Those of us in the blogging community write for a number of different reasons. We want to share our frustrations, educate our peers and the general public, and sometimes just share a story. Regardless of our motivation we all have one common thread: we have something to say.
A number of people out there have a fear of what might be said though. They’re afraid that our profession or their specific service might be cast in a negative light. A respectable blogger maintains a strict code of ethics both when it comes to telling stories about specific calls and patients, and when talking about the services that we work for. Justin Schorr says it best: when he tells the story of a call, he tries to change as many identifiable features about the call that he can. Â If the call was last week, he says it was last year. If it was a 60 year old male, he writes the story about a 40 year old female. His goal when talking about the call is to make it so that no one, not even the patient themselves will recognize what is being talked about.
Regardless of the service one works for or what may go on at that service, a respectable blogger does not air their dirty laundry. While frustrations about a partner, supervisor, or subordinate might be aired, this is done in such a way that, again, even those directly involved would have a difficult time identifying the incident or specific person being talked about.
It’s all about being responsible, and it’s all about being constructive.
Over the last two weeks, in two separate conversations with two EMS related bloggers that I respect very much, I have heard stories of them having to shut down their blogs due to the narrow-minded views of others, one by an educational institution, and the second by his employer.
EMT and paramedic school can be a frustrating and exhilarating time. I remember being told by my didactic instructor to forget about anything else going on in life, because that class was going to take precedence over anything else. We were given a month at the end of the summer to, as he put it, “get married, get divorced, go on vacation and make babies.” Other than that, we were his. While that man, Gary Childs, made me into the paramedic that I am today, those twelve months were not without their frustrations. On many a night, I cursed his name, and could not wait to see what “GAC” had in store for us next. If I was writing then like I am now, I would have had a lot to say. It might not have all been positive, but it would have been constructive, as a responsible blogger like my friend who shut her blog down would have.
Instead, her school and her instructor took exception, not to what she had actually written but for what she could have written because they were uninformed about what her mission was and did not take the time to find out about it.
My other friend, whose service “shut him down” is in a completely different boat. From the way the story was conveyed to me, his boss simply did not agree with what he had to say, and felt that some what he wrote was “way off base.” Well, news flash, I do not agree with what everyone writes no matter who they are. There are some bloggers that I am very close with who sometimes leave me shaking my head at some of their opinions. Others who might more commonly frustrate me make some great points sometimes.
That is the beauty of what we do. We all have an opinion. I have over one hungered and twenty posts to my name in this year and a half that I have been writing, and I would be extremely surprised if everyone who read every post agreed with everything I had to say. I welcome criticisms and differences of opinion, and in fact, I encourage it. Sometimes, the person who can teach us the most is that person who might be looking at things from a completely different angle than you are.
It is too bad that his employer could not realize that.
Blogging is like standing on a stage with a bullhorn screaming out opinions about the topic of the day. Sometimes, one might only be speaking to a few people. Others, we could have an entire audience tuned in to what we have to say. Regardless of the size of our audience, we must set an example of being that responsible blogger.
Sadly though, sometimes despite our best efforts, we still meet consider ale efforts, and unfortunately, blogging is not always worth your education or career. To my two friends who have stepped away from blogging for a little while, please hurry back. I look forward to ode again reading what you have to say.
To my readers, please keep challenging yourselves and those around you. Your opinion is important, and deserves to be heard.