I am continuing my review of the best blogs mind, body, and soul at least from my perspective.  Doctor blogs have been the subject of controversy with the AMA lately.  There are privacy concerns and concerns about the professionalism of ranting about colleagues or patients in such a public forum.  While these concerns may be valid, this isn’t what I generally see in the blogs, at least not the ones I end up following anyway.  Many, many blogs focus on healthcare and its shortcomings and problems with the system.  These have their place, but for me the very best blogs share the highs and the lows of medicine.  I think the blog format is ideal for sharing the unique experience and point of view that we physicians have.  I think the best blogs humanize the doctor, the patients and in so doing feed the soul.  Here are a few of my favorites-

1)  Musings of a Distractible Mind- Dr. Rob, a Medicine/Pediatrics specialist practicing primary care in the southeastern US has a very popular blog.  His posts are often goofy and offbeat one minute and serious and reflective the next.  In either case, they are always thoughtful and reveal a physician with great heart, very concerned about how to build the physician-patient relationship and in doing the very best for patients.

2) Notes of an Anesthesioboist-   Written by T., and anesthesiologist, oboist and classical music enthusiast, this blog is a true gem.  She ponders the meaning of life, shares the richness of hobbies, and outside interests, ponders family and motherhood and career, all from the perspective of the doctor who puts people asleep during surgery.  I love this blog because it is so full of a complete and balanced love of life. 

3) Edwin Leap, MD- The emergency room certainly lends itself to great drama and stories.  There are more emergency room professional blogs, both doctors and nurses, than any other field. The problem is that the exposure you have to horrors and abuses can also lead to cynicism.  This is one physician who has by and large escaped that trap.  As a published author and newspaper columnist, he is a gifted and wonderful writer.  He is a believing Southern Baptist full of faith.  Most of all he is a wise, warm and generous soul who has never lost sight of the reason he became a doctor in the first place.

4) Apollo, MD-  There are a myriad of medical student blogs out there.  Medical school is a time of extraordinary challenge and growth.  It makes sense that there would be a lot of reflection and sharing of the experience on the internet.  I have found no one more adept at capturing the experience than Lester Leung, author of this website.  He writes thoughtful, profound, and insightful posts on the state of medicine and on what it teaches you about life, in beautiful prose. 

5) Mothers in Medicine- This is a relatively new and wonderful group blog.  I am perhaps not their target audience as I am not and will never be a mother.  However, these women have a perspective and wisdom that I think all of us in medicine can appreciate and learn from.  I love how they tie the art of parenting and the art of medicine together.  They are open about the struggle they find in each and in the endless quest for balance.  They consist of a variety of physicians in a wide array of fields, including the recent addition of the Anesthesioboist noted above.  

Those are my recommendations, feel free to leave any suggestions of your own in the comments and I’ll check them out.   Next week I’ll share some of my thoughts on the best of the Mormon Blogs, known in some circles as the Bloggernacle.