Dr. Lucy Hornstein is author of Declarations of a Dinosaur: 10 Laws I’ve Learned as a Family Doctor (Amazon Link). During this episode of Medical Author Chat Lucy and I have a great chat about why she chose family practice, her path to becoming a blogger, and the 10 laws she has learned in her years of family practice.

Lucy also shares some great stories about parenting, baking, and connecting with patients. Lucy and her son share passion for baking pastry and use blogging to challenge, contrast, and compare their baking products. We also explore how Facebook is a tool for simple communication with her college age kids, even when they are in the same house with her.

I especially enjoyed our conversation about anonymous blogging and Lucy’s three rules of blogging. Until her book was published in August 2009 Lucy blogged anonymously and always gender neutral assignments for herself and her patients. Many of her readers made assumptions about her gender and the gender of the patients in the stories. I had this conversation with Lucy just after the EMS Garage podcast episode that discussed the pros and cons of anonymous blogging.

Another theme of this show was the role of truth in blogging and writing books about our experiences as healthcare providers. I have always used the axiom, “true or loosely based on the truth” when writing patient scenarios, case studies, and blog posts. Listen to the show for Lucy’s insights.

I was referred to Lucy by Tim Noonan, the Rogue Medic. If you know of a medical professional that has written a book of memoirs, a novel, or lessons learned tell me about the book and author in the comments. I will reach out to them for a future episode of the Medical Author Chat.

Visit Lucy’s blog, Musing’s of a Dinosaur, to learn more about her and her latests blog posts. You can also connect with her there to schedule book signings and readings.

Read related posts and tips:

1. The Non-Conformist’s Guide to EMS Success: Medical Author Chat with Steve Whitehead
2. Paramedic and Rescue 471: Medical Author Chat with Peter Canning
3. First 10 Episodes of the Medical Author Chat