Why even have a blog?
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| Artwork by Saleh Heneidi- Unicorn meat by Peppy the Unicorn |
One would think that the very first article that I'd write on this blog would be to explain its purpose, but it didn't. I am not a great planner for the future (another thing I have in common with my patients). So, after my first three blog posts, I've been asking myself why I am doing this.
Here is a list of possible reasons:
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One of my friends texted me the other day and said, "I’m worried that your blog is too positive, do you have a ghost writer?" I am not going to answer that question, but I do agree that the blog is positive. Everything else you always read about medicine is negative… like how Obamacare is going to kill us all, that a doctor left a sponge inside a patient (hopefully someone not named Bob), or that the food that you are eating might give you cancer. Also, no one comes to the doctor’s office skipping with joy. Have you ever heard anyone say, "yay! I’m going to see the doctor?"
There is a good reason for that; medicine is serious business. People go to see the doctor when they are ill, and that is never a fun process. Patients aren't always happy and smiling; neither are the doctors. We don't feel good when we see sick people, especially sick children. The things that we deal with are difficult and we get to witness the gamut of human emotions.
So, I think that is why I decided to start a blog. I aim to make the doctor as human as the patient, because we simply are. There is positive in medicine, just as there is positive in the rest of our life. There is also a lot of negative in medicine. And just as in life, it is up to us to choose on which to focus.
Here is a list of possible reasons:
1- To become famous… As my teenage patients would say, LOL! People like me don't get famous unless my target audience is 4 year olds. If a 4 year old can read this blog, then I probably have larger problems preventing me from getting famous anyways. Speaking of being famous, one time after seeing the Ides of March in the movie theater with my parents, my mother told me that I looked like Ryan Gosling. I do not look anything like Ryan Gosling. If I did, then maybe I could be famous.
2. To teach about medicine… NO! I already do that in my office and elsewhere all day long. Also, there are people in medicine that are actually much more blog-worthy. A good example is my father who built a clinic and a legacy in San Diego out of scratch. If I take any great steps in my life, it is only due to the fact that the steps he took were greater. I bet his blog would be filled with stories about which people should actually hear. Unfortunately, he types very slowly and mostly with an iPad, which never speeds things up. Similarly, my brother is involved in shaping the future of healthcare, trying to improve the process through the use of technology. His blog would likely be very interesting. However, he is busy doing important things. There are of course countless other individuals out there who are always advancing medicine further; they are the real people whose blogs we should all read.
3. Out of boredom… No comment
4. Because one time, I walked in to an exam room and an older patient asked, "what’s your name?" I responded, "Dr. Bailony." The patient responded, "that's the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard." I really had no response; in fact, I kind of agreed with him. It is moments like these that create this blog.
One of my friends texted me the other day and said, "I’m worried that your blog is too positive, do you have a ghost writer?" I am not going to answer that question, but I do agree that the blog is positive. Everything else you always read about medicine is negative… like how Obamacare is going to kill us all, that a doctor left a sponge inside a patient (hopefully someone not named Bob), or that the food that you are eating might give you cancer. Also, no one comes to the doctor’s office skipping with joy. Have you ever heard anyone say, "yay! I’m going to see the doctor?"
There is a good reason for that; medicine is serious business. People go to see the doctor when they are ill, and that is never a fun process. Patients aren't always happy and smiling; neither are the doctors. We don't feel good when we see sick people, especially sick children. The things that we deal with are difficult and we get to witness the gamut of human emotions.
So, I think that is why I decided to start a blog. I aim to make the doctor as human as the patient, because we simply are. There is positive in medicine, just as there is positive in the rest of our life. There is also a lot of negative in medicine. And just as in life, it is up to us to choose on which to focus.
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