3 Reasons Why Nurses Should Start Blogging
I first became familiar with the term blogging about ten years ago. I had no idea what it was only that it had to do with being online and writing about your life. Then, I did not have interest in blogging because to me that sounded boring. Little did I know that the world of blogging is extensive and rewarding. Well, I did my research and, boy was I impressed!
In nursing, there has been this push a momentum for nurses to become bloggers. You may have read a few nurse blogs, or you may have your favorite nurse blogger. As nurses, we have lots of experiences on the floor and in the clinic. As nurses we may not always have a voice but as a nurse blogger, we create the space to share, educate, mentor, and voice your positive experiences as well as your challenging experiences.
I started blogging because I was falling out of love with nursing. I had been a nurse for almost 15 years at the time and needed to make a decision. Stay in it or get out. Granted, I was in nurse practitioner school so that stress of going to school, working full time, and taking care of my family played a huge role in checking out of the nursing field. I read a lot of “Should I stay in nursing” articles and “How can you tell when you are finished with nursing” articles. One article I came across talked about alternative careers for nurses. I thought, “we can have careers outside of nursing?” The answer was yes! Nurses can be nurse entrepreneurs, health coaches, health consultants, and nurse bloggers. “Nurse blogging” jump off the screen and I decided to do my research to see if in fact, I can be a nurse blogger. So, here I am…9 months into it. I have learned a lot and I am still learning. I am grateful that you have taken the time to visit this blog! So, without any further ado, these are the 3 reasons why I think nurses should become bloggers.
1. Blogging gives nurses a voice.
As I mentioned before, blogging has given many nurses a voice. Nurses can talk about current issues facing nurses in the hospital or clinic, new and innovative ways to provide care to his or her patients and provide inspiration to current and new nurses. Whatever your desire is for blog writing, just start blogging.
If you were like me, I needed to feel ready. I needed to be prepped. I needed to know what I was getting into. Well, that never happened. I still do not think I am ready, but I did it. I started my blog and have contributed to it on a regular basis. The one thing you have for sure is your voice. As nurses, we are taught to be advocates to our patients. I task you to continue to be advocates for your patients and be an advocate for your fellow nurses.
Use your voice to talk about things that are important to you. Most likely, there are others who hold the same things important. Use your voice to empower other nurses and new nurses who are just coming into his or her nursing roles.
2. Blogging helps develop your presence as an expert.
One of the main lessons I learned when I was first starting to blog was to focus in on what you want to talk about in your blogs. What are the specifies of your blog. If a nurse wanted to do research on travel nursing and the procs and cons or pediatric nursing and the best ways to take care of pediatric patients and his or her families, would that nurse search for your blog (if those were the topics you talked about). Basically, what I am saying is talk about something you know something about. If you are an ob/gyn nurse, you know a lot more stuff than I do. So, I would go to your blog website and see what interesting ob/gyn topics you have covered.
Maybe your passion is to recruit individuals into nursing or being a mentor for new nurses. Maybe there is something within nursing you want to change or improve. Maybe you have developed a technique or skill. Focus your mind on what you are passionate about and blog about it. You are the expert. You know what is going on at the front lines. Share your knowledge with your fellow nurses.
3. Blogging can be lucrative.
I am sure who are aware and have followed some of the top nurse bloggers. You probably have paid attention to his or her success. I am sure you know other non-nursing bloggers as well as have noticed how successful they are. His or her success did not come over night. Trust me. These bloggers have put time and effort into his or her blog. He or she have invested in themselves. He or she have taken risks and went for it. His or her success can be your success. I mean, who doesn’t want to get paid for following his or her passion?
Once your blog is established, move forward at your own pace. Maybe your blog is for fun. Maybe you have plans to have your blog bring in a secondary or maybe primary income. Whatever your desire, success can be yours. There are courses and seminars available to you to help you strategize making your blog financially successful.
I hope this summary helps you figure out if blogging is for you. Blogging in nursing is fairly new but it definitely is not going away. If you want to venture in to blogging, give yourself at least a year or two. Developing your writing skills, your voice, and building your brand takes time. You may experience challenges and setbacks. You just must get back up and continue to move forward!
I hope you share your blog websites in the comments as I would love to check them and see how you grow!