I Blog, Therefore I Say Thanks!

I started blogging because I realized I knew enough about something (nursing) that I could actually contribute to the blogosphere. I also learned that if your write well enough (see The Bleat by James Lileks), everyday life can be interesting.

What I didn't realize is that I would get so much more out of blogging than I could ever contribute.

Prior to launching Emergiblog, I had never read a single medical or nursing related blog. My daily reads were Hugh Hewitt, Instapundit, Lileks, Fraters Libertas and Powerline.
With the exception of Lileks, they were all politically inclined.

One day I clicked on a link to "Grand Rounds" and I realized there was an entire, worldwide niche of blogs related to health care.

It has changed my life.

And not because I sit around all day and read blogs. Although I do. As far as I am concerned it is no different than sitting reading a book all day and no one gets upset about that, do they? (This last sentence was intended for my hubby who won't read it anyway.....)

Here's how my life is different since I began to read the medical blogosphere:

• I have developed a deeper respect for physicians now that I have a deeper understanding of what they must endure to earn the right to practice their profession.

• I realized that doctors are people. They hurt, they worry, they ache and they get sick just like the rest of us.
  

• Why it took me 28 years to figure that out is beyond me.

• I now cut my docs a lot more slack, knowing the responsibility they shoulder.
  

• I have learned that health care concerns are the same everywhere in the world. We may have different political ideas but whether we are in Iran, Singapore, Israel, Australia, Canada, England or the USA, when it comes to health care, our hopes and dreams are the same.

• I have been inspired to "read up" on diseases and actually have a huge pathology book sitting next to me on the couch. The enthusiasm of the nursing students and the fact that some of my future colleagues are beginning their journey in their 30s and 40s makes me energized about making sure I am up-to-date on the latest nursing ideas.

• It has helped me to re-appreciate my profession and increased the pride I feel about being a Registered Nurse again. Sometimes, over the years we can forget why we wanted to be nurses. I remember.
  

• It has also made it fun to work with the student nurses we now have in the ER

• I have more of an idea of how things work behind-the-scenes: in hospital administration, physician credentialing, pharmacology.

• It has brought back memories of patients I had not thought of in years and patients who I thought I had forgotten. The more I blog, the more I remember.

• I have read the blogs of patients and learned so much more about what they go through and what they expect of me as a caregiver. I've always said, I learn the most from my patients.
  

So basically, I get so much out of reading the blogs of my colleagues in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, administration that I'm sorry it took me so long to get in the swing of things.

But I am proud to be considered one of the health care bloggers. I imagine I'll be blogging about nursing for a long time. Lord knows there is never a dearth of material!