Blogging

While Feinberg does not maintain an official blog, members of the Feinberg community are encouraged to author science blogs to serve as an information source for the general public, to help generate awareness about research taking place at Feinberg, to communicate the importance of science education at all levels, and to simply spread ideas worth sharing.

The Office of Communications has compiled the following list of faculty and staff blogs related to biomedical research, patient care, and medical education. We have also included blogging tips for faculty, staff, or students considering starting their own science blogs.

Please note, the opinions expressed in these blogs are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Feinberg School of Medicine or Northwestern University.

Global Health at Northwestern University

http://globalhealthportal.northwestern.edu/blog/
A platform to share about Northwestern University’s Global Health activity on campus and around the world. The blog contains the University’s latest global health updates and multimedia projects. Multiple students, faculty, and staff contribute to the blog.

Institute for Women’s Health Research Blog

http://blog.womenshealth.northwestern.edu/
The goal of this blog is to be an educational resource for information regarding women’s health, but even more so to create a community where women can ask questions and share experiences. We’ll have guest bloggers, sometimes experts from the surrounding hospitals, medical schools and research universities, and sometimes even blogs from the young women (our future scientists, doctors, and policy makers) who work with us about their perspectives on women’s health.

Fetishes I Don’t Get

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fetishes-i-dont-get
Written by Alice Dreger, professor in medical humanities and bioethics, Fetishes I Don’t Get is her academic take on “life, love, and lust,” presented by Psychology Today. Dreger authors a number of other blogs, accessible through her personal web site.

Lauren Streicher, MD (contributer to The Oz Blog)

http://www.doctoroz.com/expert/lauren-streicher
The Oz Blog discusses topics of interest to Dr. Oz's panel of experts and Wellness Warriors. Streicher, associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, writes about all aspects of gynecology, with particular attention to her interests in menopause, sexual health, minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic hysterectomy, and alternatives to hysterectomy. (Courtesy of The Doctor Oz Show.)

The Life Matters Media Newswire

http://blog.lifemattersmedia.org/
Mary F. Mulcahy, MD, associate professor in medicine-hematology/oncology, radiology and surgery-organ transplantation at Feinberg, and Randi Belisomo, an accomplished multimedia journalist and reporter for Chicago’s WGN-TV, founded Life Matters Media. Mulcahy’s blog aims to be the premiere provider of information, resources and support for all involved in end of life decision-making. Through fostering better communication, she will empower the ill, aged, caregivers and medical providers to navigate this life phase with confidence and dignity.

Mark Alberts on Neurology

http://www.medscape.com/index/list_3442_0
Dr. Mark Alberts, professor of neurology, blogs about topics related to neurology, courtesy of Medscape.

Northwestern Simulation Literature

http://simliterature.blogspot.com/
Written by John Vozenilek, III, MD, associate professor in emergency medicine, Institute for Healthcare Studies and medical education and faculty development, this blog features a selection of reading for those interested in simulation training and medical education.

Research Administration Nation

http://researchadministrationnation.wordpress.com/
Michelle Melin-Rogovin, manager of research administration, authors this blog. She created it to foster sharing of resources, ideas and tips between research administrators in real time without the need to wait for printed newsletters, meetings or presentations on topics from experts.

Science in Society Blog

http://blog.scienceinsociety.northwestern.edu/
We believe that science is fundamental, even "elemental" to our lives. Science affects us in many ways, from medical advances that touch our lives personally, to state and federal policy decisions concerning the environment or research regulations that impact our society at large. We explore not only the science, but the legal, ethical, and even economic implications of research as well.

The Sexual Continuum

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-sexual-continuum
Written by Brian Mustanski, PhD, associate professor and the founding director of the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program, The Sexual Continuum is dedicated to discussing all things related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LBGT) health. (Courtesy of Psychology Today.)

Ward Rounds History Blog

http://www.wardrounds.northwestern.edu/category/history-blog/
Ron Sims, Feinberg special collections librarian, authors this blog, which exists to share the history of the medical school and the Galter Health Sciences Library’s archival treasures, many of which have been donated by generous faculty and alumni.

The Weissbluth Method

http://weissbluthmethod.wordpress.com/
Father and son pediatricians Marc and Daniel Weissbluth blog about sleep, temperament, media, and children.

Best Practices for Beginning Bloggers

If you are interested in starting a blog, numerous resources online exist to help define your blog identity, develop newsworthy posts, establish an audience, and begin sharing ideas.

The first step in developing your blog is taking time to review the blogging landscape. Scientific American offers a highly-regarded network of science bloggers, for example. Once you are familiar with the landscape, you will need to identify your blog’s purpose, audience, and subject area; if you would like your blog linked to the faculty and staff blogroll, we recommend professional science blogs related to your area of study/expertise. For that reason, the remainder of the ‘best practices’ section will be focused on science and physician blogs.

Key areas to consider:

The WHY: What is the purpose of your blog? Do you want to generate interest in science among the general population? Are you looking to share ideas and discuss literature with other scientists? Perhaps you would like to share your opinion in order to connect with reporters and policy makers. Understanding the WHY is important to help establish your tone and target your audience.
The WHO: Who are you writing for? Scientists? Adults? Children? Keep this in mind as you develop your title and posts.
The WHAT: In blogging, having a clear and focused point of view and subject area will help establish an audience and a network more quickly than writing about unrelated topics.

You should also consider your time when thinking about starting a blog. How frequently will you post? Is your blog an ongoing or temporary endeavor? Do you need additional authors, or can you maintain a blog by yourself? Will you moderate comments?

Another area of consideration is privacy: your own and your patients’. Make sure you understand how the privacy policies and security features work on the site you are posting. Disclosing information about patients without written permission, including photographs or potentially identifiable information is prohibited.

Once you have thought through the framework and content for your blog, the Office of Communications recommends signing up with Blogger (owned by Google), Wordpress, or Tumblr to start. These services are free and offer ample options for layouts, designs, and templates, and some degree of customization. NUAMPS at Northwestern can design further customize blogs via Wordpress. The Office of Communications currently does not offer a standard blog template for Feinberg, nor does our CMS offer blogging capabilities.

After you sign up for one of these services, you will be asked to select a template and layout. Then, you can start blogging.

Here are a few tips before you get started:

8 Tips on Starting a Science Blog

AAAS: Communicating Science – Blogs

Medical blogging: One Physician’s Journey

Once you have started your blog, we invite you to connect with the Office of Communications for potential inclusion in the Feinberg blogroll and coordination with our social media team.

This page last updated Dec 13, 2012