#OhioAFP Conference

After last night's bummer loss of Ohio State in March Madness, I have the distinct honor today of presenting at a Ohio Academy of Family Physicians meeting called the Ohio Family Medicine Symposium on Research and Education. Of course, I'll be presenting on Social Media and Family Medicine.

For those attending the conference (and for you out there on the net), I'm going to be tweeting out using #OhioAFP. I realize that I'll probably be the only one tweeting out today. I'm really excited about this presentation today. And, I admit that I'm letting the competitive streak out in that I'm really gunning for the best presentation award for the mtg. Plus, I'm gonna try to do A LOT of social media stuff at this mtg.

This is also interesting in that this is the first of four presentations in the next seven days - including a talk at Yale University at Health Camp Connecticut and at the Ohio State Medical Association annual meeting. The topic? Of course, social media and how much I LOVE it!

Conferences are always fun in that I get to catch up with people whom I haven't seen in a long while. I'm also looking forward to catching up with @EndoGoddess this weekend. In my opinion, Dr. Jen Dyer is the most wired doc in Columbus - so cool. Have a great weekend everybody!

Creation Vs Curation

Shout out to @DanaMLewis for pointing out this post from Mashable entitled, "Why Curation Is Just As Important As Curation." When people are starting out in social media creation, whether it be blogging, or podcasting, or whatever - the phrase always comes up - "Content Is King." But is content really king anymore?

Now, I certainly wasn't the first physician blogger, but I would probably consider myself "in those early days." I mean, starting in 2006 was a few years ago. Back then, writing every single day was imperative. And, the way that you were judged were the amount of comments that you received. I mean, this was in the days before facebook and twitter, when the comment section of the blog was the only way to give feedback publically.

Back then, the way to make a name for yourself was to have the home base of the blog, and that's how people knew you. Now, with so much content out there, people are overwhelmed and just cannot read everything that they want to read. I definitely can relate to this.

Now, many people are becoming "internet famous" by just sharing through their twitter or facebook stream - the items which they think are important. Maybe, sometimes, not even creating a bit of content on their own. Does this make them a second class citizen in the social media world - not anymore.

I agree with the assertion that being the "information maven"  - meaning evaluating social media information - meaning being a curator - instead of a social media creator - this will be very important in the days ahead. Am I wrong, let me know in the comments below - or on twitter, or on facebook, or other social media way...

Family Medicine Rocks Podcast 2

I invite you to join me this week for Episode 2 of the Family Medicine Rocks podcast. My guest will be Family Physician and author Chip Teel, MD. He is author of the book "Alone and Invisible: Averting Disaster in Aging America." He is from Damariscotta, Maine and has been a champion for the care of older Americans.

In his book, Chip not only chronicles what he did in his own community to advance the care of elders where he lives, but also he talks about how he went beyond that to look after the overall health and wellness of his community. Chip will also discuss how he has used technology solutions to help achieve these goals. I also encourage you to check out his Full Circle America website where he empowers older Americans to take and keep control of their lives.

Family Medicine Rocks Episode 2 will be recorded live on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 3pm Eastern Time/Noon Pacific Time on BlogTalkRadio. There will be a live chat room for you to take part in the conversation (although I encourage you to register at the BlogTalkRadio site beforehand so that you can participate in the chat room).

Even if you cannot join us live, you can always download the archived podcast later and listen at your leisure. I also encourage you to check out the video above. This will be a great discussion about Elder Care in America. I hope you'll be able to join us!

Update: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr. Teel had to cancel his appearance on the show. But, don't worry, we'll reschedule for the near future for our discussion on the state of elder care in America. However, the show will go on as scheduled on Thursday. I will have some commentary on some recent items in the news and in the medical blogosphere - like the hosting of Grand Rounds on this site next week! 

Paging Doctor Rob

In a conversation the other day, someone mentioned @Doc_Rob (aka, Rob Lamberts, MD). I think it was December 30, 2010 when he announced on his blog, Musings Of A Distractible Mind, that he was going to be "Unplugging." Just because I was curious, I tried to access his blog. But it looks like the entire thing has been deleted. Hmmmm.....

Now, I could be wrong, but I believe that he was also the creator and the "keeper" of the Healthcare Blogger Code of Ethics - which I think was a good idea. I had my own issues with it, but it was really interesting seeing the people who proudly showed the logo on their website.

I did a quick search for this home site as well, and it looks like it was deleted as well. Now, I never thought that I was on the "inner circle" of any kind of "blogger drama." But, it seems to me that it is a pretty big step to not only stop blogging, twittering, etc - but also to delete these sites from the internet. (Shout out to Highlight Health for still having record of the Code on their site)

I have and will continue to wish Dr. Rob the best. I hope he's doing ok these days. And, for all I know, he's laughing at us still in the social media rat race - while he's probably on some beach somewhere. Here is toasting you and your llamas, Dr Rob - Cheers!

Grand Rounds Coming To FamMedRocks

 

Thanks to Better Health for a great Grand Rounds post this week. Yes, kids, that's right! I will be hosting Grand Rounds for the fourth time next week on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Don't know what Grand Rounds is? Well, I'll just pull the quote right from the official GR Website...

Grand Rounds is a weekly summary of the best health blog posts on the Internet. Each week a different blogger takes turns hosting Grand Rounds, and summarizing the best submissions for the week. Grand Rounds was originally established by Emergency Medicine physician, Nicholas Genes in September, 2003.

His concept was to highlight and capture the best medical blog posts in one place each week. The rotating nature of the hosts for Grand Rounds promotes community awareness of new bloggers, and encourages cross linkage to more content.

This will be the fourth time that I will be hosting Grand Rounds (this will be Volume 7, Number 27). I encourage you to check out previous posts from November 21, 2006 which was GR Vol 3 No 9, November 13, 2007 which was GR Vol 4 No 8, and March 2, 2010 which was Vol 6 No 23. It's always fun putting together the best medically related blog posts from the week.

Submitting Instructions: So, if you would like to be considered to be a part of my edition of Grand Rounds, please follow these instructions. The deadline for posts will be on Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 10pm Eastern Daylight Time (0200 UTC) which is at the completion of the weekly #HCSM twitter chat. Please use the "Contact" button above to submit your blog post. Also, please put "Grand Rounds" in the subject line. Finally, please include a brief description of the post along with your name, blog name, and specific blog URL.

Just to let everyone know, I will be highlighting "Doctor's Day" which will be Wednesday, March 30th. But, I wouldn't call this a theme. All posts will be considered. Plus, the earlier you submit, you'll be rewarded with more favorable placement verses the late submitters. And, as always, my picks will be the lead for the Grand Rounds post. I hope people have fun with this. Thanks so much!

Beyond Social Media

Over this past weekend, I got to re-connect with someone that I first met a few years ago in the planning of a social media event. And, through the years, we have exchanged messages over twitter and facebook. But, with our schedules, we never really had the opportunity to meet up in a while.

So, almost in a whim, I contacted my friend @Brandice and set up a meet up last weekend. And, it was great. Fellow geeks, we talked about our latest gadgets. We're also in health related fields, so we talked a little bit about work as well. I invite you to check out her tumblr blog as well - called Sundown Social Work.

Following our chat, I had dinner with her and her husband - and I had a great time. Too often, I just get wrapped up in the daily life of work, work, work. Yes, social media is cool. But, there really is nothing like chatting with someone right there in front of you. I need to do a better job of re-connecting with old friends and connecting with new people - in real life. How about for my social media peeps out there? How tough is it for you to go Beyond Social Media and meet people in real life?

Family Medicine Rocks Podcast 1

I'm happy to announce that the premiere of the Family Medicine Rocks podcast will be Thursday, March 17, 2011 on BlogTalkRadio. What will this show be about - you ask? Well, it will be similar to the last show in that this show will be "Passionate About Medicine And Social Media."

I will talk about some current events having to do with medicine and social media. I'll also mix in things that are going on in my life. The new content will including topics, ideas, and guests from the world of Family Medicine. I did this a little bit on the last show.

For example, topics for Show Number 1 will include my transition to the new website, blog, and podcast. I have been getting a lot of questions about "My Rebranding Strategy," and I'll have commentary on that. It is also Match Day for many medical schools across the nation, in that, this is the day were graduating medical students find out where they will be doing their residency training.

I will also talk about the #LiveKneeSurgery that took place live on the internet at Swedish Medical Center earlier this week. And, of course, it is St. Patrick's Day and the first day of the NCAA Mens Basketball tournament - also known as March Madness.

So, lots to talk about, and maybe some surprises as well. Hope you will be able to join me on Family Medicine Rocks Show One on Thursday, March 17th, 2011 at 12:30pm Eastern Time/9:30am Pacific Time on BlogTalkRadio. There will be a live chat room where you can make fun of me. There will be a live webcam for you to see me do the show live before your eyes. And, if you cannot listen live, then you can always listen later to the archived podcast. Thanks for your continued support of me and the show!

Live Streaming Match Day

Thursday, March 17th, 2011 will be a HUGE day in the mind of many medical students who will be graduating later this year. Why? Because this is the day that they will find out where they will be going for their residency training beginning in July.

I remember my Match Day all those years ago (hehe). I have to admit that I was kind of stressed out going to the medical school that day. For most med students, the next chapter of their lives will be started on Match Day. Next steps after this will be finding a place to live near their residency hospital and continuing their medical training.

Over the last couple of years, I have found on the internet that some schools are live streaming their Match Day ceremonies. During these ceremonies, medical students announce to their class, their family, their professors - and now the internet - where they will be going.

I'd like to thank the University of South Florida for reaching out to me and sending me an e-mail to talk about their Match Day ceremonies in which they will be broadcasting live on the internet on facebook and ustream. I think they did this last year, and the emotions just jumped through the screen.

It is my bold prediction that, not this year, but next year - 2012 - that it will be common practice for medical schools to live video stream their Match Day ceremonies. But, for this year, other than USF, does anyone out there know of other med schools doing this? Leave a comment down below....

Sudden Cardiac Death In Athletes

This topic has been in the news recently, especially with Wes Leonard - high school basketball player from Michigan who collapsed and died after making the winning shot for his team. Sudden Cardiac Death is technically the term used in these tragic events. I encourage you to check out this very informative link from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation on the subject.

Over the past few days, I did three TV interview segments on this topic on local TV news. Topics discussed include what the current recommendations are as far as medical evaluation before participating in sports, the controversy of cardiac testing all high school athletes, and what steps can be done when a high school athletes collapses suddenly on the field of play. If you find this video informative, I encourage you to check out other videos on general health topics at MikeSevilla.TV. Enjoy!

Live Knee Surgery at Swedish Med Ctr

Just when you think you saw everything on the internet, something really cool comes along. I know that this is probably not the first time that a live surgery was done on the internet. But, Swedish Medical Center did something really interesting today in that they broadcast a live knee surgery - really. I'm not kidding, this video may be squemish for some people out there (especially the video above about 13 minutes in).

And, the multiple camera angles from the studio to the operating room wide shot to the knee close up shot was cool as well. And, if you're curious, they had over 4,000 views of the video for the entire broadcast (I believe), and when I was on there were over 200 live viewers at the same time. (Want to apologize up front for the ad you'll see when you hit play above)

The video above is part three of the broadcast which lasted about SIX hours today. I encourage you to check out their very informative webpage which not only has the other parts of this long video session, but also they had valuable information about the robot assisted knee surgery along with biographies of the surgeons.

The social media angle was also very cool to experience in real time. The twitter stream was active with the hashtag #LiveKneeSurgery - Something that was also great (but doesn't always happen in broadcasts like this) was the fact that they actually took questions from the twitter audience as well. And, even for me, as a physician, there were some tough questions thrown out there.

Finally, what impressed me the most was the fact that physicians were the hosts for this entire webcast. I think this really added tremendous credibility. And, they did a great job for this entire 5-6 hour broadcast. I have been known to do some live podcasts before, and I tire out at about an hour. But, they did a great job of keeping the audience interested and cycling in some of their questions along the way. Well done Swedish!