.  There are always sick people, always the need for more qualified doctors and nurses.  Consequently, medical organizations don’t see the need to engage with their audience through social media. There isn't really a strong motivation for this.  Yet. No-risk, one-way dissemination of information suffices at the moment.

Potential for social media in the medical industry

However, there is great potential for those in the medical industry to use social media to collect feedback from patients, warn people of epidemics, provide information on what to do during flu season, collaborate with colleagues, use video blogging to explain what to do in a medical emergency, receive thanks, get suggestions for improvement, and so on.  It’s just slow to happen. 

Other priorities

There are so many other complex issues to deal with in the medical field and no lack of patients that social media engagement has had to take backstage to more pressing issues.  Perhaps social media could be used towards solving problems such as wait times, numbers of qualified doctors, medical errors, and research and development.  

Any ideas? I would love to hear how social media could be used by the medical industry to solve problems.  

Rediscovering Cooking

I moved to Canada, got a job, bought a house, and decided to rediscover cooking. On a shopping trip for housewares, I perused the cookbook section of the store and found a likely guide to my new interest. It was an attractive cookbook with coloured pictures (necessary for inspiration and comparison to what I actually produce).  The lists of ingredients was short and readable. It was cheap. I bought it.
 

First I tried the Thai pumpkin curry. That was excellent. Not too difficult. Got rave reviews. Then I tried a Banana Rum dessert. Yummy!  Next was the Chicken Pesto and Mozzarella Panini.  Kids were in heaven. I became a hero when I discovered the Fruit Cobbler. From there it went on: Cuban Beef Picadillo, Spinach, Pear and Walnut salad.  Suddenly, I could accept invitations to book clubs without fear of the obligatory dish to pass.  I could show up at someone’s dinner party with a real, homemade dessert.  Things were humming.

I got a part-time seasonal job at Chapters.  Ooooh, now I could replace my tatty old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from university with the deluxe gift edition in hardcover.  I added Beef Stroganoff, Fajitas, Ham and Swiss Quiche, Giant Ginger Cookies, and Coconut Macaroons (the egg white kind) to my repertoire.  I no longer feared dinner parties. I could chat with the foodies at lunch.

Last weekend, my parents celebrated their 50^th anniversary which involved me hosting a dinner party for 10 people and 2 dogs on Friday night (Thai Chicken Curry with Pumpkin) and a dinner party for 17 people and 5 dogs on Saturday night (shish kabobs, rice pilaf, Greek salad). I have a very small house. In the past, this kind of event would have turned me into an anti-cooking werewolf of fearsome nastiness. However, this year, we had a delicious meal, everyone was delighted with the menu, they were fed to the gills, all was peace and harmony, and I no longer fear hosting family celebrations.

There’s so much good in re-discovering the simple joy of preparing and eating food.  If you haven’t yet discovered how great it feels to make a dish that looks delicious and tastes like you went to a schmancy restaurant, I suggest getting your hands on the book that started it all for me: the Weeknight Cookbook from Williams-Sonoma.  

Look at the pictures. Choose one that has ingredients that you think you can handle. See what happens.  There’s a nice sense of accomplishment in knowing you can arrive at a dinner party with a main dish or a salad or a dessert or an appetizer that you actually did not purchase.  You no longer have to sign up to bring the plastic forks for potlucks. And it’s great when you can entertain 17 people and 5 dogs for a family celebration and come out smiling.

Twittequette, Blogstyle, n WackComments

I notice that there are certain types of “etiquette” in online communities and certain stylistic elements of this genre of writing that can be intimidating at first.

Twittequette

• I heard in a recent workshop that if someone follows you on Twitter, it’s a good idea to follow back. Ohhhhhh!
•  Polite ways to end a conversation on Twitter?  I just stop replying.  That seems to be common practice, but it still seems like there should be an easing-off or a closing. ( Something like "@suzemuse  Well, I better go do my laundry now. Thanks for the updates on new video blogging tools. Over and out.")

Blogstyle:

•  Twitter content seems to be better if it's about interesting things you’ve seen, done or learned.
• Blogging seems to be better if it's about what you can share to help other people interested in that same topic understand it better (instructional sharing slant seems to work well).   
• According to those-who-know the top blog writing tips mention that having opinions and lots of  links are good.

WackComments

•  (OK, I stole the heading from SisterSalad—but keep reading). Posting comments even requires understanding stylistic conventions.  
• Some comments are “better” than others. I’m still analyzing why. Clever is good. Thoughtful and insightful is good.  Personal is not always good (i.e., who cares?)  Asking more questions seems to be safe.
• SisterSalad did this hilarious youtube vid “Yo Comments Are Wack”  on what NOT to do and how bad grammer ain’t good.

This is a new style, a new genre. It’s kind of like writing in a second language—there are conventions that are at first baffling and take some time to acquire.  And like a second language, it will come eventually.

CBC-TV crew follows Pinecrest students as they take on a Boston Marathon challenge

CBC-TV crew follows Pinecrest students as they take on a Boston Marathon challenge

Ottawa's old growth forest in danger--South March Highlands

There is a rally on Wed., July 22 at All Saints High School, Kanata at 6 p.m. to protect this forest.

Ottawa's Old Growth Forest in the South March Highlands area of Kanata is being destroyed to make way for urban development. The South March Highlands forest is over 10,000 years old, ecologically unique and provides habitat for numerous species of wildlife that are at risk. Many compare it to Algonquin Park in  its beauty and bio‐diversity.

This area is also sacred to First Nations People. Grandfather William Commanda, Algonquin Spiritual Elder, has stated that "...this is a living temple, a place of Manitou, a special place of nature, and that precious reality also demands immediate protection and reverence."


Citizens have been trying to protect this area since 1981.  It is now 1/3 the size it was in 1970 when it was protected as a National Environmental Area.  Each time, the loss of protected forest has been due to urban development.

If you would like to help, please visit:
http://southmarch.wordpress.com/how-to-help/
or join the rally tonight at 6 pm in Kanata.

Media Burn-Out

I suspect this is a generational issue: I feel guilty for ignoring so much information and media types. When I grew up, info came at me at a digestable pace. The current deluge (exponentially larger when one dips into social media) causes me to panic. I'd like to be able to keep up, but there's no way to do so. I keep thinking that I'm missing out on important key information and I should be able to keep up: someone will be offended that I haven't responded fast enough, that I didn't read their blog or comment all the way through. I'm used to being thorough. I'm used to concentrating on one thing in-depth at a time.

I wonder if the 20 somethings and 30 somethings don't mind the deluge.  How do they deal with the fact that they may only be getting some of the information and not the most important information? 

There is also the issue of depth vs. surface skimming.  Which is better? Must we all become surface skimmers to survive the onslaught of information? I'm more a slow and in-depth type.  Am I doomed to information burn out and social media panic (with the upshot being that I retreat back into my turtle shell of the unplugged offwork time)? 

How do others deal with the tidal wave and accept continuous barrages of information with perhaps missing something important?