Is%20blogging%20good%20for%20your%20professional%20health?

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Is blogging good for your professional health?

• Helen Nicol
• Capacity and Capability Programme Manager
• NHS Connecting for Health

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NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH)

• The NHS is changing the way it works.
• Modern, efficient, patient-led health service
• More choice and control for patients
• NHS Connecting for Health supports the NHS to
  deliver better, safer care to patients, via new
  computer systems and services, that link GPs and
  community services to hospitals.
• This is a huge programme of IT enabled change.
  Project Management methodologies are being used
  to effectively implement this change.

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The Problem

• Know What?
• How to manage NHS Connecting for Health projects
  
• Know How?
• Knowledge sharing knowledge and experience not
  being shared effectively
• Lessons learned projects suffer from lessons
  not being shared effectively
• Know Who?
• Building a community Project Managers
  geographically disparate
• Know Why?
• Capacity and capability reviews in NAO and OGC
  reports indicated capability gap in project
  management

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The Solution

• MEd Training and Development Dissertation

Blogging is frequently referred to as a good tool
for learning and knowledge sharing There is
little evidence for this currently in academic
research

• Evidence Based Implementation Support (EBIS)

Researching blogging was a way to assess whether
it would support the online element of the EBIS
process for knowledge sharing called to be
launched in September 07
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The Research Project

• The Premise
• To assess whether blogging enables Project
• Managers to learn and share knowledge and
  experience
• The Project Managers
• 15 volunteers from across the country, all
  involved in managing NHS Connecting for Health
  projects
• The Blog
• An internal group blog, only accessible by
  anonymised username and password

• The Techy Bit
• Using a JotSpot platform a wiki platform which
  can host blogs with editable posts and comments

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Blogging - The Theory

• Internal Business Blogs
• Sometimes known as Dark Blogs as only people
  within the organisation can see them
• Enable quick and easy knowledge sharing
• Can elicit tacit knowledge, via narrative style
  of posts
• Encourage communication via the ability to
  comment
• Encourage reflection
• Can be secure for specific membership
• Develop community and shared vision
• Archive everything
• Can improve confidence
• Can help new staff understand culture quickly
• Enable fast updates

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In Practice
Research findings

• Participation

Email sent in week 2
Email sent in week 6
Email sent in week 4
Logons only monitored from Week 4, emails sent
with every post after week 7
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More research findings

• When interviewed, participants felt that
• The blog had potential as a learning tool, a
  knowledge sharing tool and a community building
  tool
• They enjoyed reading but
• They couldnt think of what to say
• They felt they shouldnt be blogging in work time
• They liked the anonymity as it enabled them to
  ask stupid questions
• But they also wanted to know who was who
• They didnt have the time to blog or read what
  had been posted
• They liked the group blog, preferring it to
  individual blogs
• They wanted to keep it specifically focused on
  their area project management

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More research findings

• Types of post
• Different people enjoyed different types of post
• Narrative/story based experience
• Reflective/pontificatory
• Information requests
• Information giving
• References, links, bibliographies
• Reasons for Commenting
• Because they thought they could be of help
• Because they knew about the subject
• Because they had had a similar experience

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The Project Managers Knowledge Collaborative
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Some examples
Project Manager Knowledge Collaborative Posts The
use of meetings in a project Pharmacists
event Engagement techniques
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What seems to work

• If the blog is for knowledge sharing and/or
  learning
• Keep the blog on topic specialist blogs are the
  most popular
• Keep it voluntary pushing people puts them off
• Group blogs work if there are keen, active people
  posting
• Add new posts regularly people stop coming back
  if theres nothing new to see
• Have a coordinator to keep the buzz going
  off-line (in real life!)
• Vary the type of post different people like
  different styles
• Use different media learning styles vary,
  different media appeals to different people
• Keep posts short, as a rule of thumb, no more
  than 500 words
• Be Nice the rules of work should apply to
  blogs. It doesnt hurt to make this explicit

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and what doesnt

• Over management
• Under management
• Infrequent posting

• Going off topic/generalisation
• No buzz

If we build it, they will come just wont
workand youll end up with a
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Barriers to blogging

• Lack of confidence
• Lack of trust
• Lack of time
• Lack of support
• Bloggers block
• Technology problems
• firewalls etc

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Is blogging good for your professional health?

• Its not for everyone, but blogging
• Helps clarify thinking
• Can help identify experts and know how
• Defies geography
• Achives actions, discussions, progress, practice
• Stores electronic references, links, information
• Encourages reflective practice
• Can aid knowledge sharing and learning