So, let me get this out in the open. I’m not a social media advocate. I’m not a social media guru, expert, thought leader, or zealot. I am not pro-twitter. I’m not really that into Facebook (please don’t unfriend me!). You might be surprised to read that I’m not always looking down at my phone. Maybe I am. But still.
I am an advocate for care. I am an aspiring healthcare guru, a wanna be expert, a hopeful thought leader and unabashed zealot for improving the patient experience. I am a pro human. I am really into making someone’s care experience a holistic one. You might be surprised to read that I like to spend part of my day greeting people at the door of our ER.
When did social media become about, well, social media? When we we decide that talking about what we are talking on was more important than what we should really be talking about? I’m not an angry blogger, I promise. And I’m not singling out anyone or any post either. In fact, there have been some important online discussions recently about the validity of social media in healthcare.
But, isn’t it really about healthcare, about care. I mean, if its not, why are we interested? I’m guilty of getting wrapped up in frenzy; and suspect we all are. This is my call to action, my reminder to myself and my sincere wish – lets keep it about advancing how we care for others. We do that in many unique ways. Doctors do it differently from nurses, who do it differently from patient advocates, who do it differently from mental health professionals who do it differently from us admin types, who …. well, you get it. Still, we are all focused on improving the experiences and outcomes of those we care for. When we start talking about the 1s and 0s that our bully pulpit is made of, we’ve lost some of our effectiveness.
Be health champions first. Let’s be champions of care first. Let’s focus on using early adopter, expert, and guru status to champion what it is we are really doing – elevating the art of healthcare.
epilogue: Now, I know what you are thinking. Wasn’t my last post on this blog a hubristic, aggrandizing, self-promotional link to an article where I was quoted as being some kind form of thought leader? I see where you are going with that though and I agree. I’m talking to myself in this post. In fact, when I forget about this altruistic nonsense, I expect you (my two readers, hi mom!) to call me out. I’ll also add that those kinds of articles and posts are important. They are ammo in our arsenal to promote the use of social media – we just need to remember why we are so keen to promote it in the first place.