It’s been three years since I started this blog, during PGY-3 of residency. If you can imagine, I started out by posting every weekday.
That lasted – looking back – a surprisingly long time.
I’d like to say nowadays is “quality” over of “quantity”, but I’ll let the astute reader judge for themselves.
What have I learned?
- This is a viable form of academic scholarship that bypasses the bureaucracy and limited format of print journals. Just a quick look around at the folks who have substantially augmented their careers with an online presence validates this opinion.
- tPA – we love to hate this drug. Many of my most-viewed posts concern new trials and publications regarding tPA use in acute stroke. Other popular topics seem to be cardiovascular & resuscitation topics, along with highly-controversial articles from prominent journals.
- Blogger and Google Analytics traffic stats still don’t match up, but revisions to Analytics have brought the numbers closer together.
- As any writer will tell you – the best way to improve your writing is to write. The best way to improve your critical appraisal is to read other experts – and then throw your own hat in the ring. Many projects now – including this one – offer the opportunity for intermittent, mentored posts with higher visibility for someone just starting out.
- Knowledge translation is more important now than ever before. Creating new knowledge through research is the foundation of advancing the practice of medicine, but the conflicts-of-interest and distortions (sometimes inadvertent) pervading even peer-reviewed publications demand an ever-more-vital skeptical layer of peer review.
- This current state of online discourse is not the end. Twitter, blogs, podcasts, Google Hangouts, Global Journal Clubs – don’t forget how “new” these elements are, and watch for (or go create) the next innovation.
Thanks for reading; the pleasure is all mine.