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Life in the Fast Lane • LITFL • Medical Blog

Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog

Blog News | 5 lessons learned

5 lessons learned

by Dr Mike Cadogan, Last updated September 1, 2014

This week marks LITFL’s 5th blogiversary and the end of another roller-coaster year.

Over the last 5 years we have published 5000 posts/pages, had >20,000,000 page views and currently open our doors to 50,000 visitors a day. We have seen FOAM go mainstream by becoming an integral part of textbooks and journals as well as stimulating a significant increase in online access to asynchronous medical content globally…for free.

But this has come at a cost

Here are 5 thoughts about the last 5 years. 5 mistakes I have made and lessons I have learned. Unfortunately I learned these lessons too late. I hope that recording them now will help others in the future.

1) Family comes first

Altruism requires motivation. Not the motivation of fame and fortune but the motivation to do the right thing and innovate to make change for the greater good. Joining forces with like-minded individuals creates a sense of community and drives the process forward as a collaborative tsunami…

But, the online community is virtual – it is not real. 

True, you may meet these kindred souls and shake their hands, but the online community is not tangible. The support you afford it is recordable in statistics but not in the innocent smiles and warm hugs of your real family. Social acceptance of a well-timed snapshot can never replace the depth of gaze, breadth of smile and nod of appreciation that you were there – in person.

Family comes first – always.

2) The cost of free is immense

The majority of the resources we use, advocate, promote and build are free to the end-user. They provide primary resources for clinical cases and research, and secondary opportunities for discussion and asynchronous education. FOAM perpetuates the expectation that limitless resources should be open access and available to all…for free

But nothing in this life is free – someone always pays.

Payments range from the financial cost of hosting, developing and deploying software through to the physical amputation of time and the emotional burden of expectation.

Be wise about what you are building and understand your limitations…then follow steps 3, 4 and 5 to keep hold of reason 1

3) Learn to say NO

Of course you want to say Yes to everything, after all you are riding the crest of a wave – making a difference. Your time is yours to give, the requests are only small and they will benefit the greater good.

But the requests don’t stop.

They are genuine enough and appear small, even paltry to the requestor – ‘surely just a minor talk here or a quick chapter there is not too much to ask – nobody is that overloaded with work!’ Then they become larger, more frequent and more onerous often involving travel, expense and time – and the pressure mounts.

Isolated requests aggregate, accumulate and coalesce as an asphyxiating tide of failed promises.

Nip it in the bud early. Multi-tasking is a myth. Value your time – not in monetary terms – but in terms of self-preservation. Do well what you do well. Remember – just because you can write eloquently does not mean that you can lecture well; just because you can code, does not mean you have to code for the world and because you have done a favour once does not justify a lifetime of service.

Individuals learn a lot by finding their own way through the maze. Sure, you can record the path you have taken with petals of prose and illuminate the darkest passageways with insight – but limit physical hand-holding to helping your kids cross the road…

4) Learn who to trust

Altruists are in general open and honest – but don’t expect everybody around you to have the same ideals and principles.

For example your ‘open and honest‘ approach to life can easily be interpreted as ‘easy prey cash cow‘ to a malignant narcissist. Avoid potentially cataclysmic tribulations by learning to identify and distrust individuals with narcissistic traits. Protect your intellectual property and practice self-preservation principles even if it appears to be against your naturally trusting nature.

People are better at receiving than giving – if you are a giver, give wisely to prevent a vicious cycle of expectation.

5) Accept assistance

You are not a one man show.

Embrace the community and join forces with like-minded peers. Look to institutions and groups to share the writing, financial and educational load. There are many amazing people in this world – reach out and make the world a better place

 

…and always remember

our lives

 

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Filed Under: Blog News, FOAM, Web Culture Tagged With: 5 lessons learned, Accept assistance, Blogiversary, Family comes first, Learn to say NO, Learn who to trust, The cost of free

About Dr Mike Cadogan

Emergency physician at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital, Perth. Passion for medical informatics and medical education/textbooks. Asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist | @sandnsurf | + Mike Cadogan | LinkedIn

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tor Ercleve says

    September 1, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    The time we give is the time we take from others.
    5 beautifully written points we should all live by from this day forth.
    Thanks Mike.

    Reply
  2. John Cronin says

    September 1, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    Fantastic. You should write a book on this stuff (be mindful of point number 3 when considering that though).

    Reply
  3. Rahul Goswami says

    September 1, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    Great stuff as always. Keep it going!

    Reply
  4. KIdocs.org says

    September 1, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    Wise words. Look after yourself. Give freely, but learning to say NO is the most important skill.

    …family and fun, first. Always.

    Thanks for giving so much (and holding my hand on the initial forays into wordpress….)

    Legend.

    Reply
  5. Minh Le Cong (@ketaminh) says

    September 1, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    happy 5th Birthday!
    On this occasion , I wish to pay tribute to Mike Cadogan and Chris Nickson. the lives they have touched and inspired are countless. The devotion they have to the FOAMEd community is tireless and selfless. May the fruits of their endeavours feed future learners for generations to come and may the medical community at large , recognise their contribution. For what they have achieved, is truly one of the greatest accomplishments I have witnessed in my medical career.

    Reply
  6. #FOAMedstudent says

    September 1, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    Happy birthday!! On behalf of many in the medical student community, thank you to both you, Chris Nickson and your growing enthusiastic team for all your efforts. A big thank you to your families for sharing you with us. We know you aren’t teaching us “for free”, we are just getting it for free. We will try to pay you back by becoming the best doctors we can be.

    Reply
  7. Neale Fong says

    September 1, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    Well said mike. We (health professionals) who are so good at looking after others are usually shit at looking after ourselves.

    Reply
  8. Christine Lenhart says

    September 1, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    Wise experienced thoughts. Just one thing forgotten which might make it 6 points?
    Respect for others if deserved which includes all manner of the Natual World.
    Keeping it alive & thriving, even in our own gardens or balconies. We give, they or it will give it back a thousand fold. Continue the cycle of life.

    Reply
  9. Rural GP says

    September 1, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Thankyou, it’s been appreciated!

    Reply
  10. emcrit says

    September 1, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Mike,

    Know that you are loved and valued by all of us in the FOAM world.

    Reply
  11. Ben Smedley says

    September 2, 2014 at 2:32 am

    Thank you Mike (and co), from me and my patients!

    I was actually already wondering if there was any way we could donate – I appreciate you probably would prefer time and lines but I’m sure the upkeep for the site is pricey too…

    Ben

    Reply
  12. haluk ozdemir says

    September 2, 2014 at 3:46 am

    Absolutely…Dr.Cadogan should write a book on this issue by enriching these 5 lessons with his clinical vignettes and years of real life experiences he has had in his professional life.

    Reply
  13. turtle1doc says

    September 2, 2014 at 5:25 am

    Thank you for LITFL. Its amazing.

    Reply
  14. Cliff Reid (@cliffreid) says

    September 2, 2014 at 6:13 am

    Thank you for sharing your wisdom. And thank you for changing the World

    Reply
  15. Victoria Brazil says

    September 2, 2014 at 6:21 am

    Brilliant words and brilliant, consistent effort over that 5 years.

    We can only hope to make just five more mistakes in the next 5 years! But at least we will have 5 more lessons learned…..

    Reply
  16. Ken says

    September 2, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    Well done, well said, well lived.

    Reply
  17. docvpb says

    September 2, 2014 at 3:18 pm

    Mike…..FOAM definitively opened my mind and changed my practice….Thanks for the invention of the pure GOLD called FOAM…,You are AWESOME!!!

    Reply
  18. @DuneDocs says

    September 2, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    Well done and well stated. Keep on. We need you. Or go play with your kids. They need you more. Inspiring as always!

    Reply
  19. Simon Carley says

    September 3, 2014 at 12:10 am

    Great advice and wisdom from Mike. I echo the thoughts of others in thanking him and the LITFL team for making a difference to so many of us.

    We have a lot to thank you for.

    vb

    S

    Reply
  20. chricres says

    September 3, 2014 at 11:12 am

    Mike says the little FOAM producers are not a problem, which is nice of him. I do still think we do need to get independant long term funding streams for FOAM.

    Thanks Mike for 5 great lessons and for the miracle that is FOAM

    Kia kaha

    Reply
  21. Ruxton says

    September 3, 2014 at 11:49 am

    The online community can be tangible, it just rarely starts that way. There are many examples of online communities that a tangible.

    Taking it to a tangible place is what makes it powerful and I’d argue in the last 5 years we came close to doing that. Though to pursue this at the expense of already tangible relationships will sap you of any joy if you succeed and give you moments of feeling alone if you fail.

    * Family (blood or not) always comes first.
    * Your time is valuable (Learn to say no, vet who you deal with, nothing is free, you can’t help everyone)

    To infinity and beyond!

    Reply
  22. Ken Grauer, MD says

    September 3, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    Let me join the group in saying THANK YOU Mike for your tremendous contribution to the FOAM world. You helped get this all started!

    Reply
  23. Rob Woods (@robwoodsuofs) says

    September 4, 2014 at 4:02 am

    Great pearls Mike. I received advice from a mentor early in residency on knowing when to say no. Say Yes IF 2/3 criteria are met: 1) You are ‘jazzed’ about it 2) It pays well (financially, academically, or professionally) and 3) if it is important (to you, your family, your profession, society). That way, you see your commitments through to completion. It’s been pretty sound advice so far.

    Reply
  24. Matthew says

    September 5, 2014 at 3:06 pm

    Happy birthday Mike and all the gang.

    You words ring so true.

    Thanks for making it happen.

    Reply
  25. Simon Walsh says

    September 6, 2014 at 11:36 am

    Thank you Mike et al.

    Simon

    Reply
  26. Marion says

    September 6, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    I am so proud of you and your wonderful family.You have always worked so hard.you deserve to live life fully ……and successfully…….all my love

    Mumxx

    Reply
  27. Anton Helman says

    September 11, 2014 at 2:33 pm

    Mike, you planted the seed for me to grow in ways I would have never imagined not even one year ago. Thanks for your unprecedented contributions to medical education. Cheers! Anton

    Reply

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