Eric, Pharmacist

Recently, both the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association and the American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy have had articles that have discussed the use of blogs by pharmacists. After reading the articles and their conclusions, I decided to share my thoughts on the topic.

First for some personal blogging history. Up until four years ago, I didn't even know what a blog was. Then I had to take some time off for knee surgery and was out of the pharmacy for three months. My physician did not allow me to drive my vehicle for the first 2-1/2 months, so I spent a lot of time, I mean a lot of time in my house playing on the computer.

One day I was searching for something and I stumbled upon a blog written by a nurse in Pennsylvania. It was written very well and gave some insights into her profession. I followed some of the links on her page and read other nurse and physician blogs. Eventually I found a couple pharmacy blogs that I liked and began to read them. Once I returned to work, it didn't take me long to start my own blog.

With my first blog, I remained anonymous. Just like all of the other blog authors. I used the blogging process to vent my frustrations with my job. Bad experience with a patient... I'd change details but still vent about it. Insurer screwing the pharmacy over... blog post. All of the little things that got under my skin were fair game. Some days I would post minutes after an incident happened in the pharmacy.

Then I had an article that I submitted to Drug Topics get published. The email response to my article was amazing. That article was the first time that I had my own thoughts attributed to my own name. I liked the idea that people would know who was behind the thoughts. It didn't take long for me to stop writing that blog, remove most of the posts, and no longer identify with that blog persona.

But enough of my history. Let's get back to the two articles.

Both articles mention the negativity of the content of the blogs. I totally understand where the blog authors are coming from. A lot of pharmacists feel like their comments are not taken seriously by upper levels of management. The blog posts are a means to share feelings and frustrations without revealing who you are. If you send an email in a corporate setting, your name is attached to your comments forever. The anonymity of blogging is a security blanket. The comments that follow a post let the author know that they are not alone in their thoughts.

In blog posts, pharmacists share their interactions with patients. Most of the time these posts may appear to paint the patient in a not-so-good manner. I hate to say it, but my experiences over the past 15+ years as a licensed pharmacist mimic those that are blogged. Patient health literacy is poor. People aren't concerned about their disease states, they just want a pill to fix their problems. People don't want to accept personal responsibility for their health conditions. And as long as the manufacturers are able to continue with their DTC advertising, why should people take the responsibility? These types of posts are simply a commentary on what our society has become.

The articles mention that the pharmacy blogs are an early warning system for what is happening in the profession of pharmacy. I totally agree. I honestly believe that the pharmacist bloggers can spread the word on workplace and professional issues much better than any organization. When a pharmacist blogs, there is no peer-review process that slows down the publication. If I have a thought to share, it's out there as fast as my fingers can fly over my keyboard. Journals and other publications take months to share information.

With the speed that the health-care system is changing, we can't sit back and wait for the national and state pharmacist organizations to evaluate, study, form an opinion on new legislation, then share it with the pharmacists. Pharmacists need a fluid environment to get thoughts out to be discussed. Blogs provide that.

As for professionalism within the blog posts. I can only speak for myself and say that I try to remain professional. I keep the language clean and try not be overly critical of patients. I'm putting my name to my writing and I am owning my words. When you identify who you are, you watch what you say. Some other bloggers use more colorful language in their posts. I don't pay much attention to the words as to the message that the author is trying to convey.

As I mentioned in my state of the profession series, local pharmacist organizations are practically non-existent these days. The chains have scheduled pharmacists to the point that we don't have time to meet after work to discuss issues that we face as a profession. Maybe that's the role that pharmacist blogs are playing in our digital world. The combination of different types of blogs is simply a reflection of the different personalities that would be at the meeting. Some people are story-tellers. Some people share currents trends in the workplace. Others just sit back and take it all in. By evaluating all of the commentary that is put out there, blog readers can get a pretty good idea of what is happening in the profession.