Today is my fifth day working at Community Health Center, Inc. Well, it is Sunday and a day of rest, so maybe it doesn’t count. Yet here I am, writing another blog post about my job. Some of it is clearly because it is new. I like writing about things that are new to me, and my job still fits in that category. Some of it is because I get my work emails on my cellphone and so I’m on 24x7, or at least as much as I am willing to carry around my cellphone and respond to messages.

There are so many things that need to be worked out. What is CHC’s voice? How does it relate to my voice? Should I set up a CHC blog and put these posts there? If so, on what platform? Should I copy such posts here? Who else would write in such a blog?

Then, there is the classic work/life balance issue. Weekends are time for resting, relaxation, and doing fun things. But what if you find writing about interesting issues, including those where you work, fun and relaxing?

Some of it comes back to an old union chant, our life is more than our work, and our work is more than our job. However, it is really great when all of these things over lap really nicely.

So, for fun, I’ve been participating in discussionx on a mailing list of group psychotherapists. A current topic is about cultural and legal issues that can get in the way of addressing mental health issues. There is a lot packed into that discussion, and I’ll probably not try to unpack it hear right away.

I announced my new job there, and spoke about seeking ideas on how we can use social media to improve communities’ health. Many of the therapists on the list are quite reticent about social media. They have big concerns about privacy as well as things like the addictive nature of social media or the potentially negative effects of continuous partial attention. One pioneer in the use of Internet tools in psychotherapy wrote about his recent experimentation with Twitter which sounds really interesting.

Another person suggested that we need to better understand what it means to improve communities health. I explored this a little bit on Thursday as I visited the Community Health Center in New Britain. The founder and director of Community Health Center, Inc. spoke with me about their efforts to find new ways of providing health, particularly to under served populations. He challenged me to explore ways that social media can be used above and beyond simply enhanced publicity.

Looking at the Google Analytics for the main website, much of the traffic appears to come from job searchers. Indeed, the Human Resources department seems to be making a strong effort to use social media to assist recruitment and this is an area where I hope we can make significant progress. There are the obvious areas of reaching out to people that do not realize they have health care options and of reaching out to professionals to talk about best practices. There are opportunities to use social media to explore how to affect public policy.

Yet perhaps the most exciting area is when we really take advantage of social media and make it a conversation. Can we change the way we think and talk about health care and our communities? I think some of this is happening. Take a look at Blame Drew’s Cancer. At the surface, it is about raising money for the battle against cancer and raising awareness. At a deeper level, it reflects how social media is changing the way we talk about health.

When Kim’s mother was fighting cancer, we joked with friends about how whenever someone talked about fighting cancer, they always said the word cancer in hushed, almost reverent tones. The same applied to therapy or counseling. Drew’s cancer has become a chance to turn it on its head, to talk of cancer in mocking tones.

Then, there is Sarge Charlie. I don’t exactly see eye to eye with Charlie on political issues, but I love his spirit in his battle against cancer. Some of what he and his friends have written reflect a similar shift in how we talk about health.

Back at home, Fiona had a sore throat this morning. So, she has been resting. It seems to be passing. I sure hope so. Every Sunday evening, Fiona and I do an Internet radio show. Since last Wednesday was World AIDS day, I figured I would talk with her about HIV/AIDS. We have an activist or two calling in and it should be a great show also aimed at changing how we talk about health.

Enough for now. It is a day off, a day of rest. Time to visit a few friends’ blogs.