How Does Writing a Blog Help Nurses With Disabilities?

Donna Maheady

My daughter, Lauren, led the way for my advocacy efforts on behalf of people with disabilities. Lauren is significantly disabled due to autism and related disorders (mental retardation, epilepsy, OCD). My disability advocacy efforts began with issues regarding her life and evolved into a focus on nurses and nursing students. My doctoral dissertation explored the experiences of nursing students with disabilities and led to publishing three books, numerous articles and creation of a nonprofit organization for nurses and nursing students with disabilities.

One day, someone said to me....you should write a blog. My response was, "Why?", "What is a blog?" and "How will it help nurses with disabilities?" Over time, I learned the answers.

A blog is shortened form of the expression "weblog". It is a discussion or information published on the World Wide Web. Individual articles are called "posts". Readers can leave comments, share posts and connect with the blogger via email or other social media. Readers can also sign up to "follow" a blogger and be notified when a new post is posted.

Off to a slow start

A free blog hosting site, online research and tips from other nurse bloggers got me started. I tried to learn from what worked and what didn't work for other bloggers. In one evening, the blog was launched. Due to other commitments (a day job), I began "blogging" slowly with periodic short posts. I continued to network with other nurse bloggers, read other blogs and joined groups of aspiring nurse bloggers.

Fortunately, blogging can be forgiving..... if you make an error you can change it!

As my confidence and blogging skills improved, I began to blog more and more. My audience and page views began to climb.

Lessons learned

Blogging takes time, dedication and commitment. Writing posts is just one part of the process. After a post is "up", the real work begins. Good communication skills are critical. Responding to people who comment and following up with people is just as important as writing a post. Posting often is important so interest isn't lost. People have to come back in order for a blog to be successful.

The quest to Identify new, interesting material never ends. Commenting on other blogs, being a guest blogger on other blogs and inviting guests to blog on your blog are all important as well. Promoting a blog on social networking sites is also part of the process.

Making money blogging is possible but not easy! How much do bloggers make? Bloggers usually keep quiet about how much they make. Money can be made through different avenues including, banner ads, affiliates, sponsored posts and sales of a book, product or service. My guess is that the amount of money made varies greatly and depends on many factors including content, traffic, marketing, communication skills and amount of time devoted to the effort.

How has blogging helped nurses with disabilities?

Blogging has helped to:

Support nurses and nursing students with disabilities.
Showcase examples of nurses and nursing students with a wide range of disabilities.
Shed light on the issues surrounding nurses with disabilities including reasonable accommodation in nursing education programs and workplace settings.
Celebrate the abilities of nurses and nursing students with disabilities.
Demonstrate the accomplishments of nurses and nursing students with disabilities.
Increase awareness of resources, legal issues, equipment, technology, mentors, organizations and scholarships.
Share publications, nursing research, videos and news clips about nurses with disabilities.
Show role models for young people with disabilities aspiring to become nurses.
Identify alternative nursing career paths along with employment and volunteer opportunities.
Raise funds for scholarships for nursing students with disabilities.
Market books about nurses and nursing students with disabilities.
Make connections with other nurses, nurse educators, college and university disability service staffers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, human resources staffers and disability advocates.
Cross promote examples of nurses with disabilities on other social media networks (facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest).

Blogging remains a work in progress. I continue to learn from others and make improvements. It is fun and a great way to make connections and share information, a business or passion with others. If you want to learn more about my blog, drop by anytime. Please share the blog with any nurse or student who may benefit. Comments are always welcomed with thanks!

How Does Writing a Blog Help Nurses With Disabilities?

Off to a slow start

Lessons learned

How has blogging helped nurses with disabilities?

About Donna Maheady

Share on other sites

More Like This