Wow

I would just like to say that I didn't expect all the positive comments. I'm afraid if I get anymore, my head will get so big it will actually explode, which would be messy. Seriously, many thanks for the support.

I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do. I feel like I'm probably going to do a little blogging about residency and what I'm doing, since (as Midwife with a Knife pointed out), the First Amendment still applies to me. I will try to avoid writing about patients as much as possible, though, since I'd hate to violate someone's privacy. Writing about other people, particularly patients, brings a whole other level of complexity to this equation.

It puts me in a bit of an awkward situation at work, though. I'd like to participate in some kind of discussion about blogging, but just by doing so it threatens my anonymity at work. Right now, the only person at work who knows I blog is an upper-level resident whom I confided in, so now I'm in a weird spot, since he's the one who forwarded the email to me about blogging. If I continue blogging about work, and he's the one who told me the policy is not to do so, then in essence I'm lying to him, or at least betraying his trust. As ridiculous as it may seem, I've considered contacting a lawyer (or at least, a friend who happens to be one) to get legal advice on this issue. After all, this is my current job and future career that could be at stake.

I really would miss blogging terribly, though. I love having a reason to write. I've never been good at keeping a diary or journal, but I've managed to write a little bit in this for nearly 3 years now. That's something to be proud of, no matter how poor the writing is sometimes (or most of the time), or how many times I simply degenerate into curse words. And all joking aside, I was really moved by all the positive comments. Thank you, thank you, thank you.