Sunday, December 20, 2009

NU 501 Leapfrog to Assignment 5

Blogging about blogging...

It's been taking me much more time to finish assignment #4, which is a research paper that complies with the APA format. I'm writing about blogging, and though I've got the general structure and what I want to say pretty much established, along with the supporting material and sources, it's just a freaking slog.

So, last week I took a chance and wrapped up the report to accompany my final project, which was Assignment #5 -

I first proposed developing my other blog to complete the final project requirements back at the start of the course, and promptly got the go-ahead from Sharon, my instructor:



I can't help but chuckle now at my hubris - I really did think I'd be able to submit the first four assignments in a single month, and then coast to a finish sometime before Halloween with the assignment you're reading now.

Ah, ha ha ha!

I guess life just got in the way, and this course turned out to be more work than I anticipated. But I mean more work in a good way. It's really been a challenge and a lot of fun. I love this stuff, and it takes time to do things right. So, here we are looking at Christmas and I'm still tying up loose ends.

Anywhoozle...

I even heard from my overall advisor the other day, wondering what was up:
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 3:45 PM, Holly XXXXX wrote:
Hi Jerry,

I was just reviewing your course progress and noticed that Unit IV is missing….please contact me soon. We are also still waiting for your official transcripts the University of Mass @ Boston.

~Holly

Holly XXXXX, Academic Advisor
Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Graduate and Professional Studies
Oops. Here's what I replied:
Jerry Soucy to Holly XXXXX, Sharon XXXXXX
Dec 17

Hi, Holly:
I submitted the Unit V assignment earlier this week, and noted to Sharon in the accompanying email that I had leapfrogged Unit IV to submit a written report to accompany my final project. I'm working on the Unit IV assignment - a research paper that complies with APA formatting requorements - but it's proven to be a long, hard slog.

Sharon approved my final project proposal early in the course, and since the project has been ongoing (see it here), I was in a better position to develop the project report quickly. I didn't want to be sitting here with two missing assignments at this point.

I haven't heard back from Sharon yet - either her feedback on the project report, or her response to my leapfrogging Unit IV.

I'll follow up with UMass/Boston and my transcript request after the holidays.

Thanks, Jerry
So, I'll let the chips fall where they fall, and will get back to wrapping up that APA-formatted paper right after I post this material.

- - - - -
Implementing Information Technology Into My Practice: A report on my blog, Death Club for Cuties

Introduction

This report describes my experience to date with Death Club for Cuties (‘the blog’). It includes an analysis of the material I have written, as well as the visibility I have earned and the interactions I have had with others who share my interests.

This report also identifies potential objectives for the blog’s continued development.

Objective

I started the blog on February 15, 2009 as a way to explore several topics of personal and professional interest – nursing education, end of life care, and the use of blogging as an information technology tool for professional development.

I also planned to explore ways that the blog could support a project I am undertaking at work, namely to develop a core team of nurses skilled in providing end of life care to patients and families on our 20-bed neurosciences intensive care unit.

Summary – Blog posts, readers, and reader comments

As of this writing I have submitted (“posted”) 27 separate essays (“blog posts”). Eleven (11) of the blog posts have generated a total of 34 reader comments, 5 of which are mine. The remaining 29 comments were posted by 15 different readers.

Gail Rae has posted 9 individual comments, the most of any reader. Five (5) of Gail Rae’s comments were posted on the same day. The reader who signs herself ‘risaden’ has posted 5 comments, while Wounded Healer and Christian Sinclair, MD have each posted 2 comments. The remaining readers who have posted a single comment are: Jan Henderson; Karen; RB; LeighSW; Jessica Knapp; Sally; Øystein; Marty Tousley, CNS-BC, FT, DCC; JerseyRN; Eric Widera; and Angel.

The reader comments are most often expressions of support and encouragement. Some readers have also noted their own experiences and reflections, related to the tone or subject of my original blog post; and/or have highlighted their own material, or that written by others, related to the subject or tone of my original blog post.

The first reader comment was posted by risaden on June 4, 2009 in response to the very brief blog post “One small step at a time,” which I posted on May 30, 2009. Her comment was, “Yes, keep posting.”

Most of the people who have left comments at my blog are themselves bloggers who write about palliative care, end of life, health care policy, grief and bereavement, and other matters related to health care.

The following readers are also bloggers:

A review of blog posts, by month

My blog posts can be grouped into 3 general categories:
  • Meta – These are blog posts about blogging itself, and about the interests and motivations that led me to blogging. The purpose of meta posts have often been to explain and explore the status of my blogging efforts, as well as the status of the companion project to develop an end of life care team that I submitted to my manager, and that was subsequently approved. The general focus is one of self-reflection, processes, and relationships.
  • Topical – These blog posts explore one or more subjects or issues directly related to end of life care, nursing education, and general health care policy and delivery. They are based on original material that I have either developed specifically for the blog, or that I originally developed for some other purpose or audience, but have adapted to the blog’s format and purpose.
  • Links – These are blog posts that may contain little original material, but that reference material developed by others for online or traditional media which I find personally interesting, and which I wish to share with my readers.
Some blog posts combine characteristics of more than one catergory. In the following section, I identify and briefly discuss the 27 individual blog posts that I have developed to date.

February

2/15/09 meta, link, topical

I had already been planning to begin a blog on end of life care and nursing education for some time when I read a blog post, known as a ‘diary’ at DailyKos, by the blogger and community member memfromsomerville (‘mem’) about Ted Kennedy. mem’s diary, simply titled ‘Teddy,’ prompted me to first post a comment there in response. I subsequently took the opportunity to adapt that comment with very minor changes as the first post on my new blog.

March

3/28/09 meta, link

I posted my second blog entry a little more than one month after my first, again in response to a diary at DailyKos. This one was simply titled, ‘Wife,’ by the writer who calls himself ‘The National Gadfly.’ It’s a moving and deeply personal account of his visit to her grave, and a reflection upon her life. I also used the opportunity to post a brief meta reflection on my proposal and blogging.

April

4/23/09 meta, link

At this point, I was on a roll to post a single blog entry each month, the focus of which was to reflect upon the status of my proposal. In this particular post I also noted for the first time the existence of other bloggers writing about end of life and palliative care, and linked to them.

May

5/30/09 meta, link

Another month, another brief meta post accompanied by a link to related content that had been more fully developed by someone else. There was a twist this time around though – my first reader comment (by risaden)!

June

6/24/09 meta

Again, a single brief meta post as the only post for the month, though this one is a bit more developed and touches on the issue of humor.

July

7/8/09 meta, link

I didn’t know it at the time, but I had entered the first month where I would post more than a single entry. This started as another meta ‘I need to post more posts’ type of post, though I also referenced the recent sudden death of a colleague at work, and included a link to a site that I found largely as a result of my interest in the works of the artist Sheperd Fairey. The reader risaden also left a comment of encouragement in response.

7/11/09 link, topical

This was my first true non-meta blog post, based on a concept I had developed to help provide context for the family members of my patients. This post was selected by risaden when she hosted the August edition of Palliative Care Grand Rounds, a monthly summary of material in online and traditional media for end of life and palliative care profesionals.


7/21/09 meta, link, topical

This post directly references a series I developed at DailyKos that drew on poetry and wire service photographs associated with the invasion and occupation in Iraq as a way to explore and witness grief. This post was an attempt to establish a theme or structure that could be repeated as a regular feature in my blog.

August

8/4/09 meta, link, topical

Essentially identical to the previous post, though this one prompted a comment by Gail Rae.

8/21/09 meta, link, topical

Though I have never hesitated from expressing my personal political and policy views in strong, even confrontational, language in other blogs, I explicitly decided not to do so in this one. I think it’s because I want Death Club for Cuties to be regarded as a source of somewhat more objective, or perhaps less polarizing, information. This post comes the closest of any to contradicting my decision.

8/25/09 meta

More thoughts about, and descriptions of, the status of my proposed projectl at work. Hindsight is a funny thing, because though this blog post identifies the month of October as the official starting point for my project, here we are in mid-December and it still hasn’t happened. This post does note that I had established a connection with two other ELNEC trainers at work, and that I’d be contributing content to the course they were supervising. That event did happen, and the material I developed for my class was the subject for a subsequent post.

8/26/09 meta, link, topical

This was posted in response to the death of Ted Kennedy, and points back to my opening post in February. I also drew extensively from others commenting on Kennedy’s death, most notably colleagues at DailyKos, as well as several video links.

September

9/1/09 meta, link

Here I link to the first assignment I completed for NU501. Seems like a long time ago. Seems like yesterday.

9/3/09 link

I’ve followed the blog called ‘Bag News Notes’ for several years, and have had the chance to meet and talk with Michael Shaw, the clinical psychologist who developed the blog and writes much of its content. The Bag is dedicated to the analysis of visual media, and Shaw’s approach is unique and powerful. Here I feature an image and link to a photo essay at the Bag about end of life.

9/6/09 link, topical

I’m proud of this piece for several reasons, most notably because I wrote it carefully, to protect confidentialty, as a case based on personal experience. The post was selected for the October edition of Palliative Care Grand Rounds.

9/8/09 meta, link, topical

This is another piece that I’m proud of for its form, content, and focus.

9/10/09 meta, link, topical

This was another post associated with Ted Kennedy, as well as with the larger discussion of the current attempts to reform health financing policy.

9/15/09 meta, link, topical

This piece is probably best appreciated as a companion to one I developed for my other blog at about the same time. That post is called ‘This will probably come in handy later.’

Both pieces relate to the slow health decline most often associated with aging. It was influenced by the readings I had begun at the blog, GeriPal, which itself focuses most closely on end of life as it relates to aging (as opposed to terminal illness or sudden injury).

9/22/09 meta, link

This post represents a significant milestone in the life of my blog, because it marks the point at which I was asked to host December’s Palliative Care Grand Rounds. That moment was kind of like being brought up from a minor league team to play in the World Series.

9/28/09 meta

A long post that simply reproduced the lengthy email sent to my colleagues, inviting them to join the end of life care team I had proposed earlier in the year.

October

10/21/09 meta, link

Here, I try to explain why I’m not posting more frequently to my blog (and why it’s taken me so long to complete another NU501 assignment).

10/24/09 link, topical

This is another favorite post, because the original story that I linked to is very compelling, and because the subject of that story came by and left a comment. That’s precisely the kind of interaction and connection that blogging makes possible.

10/31/09 link, topical

I’m sorry that nobody left any comments, because I’m really invested in this piece. That’s as true now as when I originally developed it several years ago as part of an online course for first-year students in an associates’ degree in nursing program.

November

11/2/09 meta, link, topical

This post was featured in November’s Palliative Care Grand Rounds. I’m still waiting to hear if my proposal’s been accepted. Any day now…

12/20/09 Update: Sadly, No!

11/13/09 link, topical

This is the script and slides that I used in a class on the subject of ethics, which I presented to the participants at an ELNEC course conducted at my hospital by two colleagues. I also subsequently presented this same material to first year/first semester nursing students in an associates’ degree in nursing program. The class preparation took a substantial amount of time and effort, and is offered up as another excuse for why it’s taken me so long to complete my remaining NU501 assignments, and for why my pace of blog posts has continued to be so spotty.

This post also generated the most substantial response of any, both in the form of a detailed comment in my blog by Gail Rae, and in the form of a lengthy and well-thought out piece at her own blog.

11/26/09 topical

On Thanksgiving Day, it somehow seemed appropriate to recycle the eulogy I delivered at my mom’s funeral 9 years ago.

December

12/1/09 meta, link, topical

I worked as hard and as long on this post as I’ve worked on just about anything I’ve ever written. My first challenge was to compile worthwhile material developed by others. My next was to assemble that material into a cohesive unit, with a unifying theme and enough context to have it all make some sort of sense. I’m very pleased with the response it generated, and with the recognition I received as a result.

The rest of the blog – what’s on the right side?

These components include an assortment of original text, links, and other material of interest that supplement the posts and support my blogging objectives. Some of the material is relatively permanent, while other components are subject to change and revision as required.

  • This Blog is for… - This is a brief statement of purpose, an introduction to help new readers determine their interest in the subject matter, and in my perspective.
  • About me - A very brief biography to convey my perspective and establish credibility.
  • Important Note - Here I invite readers to participate, and ask for attribution in the event that anyone wants to draw upon my material
  • Guiding Vision – A companion to the statement of purpose that draws upon a quote which mirrors my own view of my profession.
  • What’s With the Name? - Just in case anybody’s wondering.
  • End of Life and Palliative Care Resources – A list of links to individuals and organizations where others who are specifically interested in end of life care and/or nursing education can obtain helpful tools and information.
  • End of Life and Palliative Care Blogs – Similar to EOL Resources, though the focus here is on a specific category of blogs and bloggers.
  • Life, Death, Healthcare, etc - A looser list of organizations, individuals, sites, blogs, and bloggers than the others, though still within a defined set of themes.
  • For Good Self Care – Blogs and bloggers who have nothing to do with end of life care, but that I enjoy and want to share with others – particularly with regard to enjoying a good time and having a laugh. We can’t be all death all the time.
  • I Support – This is where I direct my charitable giving.
  • Fair Use – I adapted this text from Michael Shaw at Bag News Notes, and use it along with the enbedded links to preempt charges of copyright infringement.
  • Confidential Health Information – In the same spirit, I developed this text and its embedded links to convey my adherence to HIPAA regulations.
  • Archive – For access to prior blog posts, organized in reverse chronological order.
  • My Other Blogging – It’s kind of like potato chips. Who can eat just one?
What the data shows – comments and illustrations on blog traffic and other useful parameters

After I had decided to blog about end of life care and nursing education, I had to ask myself – Who’s going to read this stuff?

I didn’t act in any concrete way to begin answering this and related questions until I embedded a small software program (‘code’) known as Google Analytics into the body of my blog template.

Important side note – I’ve intentionally stayed away from engaging in any form of ‘how to’ set up a blog. It would be very easy to conduct a quick search to locate and review materials that provide clear and detailed instructions.

More importantly, my own approach to such aspects of blogging, and one that the technology supports, is to simply get started and figure things out for myself as I go along. While this may seem careless to some readers, it’s an attitude very much in keeping with the form.

My interest is in developing the content and the relationships, not in the underlying mechanics that make them possible. In other words, a blog is like a paper-based form. The real challenge, in my opinion, is to fill out the form well enough so that others want to read it.

So, at the risk of provoking the question, “But how do you do that?” let’s just say that by following the simple instructions on embedding Google Analytics code, I’m able to look at who’s visiting my blog, where they came from, and how long they stayed, among other things.

I’ll just focus on a couple of basic metrics that provide useful insights into my blog to date, and that illustrate how establishing a credible blog within a larger network can generate activity.

Note also that though I began this blog with my first post on February 25, 2009 I did not embed the Google Analytics code until August 26th. That latter date marks the start of my ability to analyze my blog’s traffic and visitors.

This chart above shows blog traffic, as a measure of all visitors who’ve come to the blog during the identified date range. The large spike on the right labeled December 2 indicates the substantial boost in traffic as a result of hosting Palliative Care Grand Rounds for December. Those visitors were pointed to my blog by several other blogs. This chart also notes a total of 1,167 visits for the measured period, along with a calculated daily average.

This second chart also shows blog traffic, though this time as a measure of the unique visitors during the date range. The distinction is a subtle but important one, as it counts each unique visitor only once, regardless of the number of return visits any one visitor may have made in a given day. The large spike on the right labeled December 2 again indicates the substantial boost in traffic as a result of hosting Palliative Care Grand Rounds for December.

Here are the top ten (10) referral sources to my blog. The sources numbered 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10 are other blogs. Source #9 is the nursing student/faculty communication site at a local community college where I recently taught 2 classes. Source #1 is actually not a source, and indicates that 127 of the 528 tracked visits arrived directly at the blog without benefit of a referral. The 3+ minute average time on the site is a fair measure of site ‘stickiness,’ and indicates that visitors stay at the blog long enough to read the relatively short posts. The majority of the visits for this time period were by people who had not previously been to the blog, and the bounce rate indicates that the majority of readers did not explore multiple posts.

This chart shows the top 25 referring sites for a different time period.

Some conclusions

To restate the objectives I identified at the outset: I began this blog as a way to explore several topics of personal and professional interest – nursing education, end of life care, and the use of blogging as an information technology tool for professional development.

I also planned to explore ways that the blog could support a project I am undertaking at work, namely to develop a core team of nurses skilled in providing end of life care to patients and families on our 20-bed neurosciences intensive care unit.

I believe that I have met, or have at least begun to meet, these objectives. This project is far from over.

I have begun to explore end of life care and nursing education by writing original material and assessing materials written by others. I have learned more about blogging technology, and about the process of blogging, through this project.

I have also begun to develop and participate in a network of professionals with similar interests, and have seen where that network has helped to build readership at my blog. This blog has the potential to serve as a forum from which I can continue to build my professional knowledge and expand my credibility and reach.

It’s not yet clear to me how this blog can be used to support the needs of an end of life care team that I will be developing at work after the holidays.

I’m very glad that I started, and I look forward to whatever may lie ahead.
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