The homepage of Dr. Jonathan S. Hausmann’s blog,
autoinflammatorydiseases.org. Images by Jonathan S. Hausmann
Image Credit: Lucky Business/shutterstock.com
To blog or not to blog? As a rheumatologist, you may have pondered this question. Perhaps getting some insight from rheumatologists who already blog and a professional blog writer may help you find the answer.
Obviously, if you devoted time to blogging you would want it to be beneficial. For Paul Sufka, MD, rheumatologist, HealthPartners, St. Paul, Minn., one of the advantages of blogging is having his own voice on the Internet. “You have complete control over what is in your blog, as opposed to physician review sites where you have no control,” he says. “This allows patients to have a chance to learn about you as a physician directly. It also provides a way to express your interests both inside and outside of medicine, and can lead to others with similar interests connecting with you.”
Mr. Steinmetz
Paul Steinmetz, MBA, principal of Writing Associates, a consulting company that provides writing services to businesses and individuals, Danbury, Conn., says that by having a blog you can help demonstrate your expertise by showing that you are current and knowledgeable. “Nowadays, most people do some research before purchasing a product or hiring an expert,” he says. “As part of their homework, they will visit a potential physician’s website.”
Jonathan S. Hausmann, MD, fellow in pediatric and adult rheumatology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, started a blog in 2014 to bring awareness of and offer education about autoinflammatory diseases to physicians and healthcare providers, as well as to patients who suffer from these conditions.
Dr. Hausmann
“I originally set up my blog to teach others, but the one who has learned the most has been me,” says Dr. Hausmann. “I use it as a way to reflect on my practice. I think about my patients’ illnesses, how I cared for them and how I could do better in the future. Reflection is essential to improve learning. Blogging is also making me a better doctor, because I have to learn, understand and explain the illnesses I write about—a fantastic educational experience.”
What to Write?
The best blogs are written by people who are passionate about a particular subject, Dr. Hausmann says. He suggests writing about topics that excite you. For him, this meant the emerging field of autoinflammatory diseases. “We don’t know much about these diseases,” says Dr. Hausmann, who sees a fair number of patients with these conditions. “Knowing that I could generate knowledge that improves our understanding of these diseases really excited me. Helping improve the lives of people with autoinflammatory diseases is really motivating.”
Dr. Sufka
Dr. Sufka, whose has been blogging since 2011, writes educational pieces for other physicians (at various levels, such as primary care, and for other rheumatologists) and patients. For colleagues, these may be highly detailed (e.g., “Rheumatology Joining December 16th #NephJC Discussion on ‘Rituximab versus Azathioprine for Maintenance in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis”), or it can be more of a general overview (e.g., “Applying the Pareto Principle [80/20 Rule] to Rheumatology”). He finds that patients are often most interested in learning about ways to manage their conditions and side effects.
If you’re still struggling with where to start, Mr. Steinmetz advises including an overview of the diseases you treat and the general work that you do in your first blog. Then select specific diseases and treatments to highlight in future blogs. “You could also write short profiles about each of your staff members, including information about their background and education, and why they decided to join the medical profession,” he says.
The most effective blogs answer questions your patients—and potential patients—are asking, Mr. Steinmetz continues. Given this, when talking to your patients, jot down quick notes on potential blog topics. “Once you train yourself to think this way, you will end each day with at least one or two ideas,” he says. “Ask your staff to do the same, as patients may ask them questions, as well.”
Building Readership
Promoting a blog is a lot like professional networking. “It’s very similar in that you build contacts and increase your name recognition,” Mr. Steinmetz says. “While networking involves attending conferences and local professional luncheons or joining an organization’s board in your hometown, spreading the word about your blog means linking it to your practice’s Facebook page and posting it on your LinkedIn account. It should be prominently featured on your website, of course, and you should add your website, Facebook and LinkedIn addresses to your business cards.”
When Dr. Hausmann posts a blog, he promotes it on Twitter and Facebook. He will also leverage doctor-specific social media platforms, such as Doximity.
Dr. Sufka recommends optimizing articles so search engines can easily find them. Often, you can achieve this by writing a descriptive title with keywords that appear in the blog.
‘Blogging is … making me a better doctor, because I have to learn, understand & explain the illnesses I write about—a fantastic educational experience.’ —Dr. Hausmann
Syndicating a Blog
The homepage of Dr. Paul Sufka’s blog.
Image Credit: Oleg GawriloFF/shutterstock.com
Whether or not you syndicate a blog depends on your goals. “If you want to build readership, it can be helpful,” Dr. Sufka says.
The downside of syndication is that it might decrease the ranking of your writing in Google or other search engines, which tend to penalize duplicate information (unless the duplicate post is tagged in a specific way).
Syndication can either occur by invitation (e.g., a known blogging network or specific blog asking if it can repost your content), or by you asking to do the same from similar networks. Alternatively, you can pay networks to promote your content through syndication.
Achieving Success
A blog should tackle complex or sensitive subjects in a clear and concise way, have a subtle sense of humor where appropriate and not be too long, Mr. Steinmetz maintains. It’s important to address issues plainly and honestly. Don’t obfuscate because you are afraid of scaring people away. However, there are also times when the best line will be, “Be sure to talk about this with your doctor.”
But ultimately, whether your blog is successful or not depends on your definition of success. “A blogger can be considered very successful, but publish only rarely, especially if he writes high-quality content,” Dr. Sufka says.
The best blogs are written by people who are passionate about a particular subject.
Personally, Dr. Sufka bases his blog’s success on the types of connections that he’s formed over time. For example, his blog has led to invitations to speak at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, organizing meet-ups of rheumatologists on social media and various other connections through his interest in technology.
For Dr. Hausmann, feedback from patients has been rewarding and encouraging. “They really appreciate that I bring awareness of their diseases to other providers, because many have had these conditions for years before they were diagnosed,” he says. “I break down a disease’s components so readers can understand them without knowing many medical terms. Readers also find comfort in knowing that they aren’t the only ones suffering from a condition, and find my referrals to other blogs and resources useful.”
Karen Appold is a medical writer in Pennsylvania.
