Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 7, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2015 I'm in week 5 of Health Policy.....As I suspected week 1, this class is just me turning over a couple grand and a weekly paper/web post. No interaction required at all. The instructor went to Ethiopia for a couple weeks last month and told us she may have issues with internet access. As long as the paper meets the technical requirements you get all the points. Yes, I am indeed learning something by compiling information into a paper, but i am learning it on my own. Again, I know this is distance learning, but I have no respect for an instructor who does zero actual teaching and gets paid for it.....Well that's my little rant about that. My other classes have not been like this. So, not giving up on the program. I think you will find most of the instructors a lot more interactive with the students. I only had that experience once. I later took another course with the same instructor and he had gone 180 degrees on his teaching style. I am guessing the student evals were taken seriously....:) The most interactive instructors(outside of SI) I have had in the program were Dr Danielsen for medical writing and Dr Ewing for Comparative international health systems. Both had required real time chats with students. Dr. Danielsen also had a weekly mini video lecture he recorded on the topic of the week for us to view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 7, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2015 One of my practicum summative committee members wants to have my paper and PowerPoint translated into French and Creole for distribution to Haitian physicians and nurses.They have also(independently) been in touch with one of the docs who wrote several important papers on my topic and who I cite in my practicum report. they want me to get in touch with him to try to coordinate our efforts in Haiti. Kinda cool....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 16, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted February 16, 2015 Chapter 4 of the practicum turned in. I have 1/2 of chapter 5 and 35 pages in the PowerPoint so far. Getting there. actually really enjoying creating the PowerPoint as it is a "putting it all together" type of exercise, which should improve the health of the patients at the clinic in Haiti I volunteer at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 26, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted February 26, 2015 ch 2 needs a few minor tweaks. ch 3 and 4 accepted without revision. Ch 5 and powerpoint due sunday. Almost done! The pace of the practicum class really isn't too bad. much easier than the internship or the I+P prep course, at least in my experience so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 28, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted February 28, 2015 Just turned in Ch 5 , powerpoint, reference list, and zipfile of evidence based articles. the end is in sight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 11, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted March 11, 2015 Part 5 accepted with 1 minor grammatical change. Power point accepted without changes. Inserted power point slides into body of the report today. final review tomorrow then I turn it in, and if accepted in final form I just need to post a copy to the DHS student site and I'm done with the practicum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 kilimanjaro is still waiting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 11, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted March 11, 2015 kilimanjaro is still waiting. 2 more classes to go then we will talk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 14, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted March 14, 2015 Part 5 accepted with 1 minor grammatical change. Power point accepted without changes. Inserted power point slides into body of the report today. final review tomorrow then I turn it in, and if accepted in final form I just need to post a copy to the DHS student site and I'm done with the practicum. Did my final proofreading today and found a few more minor grammatical issues, which I fixed. 39 page paper + 37 page PowerPoint done. If accepted in final form I am basically done with the course. Emedpa DHS(candidate) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 E, if you need a translator I have a Naval friend who grew up in Haiti and has served as a written and spoken translator for the UN for both languages. His medical background is in Immunohematology so if it is medical heavy he will be capable of handling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 14, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted March 14, 2015 E, if you need a translator I have a Naval friend who grew up in Haiti and has served as a written and spoken translator for the UN for both languages. His medical background is in Immunohematology so if it is medical heavy he will be capable of handling it. The group I go with hires local high school teachers as translators and pays them $5/hr, which is typically more than they make in a day. around 75% of Haitians live on less than $2/day and arond 50% live on less than $1/day. I always tip very well in Haiti. The tip on a few drinks is often more than folks make all week...I always have the same translator and we keep in touch between missions. I always try to bring him something helpful for his house(which is a single room 20 feet x 10 feet and has 1 electrical outlet and no plumbing). I leave my scrubs with him after the mission and bring him painting supplies, etc from the states (he sells paintings on the side and is quite good). Last time I was in Haiti we stayed at one of the nicest places in Port au prince for one night before we could fly out to our mission site.. Place has a pool with a nice bar, big TV, etc. Rooms are air-conditioned. The owner is a friend of some folks I go with. She drives a land rover and pays her staff $2/day. These folks are top notch and happy to have the job. The wait staff is attentive. The entire staff is great. Still, 2 bucks/day seems very unfair so 25%+ tips across the board seems reasonable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I can appreciate the situation. I have close friends than have been involved in missions their for the past ten years or so and had the opportunity to serve on the USNS Comfort after the earthquake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 3, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 3, 2015 Practicum report and power point accepted today by my applied research project professor. Doctoral analysis next term, then global health issues in the summer and I am done. My power point is being presented to several organizations in Haiti. They will likely adopt my recommendations, leading to improved health outcomes for several thousand people there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryd Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 emedpa congrats on almost getting done..its pretty cool...I am still trying to figure out the advantage of this. Thou sounds really cool to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 3, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 3, 2015 advantages: 1. full professor status possible with tenure if in teaching 2. easier to get hired to many jobs that respect highest degree both in the private and public/govt sectors. some(govt) pay based on highest degree. 3. Compete on even ground vs a DNP for a job. many HR folks only understand highest degree. 4. A doctorate opens lots of doors when working internationally. I was asked to be medical director of a hospital in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, my family situation is not conducive to this now 5. A doctorate opens lots of doors in administration and management ( I have been asked to be on 3 health care boards recently due to my doctoral work, said yes to all 3) 6. easier to do research and be primary investigator, get grants, etc with a doctorate. check on this board for posts by PhysAssist. he is a friend of mine with a DHSc who does 50% research 50% clinical at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharpieaccent Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 advantages: 1. full professor status possible with tenure if in teaching 2. easier to get hired to many jobs that respect highest degree both in the private and public/govt sectors. some(govt) pay based on highest degree. 3. Compete on even ground vs a DNP for a job. many HR folks only understand highest degree. 4. A doctorate opens lots of doors when working internationally. I was asked to be medical director of a hospital in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, my family situation is not conducive to this now 5. A doctorate opens lots of doors in administration and management ( I have been asked to be on 3 health care boards recently due to my doctoral work, said yes to all 3) 6. easier to do research and be primary investigator, get grants, etc with a doctorate. check on this board for posts by PhysAssist. he is a friend of mine with a DHSc who does 50% research 50% clinical at this point. that is wonderful...could you also hold a position at WHO or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 3, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 3, 2015 yup, WHO, CDC, etc have both post-doc fellowships and jobs for folks with doctoral level global health education. unfortunately, most of those jobs pay about 1/3 what I make now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 6, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 6, 2015 Starting the Doctoral analysis course today. 40 page paper, 12 weeks. Looks a little daunting. Although it is not a research paper per se and more of a descriptive analysis, that is a lot to write in 1 term. My practicum project of about the same length was completed over the course of a year. There is a nice outline though, so I'm sure I can do what needs to be done to finish this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 6, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 6, 2015 Starting the Doctoral analysis course today. 40 page paper, 12 weeks. Looks a little daunting. Although it is not a research paper per se and more of a descriptive analysis, that is a lot to write in 1 term. My practicum project of about the same length was completed over the course of a year. There is a nice outline though, so I'm sure I can do what needs to be done to finish this. outline written, 9 pages. I think this paper will write itself. I have been keeping notes throughout the program in preparation for this paper and would recommend others do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primadonna22274 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 E, 40 pages will flow onto the screen before you know it. I just wrote a HRSA grant for geriatric funding for my FM residency program. All told did it in a couple of golden weekends and a dedicated 10 days when the hospital gave us blessing to pursue it...the deadline was in 11 days I think lol. Pretty much had come off my EM rotation to get it done (thank goodness for flexible scheduling, and 9 yr of EM experience stood for something thankfully). Before I knew it I had 37 pages and had to start trimming ruthlessly as there was a 65 page limit with attachments, letters of support etc. You can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 8, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 8, 2015 I'm off to a good start. outline now 12 pages with 2.5 solid pages written of section1. I am going to write the abstract and introduction last. I need to do 6 polished pages/week to have the first draft done by week 8 as I am going to aapa in sf at the end of week 7 and likely will not be able to get any work done there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 14, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 14, 2015 beginning of week 2. rough version of section 1 done and first course critique for section 2. nine solid pages so far. this assignment really does write itself due to the excellent outline provided. a few students told me they completed this assignment within just a few weeks. I prefer to pace myself and write for an hr or 2 per day, 6 days/week and use the whole term to produce a quality paper, which I have put appropriate thought and effort into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 22, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 22, 2015 just registered for my final course in the program. don't know if I have mentioned this before for any other folks considering this, but it is to your advantage to register very early to assure you get the courses you want, especially for the summer institute. many of these courses are limited to 20 students or so and if you only need 1-2 courses or a specific SI course and you register late you may find it full and have to wait a term or 2 to take it. This is especially true for the global health option.some of those courses are only given once or twice/year. definitely do most if not all of your core 1 and electives before signing up for a core 2 class. they are degrees of magnitude harder and require significantly more work, often with 25+ page papers. My epidemiology course (core 2) has been the most difficult single-term course in the program to date with a final paper 32 pages long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryd Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Hey E...whats your opinion on DrPh or a Phd? Is there a reason you went for DHSc instead of the above two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 22, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted April 22, 2015 DrPH is more of a management degree. Most PhD programs are more theoretical. the DHSc requires an applied research project after foundation coursework in epidemiology, biostats,global health policy, comparative international health systems, etc. It was (and is) pretty much exactly what I was looking for with regards to advanced training in global health. If I designed the program I would tweak it just a little bit to allow dual degrees like DHSc/MPH or maybe allow an emphasis in tropical or disaster medicine as well. these are some of the things I am mentioning in my current paper for the doctoral analysis course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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