Posted by medlib on September 14, 2002, at 17:26:10
In reply to moderating on an on-going basis « Mark H., posted by Dr. Bob on August 8, 2002, at 8:31:32
Dr. Bob--
This is a remarkedly civil and supportive thread--rare for this admin board; many posters have made thoughtful points in a helpful manner. Since I tend to express myself in metaphors, these will be medical:
--RELIEF: MDs in my community employ 3 types of support which may be relevant to PB:
....On (and off) call days. Someone else deals with emergencies and the obvious on weekends (and/or designated weekdays) on a rotating basis; final authority still resides with the primary physician or administrator.
....Housekeeping/clerical help. Someone else regularly deals with aspects which don't require professional judgement. On PB this might be limited to redirects and duplicate posts, which could be assigned on a rotating basis.
....Functional support. Someone else supplies ancillary services (lab work, x-rays, or hospitalized patient coverage, etc.). A number of PBers are skilled in technical areas; they might be delegated to provide posters with technical problems fixer-type suggestions, refer them to relevant FAQs, and/or e-mail you about the ones which require administrative services.INFORMED CONSENT: Since this is critical to trust (in both patients and posters), I believe that anyone who provides any type of support services should be announced in appropriate PB board descriptions (along with their e-mail address). If on a rotating basis, only a name change should be needed.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Even Type A types burn out when they try to do it all forever; my pdoc retired recently at 40+. If I understand correctly, PB represents a 2nd job for you. Even though there may be some functional overlap with your academic duties, those countless extra hours are bound to add up. Most 2-jobbers have little time for a family, social or private life; yet, while a nurse, the most frequent regret of dying patients I heard was about missed opportunities in relationships. Et tu?
PB has been critical to my survival, as well. I'd be happy to help with any services you may decide to delegate (except tech support, where I'm competent, but not sufficiently skilled). I always read PB, though I may post less often now; so, please add my name to your undoubtedly long list of volunteers. Whether it applies to me or not, I agree with an earlier poster that delegating to a greater number of volunteers on a regular basis might help make the process seem less exceptional and may ease fears/complaints of posters. Perhaps even your instructions for delegating could be standardized (since assigning a job to others should not take more time than doing it yourself).
I see PB as a kind of electronic PRN group therapy. It's an interesting concept; I'm likely to follow its development indefinitely (even in the unlikely event I finally achieve remission).
Though it may seem so at times, pioneers are not *always* thankless. Thanks!---medlib
poster:medlib
thread:7094
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020725/msgs/7432.html