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Many students choose to blog whilst on elective, even if they haven’t

previously.

An elective blog overlaps into several domains- part holiday snaps, part

professional portfolio, part logbook, part reflection. When writing one it is

important to be aware of the positive endpoints of a record of your experience

and a good record for your CV, but also being aware of potential errors

around patient confidentiality.

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Wordpress and blogger/blogspot in particular are very reliable blogging sites,

easy to set up and customise with themes.

Elective blog platforms are not recommended as they don’t necessarily have

the same good guidelines in place regarding storing your content, letting you

own it and deleting/editing it in future. They will often try to attract you in

association with pre-arranged electives that you pay for.

One site previously used by KCL has now closed down and that content is

assumedly lost- but could resurface at some point!

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The URL is for a blog on “how to blog” by a KCL staff member- it contains

good advice on setting up a blog, and tips on things like how to add pictures

and video to your posts.

A post is interesting if it contains some personal opinions and reflections on

your experience. This isn’t Google Earth or a travel brochure- what makes

your post worth reading is what you’ve taken from it. Your reflections, your

interpretation of what you’ve learnt is what will get you pageviews, and

showing you can reflect on your experiences is a good attribute.

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A good elective blog is interesting and personal as well as professional. It can

both be a way to show off the experience you are having (and reassure loved

ones that you are safe and well!) and be a portfolio to show off in the future.

These points may seem like common sense but some students fall into traps

of showing inappropriate stories or photos, so keep professionalism in mind.

Even if the law is different in a country, admitting to breaking the law (e.g

using a drug that is illegal here) could lead to a prosecution when you return

to the UK. Similarly you should observe the laws of the country you are in, e.g

around using alcohol.

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Even whilst obscuring patient data and taking care not to mention identifying

features, just saying that you saw a particular condition on a particular day

could be enough for someone to identify a patient (or them to identify

themselves!), as your location will be known. One good way to further

anonymise clinical cases is to not report them on the day you saw them, but

instead wait and do weekly “round-ups” of what you saw. Remember patients

themselves could look up your blog, so take care not to discuss a prognosis

or condition the patient may not be aware of.

Confidentiality doesn’t just apply to patients- you should remember to respect

the wishes of colleagues who may or may not want to be named or

photographed to be online, and Hospital Trusts may have their own policies

around photos taken on-site. You should always maintain professionalism

whilst on-site and/or in uniform.

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Both of these blogs are hosted on elective blogging sites which isn’t

recommended as previously mentioned. However these two posts are good

examples of blogging done well and less well.

The first student is clearly very anxious and whilst she is being open and

honest about her feelings, talking about how scared she is may not reflect well

on her in future and could possibly put future students off from travelling. She

should also be mindful of how her criticisms may affect her hosts and whether

they would want to take on other students later as a result. She will likely not

want to showcase this in future.

The second student is a good example of further anonymising cases by

combining them into a single summary post. They have also shown well what

they have gained from the experience and clearly show the experience they

have gained and skills they have developed- a very good use of Social Media

to reflect and showcase their learning.

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Be sure to remove EXIF data from digital photos- this contains information on

“when” and “on what device” the photos were taken, and smartphones can

also record “where”. You can turn location services off on a smartphone and

the various apps (instagram, flickr, facebook etc can all register your location

when linked to photos).

If you do need to use consent forms and perhaps photoconsent app for

photos, translate and screenshot consent form in the appropriate language,

be sure to explain this in your notes. It can be as simple as running the

phrases through Google Translate and keeping a screenshot on your phone

to show patients, or the guardians of underage patients. Apps like

photoconsent are a few pounds and record consent with the photos, as well

as emailing copies to clinician and patient.

The hospital or trust you are visiting may have a local policy on images of

patients. Even if it does not, follow good practise and take your patient’s

informed consent.

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Linkedin is a professional networking site that is essentially an online CV

where you can connect with other professionals. This is a good site to use to

link to a professional blog showcasing your learning and experience.

You may want to link from sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Whilst sharing

travel pictures on these sites is common, sharing clinical details or images

directly on these sites may not be as appropriate, and not as easily under

your control.

Showing your understanding of ethics and patient consent can also be a

positive attribute in itself, and a blog post on how you are ensuring informed

consent and protect your patients could be an interesting and positive addition

to your elective record.

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Some people choose to blog an experience thinking that they will then delete

all evidence later. However this cannot be guaranteed- content can be cached

or screenshot and reposted by other people. It is much better to write your

blog with the expectation that you will use and re-show it later.

Whilst thinking about preparing your blog for the future, it is worthwhile

considering your entire digital footprint. If people Google your name what will

they find? What about your email address or usernames? It is worth searching

these yourself and removing any past content that is unfavourable! Linking to

your blog and professional sites such as linkedin will get them higher up in

your search results, above less favourable content.

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