by Anne Llewellyn, MS, BHSA, RN, CCM, CRRN, CMGT-BC, FCM

I usually start my day by scanning various e-letters and reading articles that interest me. From time to time, I hit the comment button to leave a comment as the article struck a chord with me.

I find that in addition to the content in the article, the comment section is also an interesting read. To be honest, I sometimes learn more from the comments than the article as the comments give me insights into the readers’ views on a particular topic or event.

Commenting allows me to share my expertise and my point of view on a particular topic. In addition, I sometimes send an email to the author to ask them a follow-up question or to tell them that I liked their article and why it was important. Sometimes I even get a reply from the author and learn how to follow them on Twitter, allowing me to follow someone’s point of view past the article at hand.

I do this as I want to participate actively in the learning process. Doing this also puts me out there as a subject matter expert and an active contributor allowing me to grow professionally.

As a writer, I can tell you that getting comments from readers is exciting and helps me know that what I am writing about is important and pertinent to the topic.

So go ahead and comment on this Blog Post so I know you read it and consider commenting on other posts as you read them! The writers will appreciate it and your online presence as a subject matter expert will grow!

Bio: Anne Llewellyn, MS, BHSA, RN, CCM, CRRN, CMGT-BC, FCM, is a registered nurse with over 43 years of experience in critical care, risk management, case management, patient advocacy, healthcare publications and training and development. Anne has been a leader in case management and was the President of the Case Management Society of America 2003-4. She was awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 for her service to the case management industry. She also served on the Patient Advocate Certification Board and was one of the professionals to develop and launch the first National Certification in Patient Advocacy. Anne is also a patient, a brain cancer survivor, who uses her expertise and knowledge to educate people about how to navigate the complex healthcare system and remind healthcare professionals about the importance of providing patient and family-centered care. Today, Anne works as a nurse advocate to assist people on their healthcare journeys.

Anne was also recently awarded the FCM designation as a Case Management Founding Fellow.