By Lindsey Miller
‘Seattle Mama Doc’ delivers candid, timely info with a human touch
Health care systems run thousands of blogs—NPR estimates more than 120,000—but very few of them are written by doctors.
Between seeing patients and doing paperwork, doctors don’t have much time for writing. Plus, many view blogging as a job for communicators.
Pediatrician Wendy Sue Swanson sees things differently. Despite juggling a clinic job, a consulting position, and a family, last November she started a blog called “Seattle Mama Doc” in cooperation with Seattle Children’s Hospital. She feels it’s an essential part of her job to give her patients and their parents honest, unfiltered information about preventing illness and injury.
“How we can we really start leading some of the stories rather than being the talking heads or the sound bites?” Swanson says. “When something comes up, the blogosphere goes nuts; then about 10 days later, the medical expert has something to say.”
The views and recognition Swanson gets doesn’t hurt Seattle Children’s brand either. The blog draws an average of 12,000 unique visits per month and almost seven minutes on the site.
For communicators who have the will but not the way to persuade a doctor to blog, Swanson passes down three tips.
Find someone who’s passionate
Blogging is not every doctor’s dream side job. For the blog to have a chance at enduring success, it is essential that the physician is enthusiastic about the process. Every bit as important is the ability to write well.
“Trying to stretch doctors out of a place where they’re comfortable won’t work and won’t be authentic,” Swanson says. “They won’t be excited, and if it’s a labor, it won’t resonate with people.”
Seattle Children’s didn’t have to do much to persuade Swanson; she has been interested in the communications aspect of medicine her whole career. She spends a lot of time writing about her experiences with her own children (both under age 4) on the blog, but she often ties in a new study. Children’s is an academic hospital, and Swanson’s blog reflects that focus.
For example, a recent installment of a recurring post, “If It Were My Child,” talked about a study that confirms a risk of seizures in children who receive the combo MMRV (Measles-Mumps-Rubella-Varicella) shot between 1 and 2 years of age. Swanson comes to the conclusion, both as a mom and as a pediatrician, that the shot isn’t worth the risk and says she wouldn’t recommend it for her own kids or her patients.
It is also essential that the future blogger/doctor understands that blogging requires time. It takes Swanson many hours beyond her already 60- to 70-hour workweek to produce at least two posts weekly with photos or video.
“When you ask a physician to do this, and you want them to continue to be reputable and engaged in the community … it is no small commitment,” Swanson says. “I don’t know how to do this in less time and still write blogs that are lengthy and thorough enough.”
Keep your hands off
One thing that helps with time management: Swanson sets her own schedule. She works on the blog whenever she has time during the week or weekend. She chooses what she’s going to say, how many times she’s going to post, and whether she’s going to respond to comments. She edits and posts her own work.
“It’s important that I author this blog, that I decide what I want to write,” Swanson says. “I don’t want to sound like I’m promoting your hospital, because I’m not. I’m going to say what I feel.”
For example, during the H1N1 scare in fall 2009, one of the first cases in Washington State was in Swanson’s clinic with a physician who had been practicing in her exam rooms the day before. “I was terrified. We didn’t know what was going on.”
Rather than repeat the CDC pitch of “get your vaccine,” Swanson blogged about her concerns for her 6-month-old baby at home. She also said that the only way to protect her kids was to get the vaccine despite any possible dangers.
“I don’t let anyone touch what I write,” Swanson says. “There are probably spelling and grammatical errors, but it will ring true with fans if it is sincere.”
That philosophy extends beyond her blog. Using her iPhone, Swanson creates low-budget, lightly edited videos on subjects of interest. A recent video on creating disaster kits got 250 views.
Pick the right tools
Part of staying hands off and maximizing doctors’ time is choosing user-friendly tools and letting them pick the software.
Children’s wanted Swanson to use its own equipment, a plodding PC, when she started “Seattle Mama Doc.” She insisted, though, on Apple hardware and software—tools with which she’s comfortable. Now, she uses an iPhone for photos and videos, a Mac for writing, and iMovie software for video editing.
Children’s also set up its internal software initially as the framework for the blog. But posts often took her three to four hours to publish, with another hour to load, and yet another hour to get comments to show up. For greater efficiency, she now works in WordPress, and Swanson is much happier.
“I really like this blog. I so excited about doing this and telling my story,” Swanson says. “It’s a way I have found to communicate with far more people than the 25 to 30 families I see in the clinic every day.”
