Making Our Voices Heard: A Year in Review

It has been 6 months since the start of this little experiment called GeriPal. I must admit, initially I had a lot of questions about the viability of a blog about geriatrics and palliative care. Did it really make sense to combine the topics of geriatrics and palliative care in one blog? Would anyone notice the blog? Would anyone care?

The good news is that the answer to all these questions appears to be a resounding yes. The interest and attention that GeriPal has received has been extraordinary given that we have been around for such a short amount of time. A vibrant community has developed that has brought people together to talk about common challenges that we share in our day to day work. Much like what makes both geriatrics and palliative care special, this community is interdisciplinary to the core. Just take a look at the top 3 most commented posts for 2009 for a good example of who posts and who comments:

1. A Rant on Terminology – by Patrice Villars (a nurse practitioner)
2. Notes From the Field – by Anne Johnson (a social worker)
3. GeriPal Taste Test Part I: Liquid Bowel Medications – by Ken Covinsky, Alex Smith, and Eric Widera (3 physicians)

What can you do to continue to foster this discussion within this interdisciplinary community? Probably the most important thing is to just join the discussion. This can be as simple as leaving a comment on a post that you find interesting.

Thanks again for a great 2009.  I’ll leave you all with the Top 10 Most Viewed Posts of the last year.

1. Does Morphine Stimulate Cancer Growth?
2. A Rant on Terminology
3. End Stage Dementia: A Terminal Disease Needing Palliative Care
4. GeriPal Taste Test Part I: Liquid Bowel Medications
5. Notes From the Field
6. Overuse of Pain Medications in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
7. Inappropriate Medications in the Hospice Setting
8. On teaching EKG’s and family meetings
9. Hospice care of the Geriatric patient
10. Some Other Disease: A Call to Action