Student SPHere 2009-10

I just finished reading Plastic Fantastic, a book by Eugenie Reich on the scientific fraud committed by "physicist" Jan Hendrik Schön.

Reich lays down the timeline of Schön's fraud in meticulous detail - it took three years of interviews and investigation to compile. The book is compelling to read, but the level of detail often slows the story's pace without providing much additional value. A shorter essay version would have been more effective.

Plastic Fantastic was interesting, but not entirely deserving of its (already short) length. To get a worthy synopsis of the incident, you might read this review in American Scientist, and browse the wikipedia article on Jan Schön instead.

Posted at 10:25 PM
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Hey yall,

Thanksgiving is only two days away! I'm so excited about taking a break from school for a few days. It has been an exhausting semester with school and trying to find a job and the break could not come sooner. I'm going to visit some family in Chicago tomorrow and I will be there through Sunday. I'm enjoy going to Chicago because I can sleep in, eat good food, and thoroughly relax before the stretch to Christmas.

A few weeks ago the MHA program participated in a Habitat for Humanity project in St. Paul. We had a blast working all day on a couple of houses. We painted, did lawn work, and laid flooring. I just got some pictures back from the event!

I just started hearing from HealthEast and I'm SO excited to start working with them! I think my start date will be late in June so I will have about a month off before I start a full time job. If anyone has any questions about the fellowship process for the MHA program, I'd be happy to answer them. Just let me know!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amanda

Posted at 8:35 AM
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Turkey day has come early for me this year. My boyfriend, Nick, was given a 16 pound turkey from his his boss, and we cooked it together today. Neither of us knew really what to do with the thing...so we searched the internet for some ideas. So for dinner tonight was a turkey feast for two! It actually came out better than any other turkey I have ever had (usually they are sort of dry and need lots of gravy).
I went with a group of girls this weekend to see the new Twighlight Movie. I prefered the first one, but I still really liked it. I'm not even into the whole 'vampire' thing, its just so romantic!
So not much work for school this week, thankfully! My assignment due tomorrow was finished yesterday morning. Which reminds me, yesterday afternoon I went to a coffee festival in uptown on Saturday...the proceeds went to a food shelf which I thought was really cool. I drank a bit too much coffee though and was jittery for a while. So the way it works is you buy a coffee mug for $9 and walk around to all these vendors and try different coffees, tea, hot chocolate and some snacks.
So that's the news for now. I'm heading to North Dakota with Nick for a real thanksgiving. Hoping the long weekend will allow for lots of rest and some school work as well.
till next time :)

Posted at 8:02 PM
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Hey yall,

This past week I got a fellowship offer from HealthEast Care System! They have four hospitals and 14 clinics in and around St. Paul. I'm so excited about this opportunity! I think it's going to be a really good fit. I entire fellowship process is really exhausting, but I am happy to accept an offer from a place that I really want to be. I think HealthEast has a great track record for really motivating and growing their employees and I'm excited to be part of this organization!

So, the fellowship at HealthEast is a one year paid "internship" where I work on projects and attend Senior Leadership meetings and committee meetings. I am housed out of the long term acute care hospital, Bethesda, in St. Paul. I probably won't start until June. I think they are flexible about the start dates, which is nice because I need a little time to breathe after graduating in May and starting a full time position at HealthEast.

After two months of worrying and applications, I'm excited to sit back and relax. I feel as though I can truly focus on school and my personal life now that I'm not so worried about finding a position after graduation. My classmates are getting fellowship offers and jobs everyday and it's wonderful to see so many people happy that all their hard work in school is really paying off! I'm really proud of my classmates! Congratulations to all of them and I know more offers will continue!

Amanda

Posted at 8:40 AM
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Hello! Now that I am done with my fellowship search, I have a lot more time to catch up with classmates and friends. The weekend of November 7th - 8th, I volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity site in St. Paul with a group of MHA students. The weather was fantastic, so we were able to complete a few outdoor projects including yard work and painting. Later in the day we started flooring on the first floor of the house.

This weekend was also relaxing. On Saturday night, my classmate Amanda and her roommates hosted our class at her apartment for delicious homemade Indian food. On Sunday night, a friend and I went to see Short Fall at The Lab Theater. The ARENA Dance performers were great and I really enjoyed the music! To read a review of the performance, click here.

Posted at 4:29 PM
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Here is a picture from halloween. I am a pilot, my boyfriend Nick, is a pilgrim. It was a great night. Since then I have been working hard in my classes, and at MDH. The IRB for my masters thesis will be submitted this week, so I am excited for that to be approved so I can start collecting data. My second Epidemiology exam is this week, which I am nervous about, but at the same time I think I will do ok. It's a little less math for this one than the last exam. It's not that I mind math, but it seems to freak me out a bit when I have a time limit!
Until next time...sarah

Posted at 9:05 PM
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It's the APHA (American Public Health Association) conference!

I am sitting in the Philadelphia Convention Center surrounded by public health experts, soaking up the knowledge oozing out of every corner. Fortunately for someone who can't get enough of the topic of water issues in global public health, many of the experts are talking about the conference's theme: "Water and Public Health." My 391-page conference program booklet is dotted with blue scribbles indicating a manic planning effort to see all the water-related presentations: "Household water treatment in low-income settings: evidence, experience, and issues in scaling up," Impact of home-based solar water disinfection on child diarrhea in a community-randomized evaluation in Bolivia: Does drinking up result in health up?" "Early warning systems for cholera: Using satellites to improve public health," plus many, many more. In other words, I'm totally dorking out.

Made possible by funding from the SPH Student Senate, I'm really learning a lot here that is directly relevant to courses I'm taking and projects on which I'm working. For example, there have been many talks detailing the intricacies of behavioral drivers of household water treatment in a number of low-income villages. I've read the academic phrases "self-efficacy," "social norms," "perceived threat" in an online public health class, but did not really grasp the usefulness of these taglines in the context in which they were presented. Here, these concepts were expressed in terms of the successfulness of water product interventions. The group, Population Services International presented a case study of a community-based distribution of a chlorine-based point-of-use water treatment intervention. That was jargon-y, sorry, let's try again. So, PSI is an NGO that, among other things, introduces "Safe Water Systems" to areas that need it. The system involves a water treatment strategy called "point of use"--that is, water is treated at the household level. The Safe Water System involves first adding a dilute chlorine solution to water, making sure the water is stored in a safe vessel, and educating the household about safe drinking water and sanitation. Anyway, PSI described the three main behavioral determinants of successfully implementing a Safe Water System in a particular Madagascar community with whom the NGO worked: self-efficacy--do people think that water treatment is possible for them? Social norms--do people view water treatment as something most people do? Threat perception--do people see the risk of diarrheal disease as a real problem? And, after addressing these key behavioral determinants, the Safe Water System program had much more success. So, I learned about social and behavioral public health in a context I can more clearly conceptualize.

I talk about these water systems and ways to measure implementation success each Tuesday evening as part of the Water Treatment and Public Health groups of Engineers Without Borders, so it'll be great to bring back some resources and strategies for the team. [By the way, if you're interested in Engineers Without Borders, come to a meeting and check it out! Tuesday evenings, 6pm, Room 101, Walter Library. It's a very friendly group and public health students are always welcome.] I repeatedly heard these world experts lament that water practices involving behavior change are very difficult to sustain and any intervention or product introduction must be undertaken with a huge amount of awareness and understanding of a community's situation and background. Though this is old news, it's reassuring that the experts are having similar realizations as the little students who are studying such things.

I recently went to a session on careers in global health, which was somewhat useful. The panelists were from USAID, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a man with a Paul Farmer-esque background. Mostly, the advice centered on "expect the unexpected!" "be flexible!" and "network network network!" Good advice indeed, but many attendees sounded a bit exasperated at the prospect of finding a global health job in a not-so-great economic time. The giant, looming metaphorical clock counting down to graduation in May is ticking louder every day...

I tuned in for two talks given by global infectious disease guru Dr. Rita Colwell who was speaking on her latest cholera work. And, since SPH classmate Nicole and I happen to be writing papers about cholera for a class, we asked Dr. Colwell a few questions after her talk. She was nice, encouraging, and helpful; it was quite awesome to meet her.

Time to stop typing and get back to conference-ing!

A classic Philadelphia icon in Love Park

Posted at 12:31 AM
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This weekend was unbelievable weather-wise. I've spent a few decades in Minnesota and I've never seen a streak of 60 degree days this far into the fall. No complaints from me. I was delighted to take off my sweater, my other sweater, my scarf, and my coat to walk through the unseasonably, warm day after a long week on Friday.

SPH seems to draw an extremely diverse group of students - people of all ages, backgrounds, and experience with one thing in common...an interest in learning. Friday evening was full of pleasant surprises. I had planned to catch a movie in the theater or at home. My movie date invited me to a party instead.

Mostly, it was a bunch of Public Health and graduate school students like myself. Considering the number of countries represented, it seems like there would be little else we'd have in common. Don hosted people from Germany, Nigeria, Uraguay, China, Korea, Norway....I'd list more but I can't remember all the faces and places that went with them.

The beauty of being around students is the wealth of inquiring minds. It was a great evening. I ran into an old friend from my first year and spent time with a new one. Never tried the punch, but considering the good will in the room, it must have been a good mix.

Posted at 9:14 PM
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Halloween weekend was a lot of fun! Midterms were over and it was time to celebrate. On Friday night, my friend Courtney and I dressed up as Roller Derby girls and went to the annual MHA Halloween party. The first year MHA class put on a great party. The next morning I got up early and ran the Monster Dash ½ Marathon. Although it was a little windy, the weather was pretty good for running. I wasn't able to adhere to a strict training schedule with school, work, and fellowship interviews, but I was able to finish the race running! It was entertaining to watch runners in their costumes - my favorite was the 2-man Jamaican bobsled team! I am now looking for a fun ½ marathon in the spring to keep me motivated during long Minnesota winter.

Posted at 10:18 AM
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Seems like the sun's come out again for a few days to tease me through the last bit of midterm season. I've only got two to go but I will be happy to move on to final projects soon. I did take a brief break from my studies last week to visit one of the fairs held in Coffman Union. The multicultural group on campus sponsored a scholarship fair.

I was expecting mainly scholarship opportunities for undergraduates but was pleased to come across a few opportunities for graduate students as well. For example, the DOVE and several travel grants were aimed at students in various graduate programs.

Coffman Union almost seems like the kind of place where you could just happen across a worthwhile activity every other day of the week. Internship and job fairs are held there a couple of times a year. On Saturday, for example, there was a Trick or Treat Food Drive that used the Coffman as a meeting place before heading out.

Anyway, here I go back to midterms. Shouldn't blog too long according to CNN. ....Wish me luck!

Posted at 11:55 AM
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Midterms are over, and on to the final stretch! At least for this semester :)

Last weekend was halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays. I dressed up as a pilot and went out in downtown Minneapolis with friends. The plan was to take a cab home, but there were a lot more people looking to cabs at the end of the night than available....so my boyfriend and I started walking in the direction of my appartment. We never got a cab, and ended up walking over two miles to get home! Despite the long walk, the night was overall a great time. I love looking at all the costumes, and found there were a few people dressed up as a pig with a surgical mask...some had a sign that said h1n1. That was pretty cool. I will try to post a few pics soon.

My job at MDH has been exciting with all the activity surrounding h1n1. I have spend some time answering calls on the public H1N1 hotline. It's so unfortunate that there are so many people at risk for complications that are not able to get the vaccine yet.

My master's thesis is coming along. I am almost done with the IRB and can't wait to finally start collecting some data. My project is an analysis of a collaborative of organizations that provide services to youth in Northern Minneapolis. I'm doing what's called a 'social network analysis' to evaluate the relationships between the different organizations involved in the collaborative.

The plan for the next week is to try to get ahead in my school work so I can get some sleep durring the week. I've taken on a lot this semester, but doing work that I love makes it worthwhile. Oh, I've also joined the committee to plan the all school winter party, so I am excited to do that!

Until next time, Sarah

Posted at 11:13 AM
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Hey yall!

So much has been going on lately! Last week was the halfway point for the semester. Things are just flying by! Now that I'm in my second year, I just finished health economics and now I'm starting managed care. It's very interesting, but we have class really late sometimes. I am on campus on Tuesday from 8am until 9pm.

The MHA classes hosted a joint Halloween party this past weekend! It was a lot of fun! I really haven't taken much of an opportunity to hang out with the first years, but I like them a lot! Our class is really close and the new class seems as though they are the same way. That's something I like about the MHA classes, because there are only 30 or 35 of us, we get really close the first year and we just have a nice and healthy friendship the second year. It's a great support system and I know will be a great network when I graduate!

Anyway, the Halloween party was a lot of fun! We're also having a joint Thanksgiving in a few weeks that I'm really looking forward to. After that, it's just a race to the holiday break and then I will fly home to Texas for a few weeks. I'm looking forward to going home when it's really snowy and cold here in December.

Amanda

Posted at 9:24 AM
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Wired News recently ran an article exploring some of the public's reaction to vaccination programs. This sentence captures much of the problem:

"But researchers, alas, can't respond with the same forceful certainty that the doubters are able to deploy -- not if they're going to follow the rules of science. Those tenets allow them to claim only that there is no evidence of a link between autism and vaccines. But that phrasing -- what sounds like equivocation -- is just enough to allow doubts to not only remain but to fester."

The full article is here, and is worth a read.

Of course, as this image from the 1950s shows, it's not like fear-mongering over such initiatives is a recent development:

Posted at 7:12 PM
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Last weekend I drove down to Chicago to visit some college friends doing their grad programs there. We went to a showing of "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind," a theater showing of 30 2-minute plays in 60 minutes. It was funny in some ways, disappointing in others. The nature of the show means that the quality is pretty variable, so it might be worth checking out again.
Driving in Chicago, though, is the worst. I think that drivers in the twin cities are pokey, but in Chicago they're just bad. Not even 'skillfully aggressive,' just haphazard, which makes already congested traffic even worse.

The half-semester environmental health course I was taking finished up last Wednesday, which frees up a little more time, as final projects in other courses begin to be assigned. I'm a little worried that free time will become procrastination time, but I'm pretty sure there's enough to keep me occupied.

The MRSA genomics study is finally (no really!) about to start, after some more delays. Children's Hospital in Minneapolis is in the middle of transitioning to a new ER location, so we are waiting until that is complete. The new ER looks really nice; I'm a bit nervous about starting, though. I've never worked in patient environment before.

Also, I'm now an uncle! Yesterday my sister-in-law gave birth to a baby boy! I'm hoping to drive down to see them next week; can't wait to meet my nephew!

Posted at 11:00 AM
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Last weekend, my friend Nicole was in town for a wedding. Nicole and I met while she was an Epidemiology student at the University of Minnesota. She is now an Epidemiology fellow at the New Mexico Department of Health where she works on important chronic disease initiatives. We were able to hang out and catch up. She is currently starting the process of applying to doctoral programs in Epidemiology.

I finished off an extremely busy week by defending my MPH thesis. Although it was a tough defense, I passed with no revisions! This week I have to submit a final copy to my major coordinator. It feels great to be done with the MPH master's project component!

This week is much more relaxed. I plan to catch up on homework and hang out with friends.

Posted at 8:36 PM
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