
After attending my first WordPress WordCamp this past weekend in Louisville, KY I realized more people in the medical field— especially those involved online need to be aware of these great resources.
Lets start with this, what is a WordCamp? According to WordCamp Central:
“WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.”
Not only are WordCamps a great opportunity for doctors online, I would argue its essential for doctors who use WordPress. Sure many medical professionals who are blogging and using social media think having an online presence means just showing up. But as we all know, during medical school, throughout clinical rotations, and on into our careers, we have to learn and participate. Just showing up doesn’t cut it.
As I sat and listened to many of the notable speakers from the WordPress community, some of the most handy tools and tips were freely explained and demonstrated. Things I had no clue about, never considered, or knew existed but didn’t know how to implement were discussed in a casual, informative , and helpful manner. Topics ranging from themes, plugins, security, design, even blogging techniques and strategies.
Now this is the time where you begin telling yourself you aren’t very tech savvy, you just started blogging, you don’t know how to write code and so on. WordCamps cover all different user levels, business models, and skill sets. Whether you are using WordPress to run a personal blog, medical practice, patient forum, or medical news site the tools to help you achieve your goals are addressed at these very events.
While at WordCamp Louisville, I overheard some web designers discussing how they have made websites for doctors in the past. From the brief exchange I caught, they were giddy and excited by how much money doctors and alike were willing to shell out for design work, troubleshooting, or simple fixes anyone with some know how could do. It was that very conversation which made me upset with those designers and frustrated with medical professionals online.
Sure time is money and we as medical professionals are already bogged down with enough on our plates. Even so, it was this very idea, if I understood how the body worked I could help someone feel better. This is what drove me to medicine, this is what continues to drive me to finish medical school, to one day practice medicine.
As a result, my first WordCamp gave me the opportunity to meet some great people in the WordPress community and also make some new friends. I found some great tools to fix some issues I was having and I am again rejuvenated to push this website onto bigger and better things.
For more information check out WordCamp Central or WPCandy for events near you.