I spoke with Sona Mehring last week, who is the owner of CaringBridge.  The site started as a simple webpage for a friend of Sona’s who was going through a difficult pregnancy.  Sona and her friends used the site to keep friends and family informed of updates, keeping everyone in the loop without having to make several phone calls each day.

Thus, CaringBridge was born.  Anyone with an illness or those who are taking care of someone with an illness can create their own webpage through the site to keep friends and family informed of the patient’s progress.   It’s free, there are no ads, and Beth states, “I appreciate its ease of use. It is an intuitive interface, so it didn’t take much time at all to set up and use. I’ve never been frustrated using it!”

Sona pointed out that using the site is beneficial to 3 different groups of people.  The patient stays connected to family and friends through updates.  Those who get updates can then sign a guestbook with questions or words of encouragement.

The patient’s main caregiver can also benefit from messages of support.  Being a primary caregiver can become very isolating as they become more and more involved with the patient’s day to day care – traveling to appointments, trying to procure test results or helping out in the hospital.  The caregiver might also find comfort in being able to journal their feelings on the site.

And the site can aid the community’s ability to rally around the patient and caregiver.  Sona mentioned a study showing that contact with family and friends can decrease significantly when someone is diagnosed with a major illness.  One of the biggest reasons was that the patient’s community did not want to “bother” the patient or caregiver.  This concept was not lost on Beth, who said, “I sense that some are eager to keep in the know, but do not want to feel like they are bothering me.”

CaringBridge not only connects patients with community; it also connects patients with other patients.  Sona explained that patients and families often meet others going through the same thing in waiting rooms or treatment rooms and swap CaringBridge websites, thereby forming a support group of sorts amongst themselves.

Sona says that people come to use the site mainly through word of mouth from current and previous users.  Hospital employees also refer patients and families, and CaringBridge is active in trade conferences as well.

Personally, as a nurse, I think this site is a fantastic idea.  I certainly have days at work when I’m getting call after call inquiring about the status of a patient from different family members.   We always encourage families to designate one person to call the unit for an update and then disseminate that information to everyone else.  Rather than making numerous phone calls, that designee can update the website.  People visiting the site can enter an email address to be updated automatically every time an entry is made.

Beth did say that it’s sometimes difficult to know how to say things: “One of the challenges has been knowing what to share and how to share it, as the information is broadcasted.”  She went to on explain that when both caregiver and patient are contributing to the site, the needs of both need to be taken into account.  One person may have the desire to share a lot of information when the other person might want to show a little more restraint.

The last feature about the site I want to mention is the ability to easily turn a journal/pictures/guestbook into a real book.  Sona mentioned that some of these books are even used at memorial services.

If you’ve been reading codeblog for awhile, you know that I don’t regularly endorse websites.  I find CaringBridge.org to be exceedingly useful to patients and families and wanted to help spread the word.

You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

He wasn’t faking the pain.  He was very stoic, but I could tell he was hurting.  That tight-lipped grimace, the tachycardia, not moving a muscle unless it was absolutely necessary.  Still, manners prevailed.

My colleagues and I went above and beyond for him and his family.  There’s just something about being polite to others that makes those others want to help you and help you and help you some more.

I’m not saying that we don’t want to help those that aren’t overly polite.  It was just nice to be treated, well, so nicely.  I wouldn’t expect everyone in severe pain to maintain such decorum.  Every once in awhile you just click with a patient and it makes being a nurse so enjoyable.

So!  News #1.  Another of my posts has made it into a book.  It’s called “Lives in the Balance” and was edited by Tilda Shalof, who has written quite a number of books about ICU nursing.  I have read some of those books, so when she personally asked for one of my posts to be included I was quite flattered!

I’ve read the whole book, which is full of very compelling stories written by nurses who work in ICU.  I highly recommend giving it a read, and not just because one of my little posts made it in!

News #2 will only be news if you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook.  I am just over 10 weeks pregnant!  We are over the moon about this and can’t wait to meet him or her in late July.

And I guess the bonus news is that this blog is 7 years old this month :-)

And tune in tonight at 6pm PST to the Dr. Anonymous show, where he will be interviewing me.  Talk about scary :-)  I am excited to finally be asked (I’ve waited years!) but also nervous because I am not exactly well-practiced in live interviews!

Unfortunately, due to a splitting headache, I was not able to attend the last session, but I had plenty of chances to meet and spend some time with medical bloggers that I have been reading for years.  It was truly great meeting each and every one of you and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Meeting Terri from Nurse Ratched’s Place was a real treat, as was meeting Kim at Emergiblog.  Kim posted quite a bit about the conference – you can read her post here, which contains LOTS of pictures!  Kim and I shared a lovely (albeit sugary!) lunch together AND managed also to do a joint interview, which can be seen here. (The MJ Propofol anecdote?  True story.)

Here are some other thoughts from the bloggers that attended, namely Doctor Rob (one of these days I will earn a golden llama for my blog.  It is a blog goal of mine), Dr. Wes, Dr. V, Kerri (congratulations!), Kevin MD, Doctor Anonymous,  Nick MD, and Dr. Ramona Bates.  Ramona made a beautiful quilt that we all signed.  It was given away as a door prize to one very lucky person, who did not happen to be me.  I was really thrilled to meet one of my favorite bloggers who is also the medical blogger I’ve known for the longest time (7 years in December!) GruntDoc.

A big thanks goes to Dr. Val (also fantastic meeting her finally!) who helped arrange the whole darn thing, and Johnson & Johnson and Medpage Today, who sponsored us.

2010, anyone??  :)

They are very good ideas, and I’d take the very last tip one step further.  When you are being discharged and your nurse is going over your discharge instructions, ask for a printout giving information about new medications you’ll be taking.   This should be available at most hospitals… and if it isn’t, it should be.  That way you’ll have a detailed reference you can look at later when you’re at home.

Here is the post. Enjoy!

Kim has done much to further the image of Actual Real Life Nursing through her blog, and for that I thank her.  Happy Birthday, Emergiblog!

I’m quite pleased to report that Doctor Rob’s podcasts are as clever, whimsical and amusing as his posts are.  You can go to the website above OR download the podcasts from iTunes (and you can even subscribe!)

Here is the press release:

MACMILLAN INTRODUCES THE HOUSE CALL DOCTOR TO THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS FRANCHISE

The HOUSE CALL DOCTOR’S QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS FOR TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH, hosted by Dr. Rob Lamberts, joins the highly successful Quick and Dirty Tips iTunes podcasts on July 14, with free content also available for download at www.quickanddirtytips.com.

How can I lower my cholesterol? Is Tylenol really safe? Why do my bruises itch? No topic is off limits for the House Call Doctor—the newest addition to Macmillan’s Quick and Dirty Tips self-improvement franchise. Dr. Rob Lamberts practices full-time in his primary care private practice in the southeastern US.  He is board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics, and has doctored for the past 15 years. Lamberts’ recent involvement in the advocacy of electronic medical records has received national recognition and his popular medical blog, Musings of a Distractible Mind, was named one of Tara Parker-Pope’s “favorite medical blogs” in her New York Times Well blog.

With his trademark sense of humor and straightforward advice, Dr. Lamberts answers a wide variety of questions in this QDT podcast, mixing his extensive experience in the medical field with accessible advice that is both accurate and easy to understand. Filled with friendly and in-depth answers on listeners’ most pressing health issues, House Call Doctor offers progressive and innovative ways to look at medicine and the healthcare industry as a whole.

The House Call Doctor’s first series of podcasts will cover a wide range of health concerns and medical inquiries, including:

-        What do I really need to know about cholesterol?
-        How do I talk to my doctor about medical information I’ve found on the Internet?
-        Where do bruises come from, and how can I get rid of them?
-        What are the dangers of using popular pain relievers, such as Tylenol?
-        What should I look out for to prevent the over use of antibiotics?

Dr. Lamberts’ expert tips will give listeners the tools they need to understand their bodies better and improve their health and quality of life. His goal with the House Call Doctor is to “make medical things easier to understand and hopefully to offer a little entertainment in the process.” As Dr. Lamberts says, “People want to understand their health, but unfortunately many of the explanations out there are either confusing or boring.”

Quick and Dirty Tips, known for both its friendly and informative style and its innovative digital content distribution, has already introduced fourteen fascinating experts on a variety of subjects to millions of fans via podcasts, audiobooks, and online interaction. Popular Quick and Dirty Tips shows include: Grammar Girl, Sales Guy, The Dog Trainer, and Money Girl.

Dr. Goldberg is into policy, not bedside healthcare, so I think my question threw him for a loop.  I asked about futile care and how it fits in with healthcare reform.  His answer took on a very strong “ethics” angle, which is not the direction I had intended for my question to go!

Despite my derailment, the other bloggers that participated in the call asked excellent questions – they are Kim, RN from Emergiblog, Dr. Wes Fisher,  Dr. Edwin Leap, The Happy Hospitalist, and Dr. Brian Vartabedian.

You can listen to the podcast at Better Health.  Thanks Dr. Val for the opportunity to participate!

Change of Shift will be hosted here on Thursday, so get your submissions in!  codeblogrn at gmail, or use Blog Carnival.  Looking forward to reading some more!

That blog is The Adventures of Bob the Nurse and was started by none other than Keith at Digital Doorway.

Bob the Nurse is an action figure that lives a very, well, adventurous life.  His blog is a photo blog depicting his various antics.

I’m very fond of this concept (you know, stealing your neighbor’s garden gnome and taking pictures of it in front of Niagara Falls or some such place).  When I moved to California, I stole borrowed took the coffee pot from the dialysis office with me.  I bought it a little wig and some googly eyes and took pictures of it at interesting places along the way as I drove here from the midwest.  The dialysis nurses were some serious pranksters, so this was my final prank on them.

So I find The Adventures of Bob the Nurse very amusing.  My favorite picture so far is this one.  I think it’s hilarious.

Keith explains the concept for Bob the Nurse in this post.  If you think you can broaden Bob’s horizons even more and would like to have him as a guest, contact Keith or leave a comment on Bob’s blog.  I have already offered – there are lots of places around here I can take Bob :)