One Blog Post at a Time: Dr. Vandhana Babu's Venture into Medical Knowledge Sharing
Join us in this edition of DocsCopy on MedBound Times as we explore the journey of Dr. Vandhana Babu, a BDS graduate from Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India, who is currently preparing for her MDS entrance exam. Alongside her studies, Dr. Vandhana has launched 'Dent-Ed,' a blog designed to share her expertise and connect with dental professionals and the public.
In her discussion with Dr. Nirainila Joseph from MedBound Times, she opens up about her inspiration behind starting her blog, its goals, and the process of creating authentic content. She also discusses how she balances her blogging activities with her rigorous exam preparation and her future aspirations for 'Dent-Ed.'
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Please introduce yourself to our readers
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I'm Dr. Vandhana Babu, a passionate dental surgeon with a BDS degree from GDC, Chennai. With a passion for continuous learning and a commitment to advancing in dentistry, I'm currently preparing for my MDS. I have launched my blog 'Dent-Ed' to contribute to the dental community. Here, I share my valuable insights, knowledge to connect with my fellow professionals and educate the public.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Congratulations on your new blog! What motivated you to start your own medical blog?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I started this blog for various reasons. Firstly, to educate the public and fellow professionals on various medical and dental topics, promoting better understanding and awareness. Secondly, to connect with other professionals, engage in discussions and to stay updated with the latest growth. And also, I wanted to create a fulfilling hobby while preparing for my MDS.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: It's inspiring to know your motivations behind the blog. Who inspired you to start 'Dent-Ed,' and do you have any favorite bloggers in the dental or medical field?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: During my college years, I had a senior who often taught us about various dental and medical topics. Furthermore, during my internship, I shadowed an excellent dentist who educated his peers on practical applications. These two amazing doctors inspired me to share my own knowledge through a blog. On the social media, I have seen many dental entrepreneurs sharing dental tips to general public and the fellow dentists. This motivated my inner urge to start a blog.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Let's talk about the blog in detail now. What is your primary goal for the blog? What do you hope your readers gain from it?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: My blog 'Dent-Ed' is intended to simplify even the most complex topics in dentistry and medicine, making them easily understandable for both the general public and budding medical professionals. Through clear explanations and practical insights, I aim to bridge the gap between technical knowledge and everyday understanding. My goal is to empower readers with valuable information that enhances their knowledge.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: That's a fantastic mission. Can you tell us about the main topics you aim cover on your blog to fulfill this? Do you focus more on patient education, professional insights, or both?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I would focus on both patient education and professional insights. Initially, I plan to cover basic medical and dental topics to help my peers and new students gain a solid understanding. I will also provide insights on various diseases prevalent in India. Later, I will expand to include the latest advances, case reports, and more specialized content.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: How has your background as a dentist influenced your writing style and content?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: As a dentist, I use my expertise to explain complex dental and medical terminologies in a clear and understandable manner. My education in basic medical sciences, along with my postings during my pre-final, final year and internship, provided me valuable understanding. This experience enables me to structure my writing systematically, covering topics from their origins and etiology to investigations and management strategies.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: As words provide only half the impact, visuals complete the picture, making content both appealing and understandable. What role do visuals play in your blog, and how do you create or source them?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: In my blog, 'Dent-Ed,' I incorporate tables, flowcharts that I create myself. Additionally, I use various illustrations sourced online to provide a comprehensive content. These are very helpful in simplifying complex topics.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: How do you ensure the information you provide is accurate and up-to-date?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I refer to standard textbooks, various PubMed and Google scholar articles, journals, government medical websites to provide accurate information.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Many people seek healthcare information online. How do you differentiate your blog from other sources of medical information on the internet, and how do you address potential misinformation?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: As I said earlier, I refer to various textbooks, articles before publishing a blog. I strive to create content that are up-to-date. I would keep the content current by updating the older posts with newer information. I stick to the ethical guidelines of the healthcare system. I also encourage feedback from the professionals and the general public. I intend to address their queries promptly. My content would be a simplified version of a complex medical topic very helpful for students and general public.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: How do you handle the technical aspects of running a blog, such as website design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and analytics?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: The technical aspects of my blog 'Dent-Ed' are expertly handled by my friend, who is a software engineer. He contributes to website design, SEO optimization, and manages analytics. The blog theme is SEO friendly and mapped with Google analytics.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: What role do you think blogs and social media play in patient education and public health awareness? What platforms do you use to promote your blog and engage with your audience?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: In my opinion, social media and blogs play a very powerful role in patient education and awareness. Through these platforms, the general public is accessible to various healthcare information, news, updates, awareness campaigns. Social media enables direct communication between the healthcare worker and the general public. This can bridge the gap in reaching various population. I use SEO friendly post. I also use WhatsApp and Instagram to promote my blog.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: With many doctors having blogs, websites, and social media pages, can you discuss the importance of digital presence for healthcare professionals today?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: Digital presence helps the healthcare professional in many ways. It enhances the patient care through patient education, creating awareness and campaigns online, communicating with the public. It can also be helpful in strengthening the practice by brand marketing, receiving patient reviews.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: With yourself joining the list of doctors wth a vibrant digital presence, do you have plans to collaborate with other healthcare professionals for content creation?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: In the future, I would love to collaborate with other healthcare professionals for providing my audience with specialized and expertise information.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: How do you balance your time between your exam preparation and your blogging activities?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: As I'm preparing for my higher studies, I use my free time for creating content for my blog. The meticulous research I do before publishing a content also helps me with my preparation.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: What are some challenges you’ve faced in starting and maintaining your blog?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: Balancing the time between my studies and blogging is quite challenging. As an introvert person, promoting my blog is a very difficult job. As I'm a beginner, building trust among the audience takes time. Updating the content and information up-to-date is also tedious.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: What is your preferred choice of postgraduate specialty? Once you start your postgraduation will you blog focus more on your specialty, or continue to cover general medical and dental topics?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: My preferred choice for postgraduation is Prosthodontics due to its focus on restoring stomatognathic function and aesthetics with interdisciplinary approach like oral surgery, periodontics, and orthodontics.
As I move towards my postgraduation, I would focus on sharing insights and advancements specific to my specialty like discussing case reports, new techniques, research findings, etc. However, my blog remains balanced by continuously sharing content related to general medical and dental topics so that my content remains beneficial to a wider range of followers like the general public, fellow professionals.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Navigating the challenges and consistently creating authentic content, how do you envision the evolution of your blog in the future with interactive content format and expand your blog into other media formats?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: In the future, I'm planning on expanding my blog content to telegram, instagram pages and as youtube videos. Various audience engaging activities like Q&A sessions are also planned for the future.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: As you work towards your goals with the blog and strive to educate a broader audience, what do you consider the most rewarding parts of sharing your knowledge through blogging?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I would say that the most rewarding aspect of this is when someone shares that my content has been genuinely helpful for them in their life or their studies, especially for students.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Thank you for the interesting and inspiring discussion. For our last question, what advice would you give to other healthcare professionals who are considering starting their own blog?
Dr. Vandhana Babu: I would say, one should find their inner passion, prefer quality of information over quantity, be consistent, use simple language so that the general public can appreciate it, use social media as far as you can and on SEO optimization for promotion, technically make sure that your blog is a responsive one.
MedBound Times expresses sincere gratitude to Dr. Vandhana Babu for sharing her valuable insights on our platform.
