We have wonderful news: next week Grand Rounds is devoted to Participatory Medicine. We are asking for your personal stories of how patient engagement has worked for you.

It’s being hosted by Robin, the incredible patient who runs the Survive The Journey blog. She’s a member of the Society for Participatory Medicine (are you? Join) and she’s one heck of an e-patient: empowered and engaged in her own care, with a vigorous community around her.

For those who don’t know, here’s what the Grand Rounds “blog carnival” is about. Medical professionals, bear with us while patients learn. And of course, correct any errors:  

• Grand Rounds is a tradition in medical education (Wikipedia). “Rounds” is when the residents are led around to see patients in a specialty; Grand Rounds is more of a lecture format, where everyone comes together to discuss a particular topic.
• The blog version was started six years ago by emergency physician Nick Genes, who calls it “the weekly rotating carnival of the best of the medical blogosphere.” Each week a blogger is selected to host Grand Rounds, on the topic of his/her choice.
• The host asks people (that could be you) to submit existing blog posts that serve as good teaching material. (Or, often, people create a new post somewhere, and submit that.)
• The host then creates a post in his/her own blog, the equivalent of a lecture, you might say, which teaches the subject.
• A ton of people come from around the world to read it. Seriously.

As with real lecturers, the instructor’s style plays a role in the presentation.

• This week’s, on Pallimed, is easy-to-read text with category titles.
• Last week’s, by Dutch medical librarian Laika, presented it in the context of a tour of a librarian’s life.
• In June, the talented Barbara Olson of Florence Dot Com presented her “lecture” with a baseball theme. (We were delighted and honored that Barbara used an e-patients.net post as the “opening pitch”!)

Robin has a bug so we are thrilled to help her solicit. (It’s so wonderful that empowered patients are joining the Society, picking up the cause and carrying it outside this blog!) Here’s what to do:

• Patients: If you have a real-world story of how being empowered and participatory changed the outcome, or even changed your experience, go to Robin’s blog and submit it.
• Providers/Clinicians: If you have a real-world story of how an empowered and participatory patient changed the outcome, or even changed your experience … see previous item. :–)
• Philosophers, analysts, policy people, citizens: Robin is also welcoming posts about the concept of participatory medicine, its origins, its promise, etc.

In our case, if you have a story and you don’t have a blog, submit it here! Write me, ePatientDave at e-patients dot net. We’ll work to publish it here (quickly!) and submit it to Robin.