Why I Have a Podcast

I have to confess something to you: I like blogging more than I like podcasting.  There are a number of reasons for this: my podcast has a deadline, my blog does not; my podcast doesn\’t have direct feedback from listeners like my blog does; I have more freedom in topic selection for my blog.  But the main reason for this is that I consider my blog an extension of me as a person.  I can express myself in any area of my person, be it humorous, serious, angry, or sad.  Blogging is personal.

So why do I continue to podcast?  One of the main topics I leave off of my blog is medical advice.  I don\’t tell you what to do if…whatever.  I don\’t explain medical things, instead focusing on the process of seeing a doctor.  My podcast is the vehicle that fills that gap.  I am able to tell listeners (and readers on the website) what I tell my patients in the exam room.  I value having educated patients, finding them much easier to treat than those who just \”take my word for it.\”  They catch me when I make a mistake.  They ask better questions.  They are more motivated to follow my recommendations because they understand why I am giving them.

The podcast has been a learning experience for me.  On one side I am disappointed that it hasn\’t become wildly popular or highly acclaimed.  My blog has surprised me with its popularity, while my podcast has done the opposite, to be honest.  On the other side, however, I feel like I am directly able to help more people through the podcast.  I have a decent following, with a growing base of listeners and an active Facebook fan page (where I get the desired interaction with listeners).  I actually wish it would be used more by docs as a means of quickly educating patients.  I wish more of my own patients would go to the podcast to find out what their doctor thinks about disease X.  But it is also good for me to have to organize my thoughts on each of these problems, think through ways to present them in a manner that is not confusing, and speak them out in a way that doesn\’t bore the listeners.

In short, it is good practice for the exam room.  If you haven\’t done so, please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or read it on the Quick and Dirty Tips website.  (To put it bluntly: I am paid based on the number of downloads, so you help me out by doing so.)

Since this is a podcast organized and promoted by Macmillan publishing, the obvious question is about writing a book.  They are quite interested in me doing so, but the process of getting there is slow.  I am OK with that, as I am honestly not chomping at the bit to write a book.  Any book from the QDT side of things would be more along the lines of the podcast than the blog.  It will likely happen within the next year, but I also hope that I can eventually write something that reflects the blog\’s perspective.

Either way, I encourage you to get the full picture of things by keeping up with both sides of things.  Tell your friends about the podcast (or your patients, if you are a doc…or your doc, if you are a patient).

Thanks.  I really appreciate you, my readers.