Chinese Medicine Notes

Twitter and Acupuncturists

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Yael

Darren Rowse is a blog guru.
I first stumbled upon this name when I was looking for some blogging advice, and I found Problogger, one of the most important stops every blogger should make- no matter how long you’ve been blogging or about what.
Darren gives wonderful and useful advice on blogging and how to do it well, and since he knows what he’s talking about, as his blogs attracts thousands of people from around the world, I am a regular reader.
I also follow him on Twitter.

Twitter and me
I still don’t get Twitter. I tried and I tried, and when I think I got it- it just goes away.
Maybe part of it is because most of my work is for people in Israel, and most of the people here aren’t on Twitter.
Maybe it’s because I really don’t get it! Either way, I’m on it, but I don’t make the most of it- for sure.
One of the things I started doing in order to try and understand this whole thing better was to follow Darren’s newest blog TwiTip.
This is all about Twitter and how to make better use of it.

There are good tips on it, and just like Problogger, it doesn’t matter what your profession is, you can learn a lot and put it to good use. Yesterday, I found the post on TwiTip that was just up my alley- How I’d use Twitter if I were an acupuncturist.
Although this post is exactly about what I talk about- acupuncture- I can’t do more than read it as I don’t practice acupuncture anymore.
But this doesn’t mean YOU can’t use it!

Great idea!
The post gives you, the acupuncturist, another way to communicate with your patients.
I think that it can be a great idea. If you and your patient are on Twitter, than this can be a wonderful way for your patient to keep track of what was going on since you last saw him (or her) in regards to the treatment of course.
This can actually be a great way for patients to feel that they can share certain things that happened after the last treatment- dreams, pain, thoughts, feelings and so on. It’s also a good way to be available for questions about a certain diet for example.

… but maybe not for everyone…
But then I started thinking- is it really wise for patient and practitioner to be talking every day? Every other day?
I mean, of course patients should call if they have a question, and Twitter can be a way to ask these questions, but I wonder- isn’t it better to let the process be?
What Darren suggested was like a daily report, and while that might work for some patients, it doesn’t work for others.
And more than that, we should remember that while that works for some practitioners, it doesn’t work for others.

For example- Darren said to his acupuncturist that he didn’t have headaches, but then his acupuncturist said he saw on Twitter that he did have one. Some how, Darren forgot he had a headache.
Maybe that’s a good sign? Maybe it shows that the headaches aren’t as severe as they used to be and that’s why he forgot he had a headache? Maybe it shows that the headaches aren’t playing such a big role in his life anymore? So yeah, he has one every now and then just like the rest of us. Is that something worth mentioning?

These are all speculations of course, but these are thoughts that came to my mind while reading the post.
I had a practice for 4 years, and I can think of a number of patients who would have loved to connect with me on a regular basis via Twitter.
I’m just not sure it would have been the right thing for them. With other patients, I think they really didn’t need it. And to be honest, with others I didn’t think I would feel comfortable with that kind of connection.

Conclusion
I was really happy to see Darren’s post.
I think it urges our community to blog, to be noticed online, and use all the methods of communications and networking that everyone use, like Twitter.
It also gives us a great idea on how to use it, not just as another means to keep in touch with our friends, but also as a means to help us with our business, and give those who need it that extra attention.

As acupuncturists we should decide who can benefit from this kind of communication, and always remember to look at ourselves- are we ready for this kind of communication with our patients?
And of course, I urge you to keep an open eye on Darren’s blogs, which can really help your blogs and websites!

Over to you
How do you use Twitter? Are you using other means to network or keep in touch with your patients? Do you find them useful?
Please leave your comments, I’d love to read them.