Archives
The Student-As-a-Customer Model Will Be the End of Academia
Posted on March 20, 2019
More and more colleges and universities are treating students as customers, showing them how to push a button or fill in a formula without teaching them how to think and solve problems. I might be old school, but I’d rather train and mentor my future colleagues instead of just showing students how to push a button.
The School Subjects You Need to Know
Posted on March 9, 2019
What is the most basic thing a society needs to thrive? What does my daughter need to be successful? As it turns out, it’s not that difficult to have a well trained and well educated society. You just need good schools.
Biostatistics By Hand? Yes, Please!
Posted on February 8, 2019
When I was studying medical technology, my professors and mentors emphasized the need to learn to do by hand all of the procedures that automated instruments did. Those instruments, which are veritable robots, can do a complete cell count in a few minutes. Doing a complete cell count by hand takes at least an hour […]
Epidemiology for Non-Epidemiologists?
Posted on November 22, 2018
Epidemiology is the basis for much of the work that goes into public health. From the research that gives us the evidence we need to conduct good public health policy, to the work that is done investigating outbreaks, we use epidemiology to help us understand what we are seeing. It’s a scientific branch (or a […]
R Programming and the New Epidemiologists
Posted on August 11, 2018 3 Comments
When I started working as an epidemiologist at a state health department, one of the most often used tools was the Microsoft Office Suite of programs. I used Excel for data analysis and visualization, Access to create and manage databases, Power Point to create presentations, and Word to create reports. Nevertheless, I’ve always been an […]
A Day of Days
Posted on July 2, 2018 8 Comments
I did it. I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation last Wednesday and became a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). It was the culmination of five years of learning, working, and balancing a lot of aspects of my life. I must be honest that I felt incredibly overwhelmed at times. There were several moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and walk away.
The Epi Ren Rises, Again
Posted on June 27, 2018 1 Comment
As you are reading this, I am in the middle of defending my doctoral dissertation. (I’m scheduling this post ahead of time. So, no, I’m not blogging while I’m taking the exam, silly.) The defense of the dissertation is the conclusion of five years of work on something that began as a crazy idea, became […]
How Do Anti-Vaccine Advocates React to a Vaccine Bill in New Jersey? Hint: Not Very Well
Posted on April 6, 2018
I won’t bore you with the details because the video is quite good on its own. Basically, NJ legislators in a committee voted to advance a bill for a vote. The bill would require parents seeking a vaccine exemption for attending school to do one of several things. They can get a physician to write […]
What Would a Structured Public Health Practitioner Education Look Like?
Posted on March 22, 2018
In the United States, if you want to become a physician, there is a structured way of going about it. You go to college to get an undergrad degree, preferably in some science field. From there, you apply to medical school after taking the MCAT. Once you get into a medical school, you do four […]
The “Militarization” of the Johns Hopkins University Campus
Posted on March 11, 2018 4 Comments
There’s a bill in the Maryland State Assembly that will allow Johns Hopkins University to have its own police force. From The Baltimore Sun: “The legislation already has the backing of several Baltimore lawmakers, who said it will increase safety in the city without costing taxpayer dollars. Hopkins officials said Monday in a message to […]
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