Imagine a society where your device is never far from your
hand. No matter how important you
are or how low, you never go out socially without your technology. The line between work and
personal life is hopelessly blurred. You cannot even take your kids to the park
without pulling out your device and following the most recent thread. Does this sound like our wired society
in 2013?
Well, I am actually describing the world of the average
woman in the Middle Ages. Back
then every woman, regardless of age or rank, was expected to fill their day with
meaningful work. So each woman
would carry their spindle and distaff
(also called a rock) with them to social occasions. Sometimes they would even gather for
this purpose and it was called “a rocking” I guess the modern equivalent of
that would be a “tweet-up.” It was a constant frenzy of thread creation.
But there were times that it was considered appropriate to
put down the spindle and focus on friends, family and spiritual well being. People would “unplug” (Or would that be
unlace?) during the 12 days of Christmas.
I don’t know about you, but I see a pronounced absence of
social media voices during the holidays.
Other than the occasional status update or twitter competition most
folks are MIA from December 25 to January 6th. Perhaps that is exactly the way it
should be. Perhaps the holidays
are time focus on family and friends and spin stories rather than messages in
the media.
But today is January 7, Distaff Day. Today we pick up our devices once more
and we will spin the threads that will make this year. Those threads will form the weft and
warp of healthcare policy.
2013 will be an amazing year in healthcare and patients must
be in the forefront of creating that message. I look forward to following your threads.
Photo courtesy of Ted Eytan
Photo courtesy of Ted Eytan
Distaff day - I love that! Over the holiday I learned to knit, and found myself, like the women from the middle ages, taking my knitting everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt's something you can do physically while mediatating at the same time, so very unlike social media in that regard.
We're so looking forward to having you on #BCSM tonight.
Jody
My 'Distaff Day' blog opened with inspirational segments on Regina Holliday, Lucien Engelen and ePatient Dave! A Dilbert cartoon on patient engagement prompted the post.
ReplyDeletePatient harm is compounded when providers do not acknowledge patients and their advocates or only acknowledge 'selected' voices. Conference selection bias of both presenters and attendees can discriminate against patients and limit the ability to provide workable patient safety solutions.
Real patient engagement means that patients are true partners and stakeholders with all respect and responsibility. If we are not at patient safety summits as presenters and attendees, we are not engaged!
http://fida-advocate.blogspot.com/2013/01/dilbert-cartoon-as-it-relates-to.html