Practice Perfect 926
Why You Should Try Writing…At Least a Little
Why You Should Try Writing…At Least a Little
I’ve spent the last 19 years of my professional life writing weekly editorials about various aspects of being a podiatrist, from social issues to scientific ones. And yet, the one topic that I’ve spent almost no time discussing is writing itself. I have no clue as to why this is true, but I’d like to rectify that glaring absence with a discussion about writing. Even more so, I want to try to convince you to do some of your own writing.
Why Should You Write?
As someone who has chosen to read this, I might be preaching to the choir since you must – to some extent – value the written word. Reading is obviously important as a communication method, but good communication requires practice. As such, practicing writing makes one a better communicator. For physicians, being able to communicate clearly is mandatory, but we often lack feedback with this skill. Writing can improve this by giving one this feedback. This can occur in two ways. First, when someone else reads what you wrote, they’ll either understand it or not. Perhaps wording a concept slightly differently would have made things clearer. Maybe modifying an argument would have made your communication understandable or more convincing. Second, if you write something, put it aside and then return to it sometime later. You will read it afresh from the point of view of a reader and see where your communication failed or was successful.
More Effective Learning
Writing is also a highly active learning method which serves to solidify a topic in your mind. In educational psychology, this is termed encoding, or the brain’s way of building deep and long-lasting neurological connections. This is also the process of transferring knowledge from short term to long term memory, a critical event which leads to remembering anything for a long time. While in medical school and residency, I found that writing and drawing pictures was second only to retrieval practice (AKA quizzing) to remembering what I was studying.
Deeper Understanding
Writing about a subject you are trying to better understand will help to improve your grasp of that subject. For many of the topics I have discussed for the Practice Perfect editorials, I was not an expert. Investigating these topics and then creating an organized discussion about them helped me to think through them, improving my own understanding. I tend to be a “seat of the pants” writer, in that I generally do not build an outline of content first but rather let the writing flow. I’m doing that right now! For some topics, especially those without a clear answer or something controversial, I tend to modify my views and opinions as I write, and in some cases, I’ve found myself adopting a modified – often more sophisticated – opinion about that topic.
It Might Lead to Something Great
My own personal journey with PRESENT e-Learning Systems and the Practice Perfect editorials was made possible when doctors Alan Sherman and Michael Shore discovered that I had some writing ability but also had the patience to allow me to develop my skills as time went by. This one opportunity to write has led to some of the most rewarding opportunities of my personal and professional life, including an almost 20-year relationship with these wonderful people, as well as providing enough visibility that a high-level educator, Dr Lawrence Harkless, had heard of me. He read some of my editorials and thought I would be worthy to become an educator at the Western University College of Podiatric Medicine, a job that brought me so many amazing opportunities. None of this would have been possible without my writing. Similarly, the recent addition of Dr Savannah Santiago and her editorial Sole Purpose (which I highly recommend!) occurred because Dr Santiago demonstrated her strong voice and excellent writing abilities. Now all of us get to benefit from her unique perspective.
What To Do Now?
If I’ve managed to convince you to consider putting some of your thoughts down on paper (electronic or physical), you might be wondering what’s the best way to do it? Well, this is the beauty of writing – you can pick any method you want. Perhaps you might write short daily or weekly diary entries. Maybe you’ll be doubly ambitious and write an essay. Perhaps you lean toward the visual arts and would want to combine images with the written word. Any of these methods are good. To steal from Nike, Just Do It! Don’t feel pressured to publish; no one else has to read what you write. It’s up to you. Start with a topic you feel interest in or passion about. Sit down, think a little, research a bit, and just let the words flow. Don’t worry if what you write is polished or sounds good. Just get it down on the paper. Once you’ve written it down, read through it to start the editing process. When you’ve read through it once, stop and put it aside for a day or two and then read and edit it one more time. Aim for creativity and clarity, and before you know it you’ll be a writer.
Best wishes with your writing endeavor.
Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Practice Perfect Editor
[email protected]
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