Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday to Me….

DrPullen.com is a year old today.

I started DrPullen.com a year ago full of high hopes and very naïve about what being a medical blogger is all about.  I’ve learned a lot in the first year.  I’ve learned some technical things, some practical things, and a lot of things about myself.

I’ve launched and managed this site with nearly no budget.  I’ve learned about WordPress, widgets, add-ons, and themes.  I’ve learned to put up photos, You Tube videos, and avoid crashes.  Mostly I’ve learned that there are a lot of really helpful and supportive people out there to help when you’re stuck.  It’s been fun.

The practical things I’ve learned have been about expectations.  I initially thought if I put our interesting content lots of readers would flock to read them.  I learned that there is really a lot of good medical writing out there on this big world wide web, and maybe I’m not as great as I thought.  Still I am having fun and feel somewhat fulfilled by writing.

About myself I’ve learned I like to write.  I’ve also discovered that writing about a subject is a great way to organize my thoughts and to push myself to keep learning.   I’m not sure where this writing is going to take me, but so far it’s been fun.

Here are some of my highlights in the first year as a medical blog writer.

• 268 posts in the first year.  This is probably too many, some have not been as good as I’d like, and I’m planning to put out somewhat fewer and what I hope are better posts in my second year.
• I’m becoming an accepted member of the medical blogger community.  I’m a regular contributor to KevinMD and Grand Rounds by Dr. Val.
• People are finding information they are looking for on DrPullen.com.  About 40% of visits come from search engines and visitors stick around long enough to read awhile.

Here are the 10 posts I feel best about in my first year, for lots of different reasons.  If you missed them and find the titles curious see what you think and leave a comment to let me know.

Can’t find a doctor to prescribe pain meds?

Voice Contact Supplementing Eye Contact, and other EMR Techniques that Work

Eradication of Polio – It’s Happening

A Consultant’s Letter that Made Me Smile

How Can We Encourage Medical Students to Choose Primary Care?

Do Vets and Dogs Have it Right on Euthanasia?

Talking to Each Other

How’s Kay?

Prednisone Taper

Peanut Butter Benefits

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