Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Off Topic: Blogger Meet-Up Report, or, I Also Cannot Be Allowed in Public
Last night, in order to demonstrate that I do things aside from blogging and librarianship, I went to Wolfy's for a party of, uh, lots of bloggers. Check out links below for Nashville bloggers on non-health topics.
Kat graciously picked up me and B and drove us to the event, and dropped me off at the Mothership afterward. Big thanks to Kat!
I talked to Amanda about librarianship, although I'm not sure I sold her on it. I had just asked Kat if she would "bring me, like, 100 meatballs." Uh, that was the beverage talking. Kat brought me meatballs, proving again how sweet she is. As Amanda and I talked, I silently wondered if she would notice if I ate them with my hands.
Big Orange Michael was neither as big nor as orange as I had imagined, although he did sport a pen that plays Rocky Top (See it sticking out of the pink shirt from earlier in the day).
I finally met the Knucklehead, and assured him that, should I find that disaster had befallen the Mothership in his absence, I would simply duct tape it and go home. I'm helpful that way.
As for the guest of honor, I met Amanda of Rocketboom fame, and gave the most inarticulate answer possible when asked about my blog. Apparently tiny, blonde, pixie-like girls with a little 'net fame don't inspire me to be an eloquent extemporaneous speaker. Who knew?
I finally met the Kleinheider in person (his germanic people are from Missouri, as are the husband's). I couldn't resist a little ribbing about the "cell phone" incident, which he handled appropriately by asking me, "Do you want to touch it?" Despite this, he's very gracious in person, and subtly and deftly shifted Brittney's drink out of view when the camera pointed her way. I'm still working on whether I have any "conservative views" to tell him about; so far it's a bust, AC.
Some yahoo who had just been introduced to me sarcastically said something along the lines of "Creative name, there" regarding my blog name. Hey, it's about women's health news. For your convenience, here are some alternate options:
Blog naming, librarian-style: Leveraging interactive Web 2.0 strategies for distributed subject-specific consumer health information provision
Blog naming, blogger-style (now with options): 1)LadyParts Shakedown; 2)Overheard in My Junk; 3) Uteriblog; 4)Random Rhythmic Words with No Relation to the General Theme.
That is all. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Kat graciously picked up me and B and drove us to the event, and dropped me off at the Mothership afterward. Big thanks to Kat!
I talked to Amanda about librarianship, although I'm not sure I sold her on it. I had just asked Kat if she would "bring me, like, 100 meatballs." Uh, that was the beverage talking. Kat brought me meatballs, proving again how sweet she is. As Amanda and I talked, I silently wondered if she would notice if I ate them with my hands.
Big Orange Michael was neither as big nor as orange as I had imagined, although he did sport a pen that plays Rocky Top (See it sticking out of the pink shirt from earlier in the day).
I finally met the Knucklehead, and assured him that, should I find that disaster had befallen the Mothership in his absence, I would simply duct tape it and go home. I'm helpful that way.
As for the guest of honor, I met Amanda of Rocketboom fame, and gave the most inarticulate answer possible when asked about my blog. Apparently tiny, blonde, pixie-like girls with a little 'net fame don't inspire me to be an eloquent extemporaneous speaker. Who knew?
I finally met the Kleinheider in person (his germanic people are from Missouri, as are the husband's). I couldn't resist a little ribbing about the "cell phone" incident, which he handled appropriately by asking me, "Do you want to touch it?" Despite this, he's very gracious in person, and subtly and deftly shifted Brittney's drink out of view when the camera pointed her way. I'm still working on whether I have any "conservative views" to tell him about; so far it's a bust, AC.
Some yahoo who had just been introduced to me sarcastically said something along the lines of "Creative name, there" regarding my blog name. Hey, it's about women's health news. For your convenience, here are some alternate options:
That is all. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Text of the Pregnant Women Support Act Available
This bill (HR 6145) was introduced in the House last week, but the text just became available on the Thomas site - read it here. More analysis when I get a chance to wade through this lengthy proposal.
Sections, giving you a basic idea of what it covers, include:
TITLE I--COLLECTING AND REPORTING ABORTION SURVEILLANCE DATA
TITLE II--DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR ABORTION SERVICES
TITLE III--MEDICAID AND SCHIP COVERAGE OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND UNBORN CHILDREN
TITLE IV--HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEWBORNS
TITLE V--INCREASING WOMEN'S KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR PREGNANCY
TITLE VI--SERVICES REGARDING POSITIVE TEST DIAGNOSIS OF DOWN SYNDROME OR OTHER PRENATALLY DIAGNOSED CONDITIONS
TITLE VII--IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST PREGNANT WOMEN
TITLE VIII--PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
TITLE IX--SUPPORT FOR PREGNANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS
TITLE X--SUPPORT FOR PREGNANT AND PARENTING TEENS
TITLE XI--FEDERALLY-FUNDED HOMES FOR PREGNANT AND PARENTING WOMEN; ADOPTION COUNSELING; PARENTING SKILLS
TITLE XII--EXPANSION OF ADOPTION CREDIT AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
TITLE XIII--PROVIDING SUPPORT TO NEW PARENTS
(I'll link these up, add tags, etc. later)
Sections, giving you a basic idea of what it covers, include:
(I'll link these up, add tags, etc. later)
Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot? - menwithcramps.com
This site may well be a joke, but I wanted to point out the strangeness of it. Something to consider when you see ads for clinical trials.
Update: Now that there is a companion site with videos, it's clear that this is a joke. The M&I site (separate) is currently still as described here, and the lesson about examining the legitimacy of ads for clinical trials stands.
Browsing through the Nashville Scene last night, I found an ad recruiting men into studies of "Cyclical Non-Uterine Dysmenorrhea," leading to the website menwithcramps.com [Note: At the time of the original post, this site led here, the "MacInnes and Porritt Institute" site, not to the current site with videos]. This struck me as odd, because in medical terminology, dysmenorrhea very specifically means painful menstruation. The second odd bit is that "cyclical non-uterine dysmenorrhea" does not seem to be a "real" term, and a Google search turned it up solely on the website of the MacInnes and Porritt Institute (the menwithcramps people). The site goes on to call the condition "male menstrual cramps," and the call for study volunteers states:
"We are very proud and excited to welcome Dr. Gerhardt Fardel as the MacInnes and Porritt "Alice MacInnes Visiting Fellow" for the period beginning August 2006. Fardel's field research seeking alternative methods to the Heimlich Maneuver is now complete and his work is singularly focused on finding a treatment and cure for Cyclical Non-Uterine Dysmenorrhea (CNUD), commonly called Male Menstrual Cramps. Dr. Fardel has conducted an enviable body of research over his distinguished career. He has posed over a thousand new hypotheses and theorems resulting in over 100 clinical studies..."
Well, a PubMed search for the author Fardel G turned up 10 results, primarily representing an infectious disease researcher working in France; it's not clear that this is the same Fardel.
"Over his own scientific career, Dr. Gerhardt Fardel has endeavored to avoid the great corrupting influences of fame, choosing to work only on under-reported projects, and managing to never attract financial success or professional notoriety of any kind. This has been his preference."
Um, okay. This is unusual because most scientists do their work with the intent of eventually having it peer-reviewed and published in order to share their findings. Given that a PubMed search for articles published in the last 1 year (which wouldn't even represent all of the health-related research published in a year) turned up 680,408 results, publishing a couple of papers on your research would hardly automatically make you susceptible to "corrupting influences of fame." The lack of published articles seems to contradict the website's claim that "Gerhardt Fardel is also a scientist of some note in certain scientific circles."
Where are they?
"We're Here to Stay
The MacInnes and Porritt Institute is housed in a beautiful landmark building just off the main commercial district located near the new downtown research park in a formerly unincorporated development zone. We welcome your visits."
That's incredibly vague. No other location information is available on the site. A WHOIS search turns up the following information for the domain registration; the PO Box address seems to belong to Network Solutions, providing no additional information about the Institute's location:
MacInnes and Porritt Institute
gv8ef6zd8bg@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: MENWITHCRAMPS.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780
You can't actually volunteer for a study:
According to the site, "As of August 30, 2006, our study has been closed. Participants have been selected from the pool of volunteers." So why are they advertising in a late September issue of The Scene? The lack of solid information about where studies are conducted, who oversees them, and other details (such as contact information) is also troublesome. If any of you have additional information on this, I'd love to hear about it.
The terminology just bothers me - you can't have "Male Menstrual Cramps," because males don't menstruate. Males can have pelvic pain, but it's misleading to label it menstrual, and I have trouble with anyone who's starting a study from a false premise.
Questions to ask before consenting to be part of a clinical trial (provided by the FDA):
* What is the study trying to find out?
* What kinds of test and exams will I have to take while I'm in the study? How much time do these take? What is involved in each test?
* How often does the study require me to go to the doctor or clinic?
* Will I be hospitalized? If so, how often and for how long?
* What are the costs to me? Will my health insurance pay for it?
* What follow-up will there be?
* What will happen at the end of the study?
* What are my other treatment choices? How do they compare with the treatment being studied?
* What side effects can I expect from the treatment being tested? How do they compare with side effects of standard treatment?
* How long will the study last?
Technorati Tags: clinical research; MacInnes and Porritt Institute
MeSH Tags: Clinical Trials; Dysmenorrhea; Ethics, Research; Pelvic Pain
whiskey-tango-foxtrot
Update: Now that there is a companion site with videos, it's clear that this is a joke. The M&I site (separate) is currently still as described here, and the lesson about examining the legitimacy of ads for clinical trials stands.
Browsing through the Nashville Scene last night, I found an ad recruiting men into studies of "Cyclical Non-Uterine Dysmenorrhea," leading to the website menwithcramps.com [Note: At the time of the original post, this site led here, the "MacInnes and Porritt Institute" site, not to the current site with videos]. This struck me as odd, because in medical terminology, dysmenorrhea very specifically means painful menstruation. The second odd bit is that "cyclical non-uterine dysmenorrhea" does not seem to be a "real" term, and a Google search turned it up solely on the website of the MacInnes and Porritt Institute (the menwithcramps people). The site goes on to call the condition "male menstrual cramps," and the call for study volunteers states:
Do you experience monthly cramping and pain in the lower abdomen and upper groin?Other oddities from the site:
Do these cramps interfere with work, sports, parenting, or fun?
Do you have monthly gas-like pain with no associated "release?"
You may have Male Cyclical Non-Uterine Dysmenorrhea, or "Male Menstrual Cramps." If so, you may be eligible to participate in a Phase I Clinical Research Study to evaluate new progressive treatments for this disorder. Qualified male volunteers will receive study-related care at no cost. Your identity and information will be held in the strictest confidence whenever possible.*
Well, a PubMed search for the author Fardel G turned up 10 results, primarily representing an infectious disease researcher working in France; it's not clear that this is the same Fardel.
Um, okay. This is unusual because most scientists do their work with the intent of eventually having it peer-reviewed and published in order to share their findings. Given that a PubMed search for articles published in the last 1 year (which wouldn't even represent all of the health-related research published in a year) turned up 680,408 results, publishing a couple of papers on your research would hardly automatically make you susceptible to "corrupting influences of fame." The lack of published articles seems to contradict the website's claim that "Gerhardt Fardel is also a scientist of some note in certain scientific circles."
"We're Here to Stay
The MacInnes and Porritt Institute is housed in a beautiful landmark building just off the main commercial district located near the new downtown research park in a formerly unincorporated development zone. We welcome your visits."
That's incredibly vague. No other location information is available on the site. A WHOIS search turns up the following information for the domain registration; the PO Box address seems to belong to Network Solutions, providing no additional information about the Institute's location:
MacInnes and Porritt Institute
gv8ef6zd8bg@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: MENWITHCRAMPS.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780
According to the site, "As of August 30, 2006, our study has been closed. Participants have been selected from the pool of volunteers." So why are they advertising in a late September issue of The Scene? The lack of solid information about where studies are conducted, who oversees them, and other details (such as contact information) is also troublesome. If any of you have additional information on this, I'd love to hear about it.
The terminology just bothers me - you can't have "Male Menstrual Cramps," because males don't menstruate. Males can have pelvic pain, but it's misleading to label it menstrual, and I have trouble with anyone who's starting a study from a false premise.
Questions to ask before consenting to be part of a clinical trial (provided by the FDA):
* What is the study trying to find out?
* What kinds of test and exams will I have to take while I'm in the study? How much time do these take? What is involved in each test?
* How often does the study require me to go to the doctor or clinic?
* Will I be hospitalized? If so, how often and for how long?
* What are the costs to me? Will my health insurance pay for it?
* What follow-up will there be?
* What will happen at the end of the study?
* What are my other treatment choices? How do they compare with the treatment being studied?
* What side effects can I expect from the treatment being tested? How do they compare with side effects of standard treatment?
* How long will the study last?
Technorati Tags: clinical research; MacInnes and Porritt Institute
MeSH Tags: Clinical Trials; Dysmenorrhea; Ethics, Research; Pelvic Pain
whiskey-tango-foxtrot
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Arrrrrggggghhhh!!!!
I'm so incredibly frustrated!
I've got a lot of shit going on in my personal life. A lot I so seriously don't want to document, some I do but can't yet, and some that I want to forget. So needless to say I'm tired, cranky and stressed to the max.
Then I get this JACKASS at work who decides he wants to pick a fight with me. These are seriously the days that I HATE being a working mom. Wouldn't it just be easier to stay at home and fight with my own children than dealing with other children in the work environment (children of the 28 year old variety?)
Last Friday, he was being disrespectful to our supervisor in front of all of us. Then he decided to go back and bring ME into his issues. Saying crap about me...and then said that I needed to go home and "learn some things from Chuck". Um, excuse me? I need to learn something from "my man"? Nope, don't think that's gonna fly with me. I am not below anyone because I am a woman. And that was completely disrespectful to even bring my husband's name into a nasty situation.
So then last night, he comes up here to talk to me about it. I told my super that I couldn't deal with it because I am honestly EXHAUSTED, physically and mentally. I honestly could not handle one more thing...nor tonight because of other events.
He has now taken that as a personal attack on him. I'm causing HIM stress. I'm causing HIM anxiety. Fucking please. Shut up and be an adult. I didn't say I wouldn't talk to you just that I didn't want to tonight!!! So now he's posting "rules" outside his cubicle that he feels I've broken, highlighting them and starring them. Talk about freaking hostile. I'm pissed. I so want to be petty and bitchy and retaliate but considering that I'm in a pseudo-supervisory role I can't and won't do that.
Too bad he couldn't be that professional as well.
I've got a lot of shit going on in my personal life. A lot I so seriously don't want to document, some I do but can't yet, and some that I want to forget. So needless to say I'm tired, cranky and stressed to the max.
Then I get this JACKASS at work who decides he wants to pick a fight with me. These are seriously the days that I HATE being a working mom. Wouldn't it just be easier to stay at home and fight with my own children than dealing with other children in the work environment (children of the 28 year old variety?)
Last Friday, he was being disrespectful to our supervisor in front of all of us. Then he decided to go back and bring ME into his issues. Saying crap about me...and then said that I needed to go home and "learn some things from Chuck". Um, excuse me? I need to learn something from "my man"? Nope, don't think that's gonna fly with me. I am not below anyone because I am a woman. And that was completely disrespectful to even bring my husband's name into a nasty situation.
So then last night, he comes up here to talk to me about it. I told my super that I couldn't deal with it because I am honestly EXHAUSTED, physically and mentally. I honestly could not handle one more thing...nor tonight because of other events.
He has now taken that as a personal attack on him. I'm causing HIM stress. I'm causing HIM anxiety. Fucking please. Shut up and be an adult. I didn't say I wouldn't talk to you just that I didn't want to tonight!!! So now he's posting "rules" outside his cubicle that he feels I've broken, highlighting them and starring them. Talk about freaking hostile. I'm pissed. I so want to be petty and bitchy and retaliate but considering that I'm in a pseudo-supervisory role I can't and won't do that.
Too bad he couldn't be that professional as well.
More Bans on Photography and Videotaping During Labor and Delivery
Via Kevin, MD, Florida Hospital is banning cameras in its labor and delivery rooms. According to one Hospital representative, "'You don't go into the operating room and take pictures of surgical procedures,' said Pat DuRant, Florida Hospital's assistant vice president of women's and medical-surgical services."
Except, sometimes you do, such as in this Florida Hospital surgical video, "Advanced Technique for Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy," broadcast and archived via MedlinePlus's selection of surgical procedure videos (which include operative videos provided by numerous hospitals nationwide).
From the article:
MeSH Tags: Delivery Rooms; Motion Pictures OR Photography; Parturition
Except, sometimes you do, such as in this Florida Hospital surgical video, "Advanced Technique for Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy," broadcast and archived via MedlinePlus's selection of surgical procedure videos (which include operative videos provided by numerous hospitals nationwide).
From the article:
Others have responded that the decision is based on liability worries, rather than real patient care concerns.Technorati Tags: birth; Florida Hospital; hypocrisy
Representatives of the Central Florida Birth Network, an association of midwives, doulas and birth educators, don't buy arguments that cameras compromise safety by distracting staffers.
"If as long as they ahead of time say, 'This is your videotaping area; stay over here in this area,' I don't see why there should be a problem with it," said Sonia Eittson, co-chair of the group.
[snip]
"Instead of being worried about patient care, they're worried about somebody screwing up and it being caught on film," she said.
MeSH Tags: Delivery Rooms; Motion Pictures OR Photography; Parturition
100 Best Companies for Working Mothers
Working Mother has released its annual list of the "family friendliest" companies in America. The methodology for the results indicates that the listed companies were chosen from among those that completed extensive applications, which "includes detailed questions about the workforce, compensation, child-care and flexibility programs, leave policies and more. The application checks the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them...Seven areas are measured and scored: workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs and company culture."
The WM site allows you to browse by name, search by state, browse by industry, and other options. However, for an easier to browse version of the complete list, see this compilation in USA Today.
Technorati Tags: best companies; Working Mother
MeSH Tags: Job Satisfaction; Parents; Women, Working; Workplace
[Note to the librarians: MeSH includes a term for working women, but no equivalent term for working men or working parents]
The WM site allows you to browse by name, search by state, browse by industry, and other options. However, for an easier to browse version of the complete list, see this compilation in USA Today.
Technorati Tags: best companies; Working Mother
MeSH Tags: Job Satisfaction; Parents; Women, Working; Workplace
[Note to the librarians: MeSH includes a term for working women, but no equivalent term for working men or working parents]
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