We want to help you learn website design and web hosting.
Why are we writing about website design, content management systems, and web hosting services on a medical education site? Physicians and people working in the healthcare industry will need websites to broadcast who they are, why they exist, and what they do to contribute to the community.
From the previous posts by Daniel (a.k.a. Sidekick) and Paul, we can see that a website is important for anyone conducting business. Your website is your business card. It is your real estate on the Internet that describes who you are and what you do. While pretty pictures and animations are pleasant, it is truly the content that is king. Without content, it’s like living in a big fancy house without furniture. But before you can express your creativity, content, and knowledge on the Internet, you must first learn how to get it on the Internet (i.e., website design and web hosting) and be found (i.e., search engine optimization).
While growing up, schools teach kids skills that are essential for their success later in life. This means kids will be able to graduate from high school, complete college, and find a job. While I was in junior high school, for instance, I was learning to type and program basic on the Apple computer. Little did I know at that time, that I would eventually meld these computer skills with my passion for medicine and science. Regardless of what career path an individual picks today, it is inevitable that computers skills are no longer a plus, but rather computer skills are essential. For instance, Medicare and the U.S. government have mandated implementation of Electronic Medical Records for medical practices. Most physicians are still using an archaic MS DOS based system in their offices or still rely on paper charting. We also depend on e-mail, Internet, and other Internet technologies to complete our work as physicians and scientists. In medicine, we are linked in, whether we like it or not, to Internet technologies.
During my last months of residency at the University of Iowa, our e-mail server went down for one week. It was shocking to see what was a fad ten years ago when I was in college has now evolved into an entity that is as crucial as our phone lines. The physicians, residents, and staff were upset. Another physician lost all of her e-mail she had saved, which contained years of content relating to her medical student curriculum. We are dependent on Internet technologies.
Unfortunately for physicians, scientists, and other medical people who did not have the interest to learn or neither the time to learn, they must rely on other services or individuals to provide their technology support. I learned web programming during medical school as a hobby and designed a few websites for my e-commerce business. During residency, I realized that most physicians had no idea how to design websites or setup a server to run their websites. Thus, some companies charge hundreds to thousands of dollars for server maintenance, and websites can cost as much as $50,000 dollars to design.
The reality is that website design and server maintenance is not complicated. These skills are definitely easier than learning cataract surgery, for example. We want to teach anyone who wants to learn. The hardest thing about website design is the graphics design. Thus, it is worth paying someone to do it, such as Sidekick-design.com. Alternatively, if you simply hate computers, then it is also worth paying a team like Lavier Consulting to design your website. When I created the MedRounds and the University of Iowa EyeRounds.org websites, my abilities in graphic design could only make a basic site. I had content, but lacked functionality and esthetics. Lavier Consulting taught me tricks that increased my understanding and skills of web design that brought me from the minor leagues to the major leagues. You may not need to learn all the advance skills; however, it is still important for you to learn some basics so that you can at least maintain your site and server without depending on a third party.
One of my favorite books is Robert Kiyosaki's, Rich Dad Poor Dad. This book was suggested to me by one of my partners, mentor, and good friend, Dr. Kwon. Kiyosaki states that he is shocked to learn that physicians, lawyers, and other professionals have great financial problems because most do not learn how to management their money. More importantly, however, Kiyosaki emphasizes that if these professionals learn just ONE more skill to add to their arsenal of talents, then their potential for wealth is exponential. In addition to your medical, surgical, or other professional expertise, the skills that will provide individuals with the greatest potential to make an impact in the 21st Century are the skills we will write about in this multi-disciplinary blog about website design, content management systems, and web hosting.
From the previous posts by Daniel (a.k.a. Sidekick) and Paul, we can see that a website is important for anyone conducting business. Your website is your business card. It is your real estate on the Internet that describes who you are and what you do. While pretty pictures and animations are pleasant, it is truly the content that is king. Without content, it’s like living in a big fancy house without furniture. But before you can express your creativity, content, and knowledge on the Internet, you must first learn how to get it on the Internet (i.e., website design and web hosting) and be found (i.e., search engine optimization).
While growing up, schools teach kids skills that are essential for their success later in life. This means kids will be able to graduate from high school, complete college, and find a job. While I was in junior high school, for instance, I was learning to type and program basic on the Apple computer. Little did I know at that time, that I would eventually meld these computer skills with my passion for medicine and science. Regardless of what career path an individual picks today, it is inevitable that computers skills are no longer a plus, but rather computer skills are essential. For instance, Medicare and the U.S. government have mandated implementation of Electronic Medical Records for medical practices. Most physicians are still using an archaic MS DOS based system in their offices or still rely on paper charting. We also depend on e-mail, Internet, and other Internet technologies to complete our work as physicians and scientists. In medicine, we are linked in, whether we like it or not, to Internet technologies.
During my last months of residency at the University of Iowa, our e-mail server went down for one week. It was shocking to see what was a fad ten years ago when I was in college has now evolved into an entity that is as crucial as our phone lines. The physicians, residents, and staff were upset. Another physician lost all of her e-mail she had saved, which contained years of content relating to her medical student curriculum. We are dependent on Internet technologies.
Unfortunately for physicians, scientists, and other medical people who did not have the interest to learn or neither the time to learn, they must rely on other services or individuals to provide their technology support. I learned web programming during medical school as a hobby and designed a few websites for my e-commerce business. During residency, I realized that most physicians had no idea how to design websites or setup a server to run their websites. Thus, some companies charge hundreds to thousands of dollars for server maintenance, and websites can cost as much as $50,000 dollars to design.
The reality is that website design and server maintenance is not complicated. These skills are definitely easier than learning cataract surgery, for example. We want to teach anyone who wants to learn. The hardest thing about website design is the graphics design. Thus, it is worth paying someone to do it, such as Sidekick-design.com. Alternatively, if you simply hate computers, then it is also worth paying a team like Lavier Consulting to design your website. When I created the MedRounds and the University of Iowa EyeRounds.org websites, my abilities in graphic design could only make a basic site. I had content, but lacked functionality and esthetics. Lavier Consulting taught me tricks that increased my understanding and skills of web design that brought me from the minor leagues to the major leagues. You may not need to learn all the advance skills; however, it is still important for you to learn some basics so that you can at least maintain your site and server without depending on a third party.
One of my favorite books is Robert Kiyosaki's, Rich Dad Poor Dad. This book was suggested to me by one of my partners, mentor, and good friend, Dr. Kwon. Kiyosaki states that he is shocked to learn that physicians, lawyers, and other professionals have great financial problems because most do not learn how to management their money. More importantly, however, Kiyosaki emphasizes that if these professionals learn just ONE more skill to add to their arsenal of talents, then their potential for wealth is exponential. In addition to your medical, surgical, or other professional expertise, the skills that will provide individuals with the greatest potential to make an impact in the 21st Century are the skills we will write about in this multi-disciplinary blog about website design, content management systems, and web hosting.
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