Blogging tips for healthcare elective students (medicine, dentistry, nursing).
-
Upload
lauren-taylor -
Category
Health & Medicine
-
view
351 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Blogging tips for healthcare elective students (medicine, dentistry, nursing).
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Many students choose to blog whilst on elective, even if they haven’t
previously.
An elective blog overlaps into several domains- part holiday snaps, part
professional portfolio, part logbook, part reflection. When writing one it is
important to be aware of the positive endpoints of a record of your experience
and a good record for your CV, but also being aware of potential errors
around patient confidentiality.
Slide 4
Slide 5
Wordpress and blogger/blogspot in particular are very reliable blogging sites,
easy to set up and customise with themes.
Elective blog platforms are not recommended as they don’t necessarily have
the same good guidelines in place regarding storing your content, letting you
own it and deleting/editing it in future. They will often try to attract you in
association with pre-arranged electives that you pay for.
One site previously used by KCL has now closed down and that content is
assumedly lost- but could resurface at some point!
Slide 6
The URL is for a blog on “how to blog” by a KCL staff member- it contains
good advice on setting up a blog, and tips on things like how to add pictures
and video to your posts.
A post is interesting if it contains some personal opinions and reflections on
your experience. This isn’t Google Earth or a travel brochure- what makes
your post worth reading is what you’ve taken from it. Your reflections, your
interpretation of what you’ve learnt is what will get you pageviews, and
showing you can reflect on your experiences is a good attribute.
Slide 7
A good elective blog is interesting and personal as well as professional. It can
both be a way to show off the experience you are having (and reassure loved
ones that you are safe and well!) and be a portfolio to show off in the future.
These points may seem like common sense but some students fall into traps
of showing inappropriate stories or photos, so keep professionalism in mind.
Even if the law is different in a country, admitting to breaking the law (e.g
using a drug that is illegal here) could lead to a prosecution when you return
to the UK. Similarly you should observe the laws of the country you are in, e.g
around using alcohol.
Slide 8
Even whilst obscuring patient data and taking care not to mention identifying
features, just saying that you saw a particular condition on a particular day
could be enough for someone to identify a patient (or them to identify
themselves!), as your location will be known. One good way to further
anonymise clinical cases is to not report them on the day you saw them, but
instead wait and do weekly “round-ups” of what you saw. Remember patients
themselves could look up your blog, so take care not to discuss a prognosis
or condition the patient may not be aware of.
Confidentiality doesn’t just apply to patients- you should remember to respect
the wishes of colleagues who may or may not want to be named or
photographed to be online, and Hospital Trusts may have their own policies
around photos taken on-site. You should always maintain professionalism
whilst on-site and/or in uniform.
Slide 9
Both of these blogs are hosted on elective blogging sites which isn’t
recommended as previously mentioned. However these two posts are good
examples of blogging done well and less well.
The first student is clearly very anxious and whilst she is being open and
honest about her feelings, talking about how scared she is may not reflect well
on her in future and could possibly put future students off from travelling. She
should also be mindful of how her criticisms may affect her hosts and whether
they would want to take on other students later as a result. She will likely not
want to showcase this in future.
The second student is a good example of further anonymising cases by
combining them into a single summary post. They have also shown well what
they have gained from the experience and clearly show the experience they
have gained and skills they have developed- a very good use of Social Media
to reflect and showcase their learning.
Slide 10
Be sure to remove EXIF data from digital photos- this contains information on
“when” and “on what device” the photos were taken, and smartphones can
also record “where”. You can turn location services off on a smartphone and
the various apps (instagram, flickr, facebook etc can all register your location
when linked to photos).
If you do need to use consent forms and perhaps photoconsent app for
photos, translate and screenshot consent form in the appropriate language,
be sure to explain this in your notes. It can be as simple as running the
phrases through Google Translate and keeping a screenshot on your phone
to show patients, or the guardians of underage patients. Apps like
photoconsent are a few pounds and record consent with the photos, as well
as emailing copies to clinician and patient.
The hospital or trust you are visiting may have a local policy on images of
patients. Even if it does not, follow good practise and take your patient’s
informed consent.
Slide 11
Linkedin is a professional networking site that is essentially an online CV
where you can connect with other professionals. This is a good site to use to
link to a professional blog showcasing your learning and experience.
You may want to link from sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Whilst sharing
travel pictures on these sites is common, sharing clinical details or images
directly on these sites may not be as appropriate, and not as easily under
your control.
Showing your understanding of ethics and patient consent can also be a
positive attribute in itself, and a blog post on how you are ensuring informed
consent and protect your patients could be an interesting and positive addition
to your elective record.
Slide 12
Some people choose to blog an experience thinking that they will then delete
all evidence later. However this cannot be guaranteed- content can be cached
or screenshot and reposted by other people. It is much better to write your
blog with the expectation that you will use and re-show it later.
Whilst thinking about preparing your blog for the future, it is worthwhile
considering your entire digital footprint. If people Google your name what will
they find? What about your email address or usernames? It is worth searching
these yourself and removing any past content that is unfavourable! Linking to
your blog and professional sites such as linkedin will get them higher up in
your search results, above less favourable content.
Slide 13