Sunday

What a whirlwind week. We finished up the Dissertation 1 course on Wednesday. Drove home. Worked Thursday and Friday, then left for vacation on Saturday -- where I've organized a trip for 18 people (10 adults, 8 youth). This is the "celebrate graduation" vacation. We're in San Juan now (arrived yesterday). Depart on a cruise this evening.

Happy Father's Day everyone.

Tuesday

All done now but the "shouting." This course has been about preparing us to accomplish our projects. It was structured with a variety of exercises to help us frame our research studies. I have accomplished all of the modules and completed the final project while here on site. I believe most of the rest of the class will get the modules complete while here but have to finish their final project (the first chapter of the research project) within the alloted 2 weeks of our "break." Since I'm going to be on vacation next week it was very important to me to get all of this done while I was here. So...for those who may be reading this to gather information on what's expected during the residency, my advice is to do as much advanced preparation on selecting your research topic and draft the first chapter of the proposal before you arrive for the residency.

So...what's next? I have 3 more formal courses to complete -- Advanced Statistics (or Qualitative Research for those doing a Qualitative study), Strategic Planning, and Strategic Leadership. Each of these courses are 8 weeks with 2 weeks off in between; therefore the formal courses will be done in early January. The final 2 courses are the "Dissertation" courses which are basically "independent" where we work with our Dissertation chair (mentor) to complete our study. I'm fairly disciplined and hope to keep working on my dissertation while in the other courses. If I can stay on track and manage both, I could potentially be done with everything by early February, 2012.

I feels great now to have both residencies done (well..this one is almost done).

Day 8 of Residency welcomes me. The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition and not our circumstances. – Martha Washington

Sunday

Group a bit in overload today. Emotions running high. I think the reality of the workload for the next year to accomplish the Dissertation has hit. Group support is high though. That's been highly positive for our group of 7.

Breaking for a bit at noon for a group lunch at Catherine's house. What a nice respite for us to be able to relax a bit.

Saturday

We made it -- Stats 1 is done. It was definitely the best stats class I've ever had. I have a good conceptual understanding of it now and have a basic working understanding of how to use a STATS software package.

I left here at 3ish yesterday afternoon to head home for the twins graduation from high school last night. Made it home in good time (2 hours) and graduation went without a hitch. Was in bed by around 11pm then up again at 5:30 am this morning. I quickly got back on the road -- after a shower and a Starbucks stop for 2 Grande coffee's for the road. Made it back to the hotel in just under 2 hours. Had a quick breakfast then up to the room to work on my Stats final. Got it done in about an hour and uploaded it to the electronic classroom

The next course starts at noon today -- Dissertation 1.

Below is a pick of our class w/Dr. Hafner.

Thursday

Not really much new to share today. The content presented has really been great. I am beginning to understand this stuff for the first time ever. I believe it is because the focus is on the concept and the analysis rather than on the arithmetic (the computer does that part for us nowadays). Another plus for modern technology.

We had a glitch in the stats software this afternoon. Half the class it worked for and the other half it didn't. I was in the half that didn't. That messed up the plan for tomorrow's test. Without the software functioning accurately, we can't do the test. Not sure what the plan will be for tomorrow. Prof was going to try to figure out the problem with the software tonight.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Today is the halfway point in the 5 days of statistics. We begin the morning with a test of the content provided in days 1 and 2. No biggie. The task will be to run the statistical report on a new data set and interpret the results.

This location has been well received by most of us. Even though it is miserably hot here, there are lots of choices of activities -- parks, restaurants, stores, etc., to meet everyone's needs. We are able to walk right out of the hotel and we're in the midst of it all.

I've begun to reflect on the past year of learning -- 8 weeks "on" in each course , followed by 2 weeks off. The courses have been extremely valuable and relevant to the work I do. The professors, save one, have been really top notch. Once this residency is over, there will be 3 more structured courses and 2 dissertation courses.

Well...it's almost 5:30 am and statistics is calling me. Time to get a move on.

Today

I think I got about 75% of the content today.....didn't waste my brain cells on the nuances of the calculations. Will let the computer handle that part for me. Tomorrow am we have to come into class and replicate all of the content we were given today on a totally new data set. I'm still keeping pace with the content. It's generally making sense.

Today begins

inferential statistics.....BRING IT!!!!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Day 1 of stats done. Spent the morning with "descriptive" statistics and the afternoon using the statistical software we downloaded for the course applying stuff from the morning. The major concepts of today were:
a. Levels of Measurement -- Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
b. Measures of Central Tendency
c. Measures of Dispersion

I think I'm ready for a measure of Martini now.

Our prof is great -- dry sense of humor -- in my opinion the best type of humor to have.

Now I'm off to the pharmacy to buy a razor since I forgot mine. Need to get out of this hotel for a while too.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

I traveled today to begin my 2nd year of the doctoral program -- this is the 2nd residency lasting 10 days. The residency is on the east coast this year (we were in Denver, CO last year) -- the class agreed to this change since my twins will be graduating from High School on Friday night and being on the east coast will allow me to get back for graduation.

The first course this week is statistics. We'll do 5 days (8 hours per day) finishing Stats on Friday afternoon. I'll return home for graduation Friday afternoon/evening then return here Saturday morning.

The 2nd five days is the first dissertation course. We are expected to have Chapters 1 and 2 of the dissertation complete by the end of the residency. I am going into this with pretty solid drafts of Chapters 1-3. We have 3 faculty mentors available to us during the dissertation course.

That's about it. Time to get unpacked and settled in now.

Perfectionism

The following quote really struck me.....

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life…

…I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”

—Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

May 24, 2011

I haven't written in awhile. Finished another course (the IT course). It was really great. Learned lots of valuable new knowledge.

I have the 2nd residency coming up in a few weeks. Its another 10 day residency. The first 5 days will be the statistics course. The 2nd 5 days will be the first dissertation course.

I have chapters 1 and 2 drafted. Chapter 3 is underway. The first 2 have been reviewed by one of the faculty -- with lots of edits back. I decided to take the week off, leave town and work on it this week. I am devoting approximately 3 hours each morning to writing/editing. I haven't made any commitments yet to how I will spend the afternoons. Yesterday, in lieu of writing, I took a VERY long nap.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on here.  The reason I haven’t posted is that I’ve been in survival mode.  Trying to balance work, school and home is difficult at best.  Work can’t suffer, lest I become unemployed.  Unemployed doesn’t allow me to pay the bills nor go to school.  So I’ve prioritized life as work first, school second, family third.  I’m not proud of saying that – family third.  But I have a very supportive family.  We carve out time to be together.  It’s just different than it was with school always looming in the background.

I finished the Finance course.  Rather than get into a bashing tirade about why I didn’t like it, I’ll just say that I believe the issues with the course will be corrected.  No need to live in the past.  Time to move on.

I’m working most every weekend on my dissertation.  I started it in early March.  Well I started it long before March in finding a topic and doing lots of reading on that topic.  I officially started writing in March.  I’m about 5 weeks into it.  My topic relates to studying the nursing workforce’s affinity for the use of social media.  Since I have solid contacts in Asia, Australia and the US I am hoping to collect data in all 3 countries.  I’ve learned a tremendous amount about Web 2.0 technology in the past couple of months.  

Here’s how my study opens….

“Social media technologies have gathered widespread public acceptance during recent years, but they are still gaining traction in the workplace.  As recently as 2003, when MySpace was founded and social media became more prevalent as a communications tool, many people had never heard of the term “social media.”  No one could have predicted the impact that these new tools would have on the future of communications.  In just eight years, the world has witnessed massive changes in the ways people interact with each other and monitor multiple news sources.  More people choose to log on—to post messages for friends, colleagues, and clients via Facebook pages, send Twitter tweets from their mobile devices, upload blog entries, or share links to their favorite YouTube videos and web casts.

As use of social media options as communications tools gains acceptance in the healthcare workplace, there is minimal understanding of how social media is used by a multigenerational workforce.  Workplaces require smooth flow of essential knowledge between the generations, and it is therefore essential that the differences in the various uses of social networking sites be recognized and addressed so as to allow effective collaboration and learning.  While many healthcare facilities initially sought to ban the use of social networking sites in their facilities, most are now recognizing that this strategy is neither feasible nor smart.  Social media communications tools may have the potential to cause harm, but if managed appropriately they may also prove to be very positive and effective methods of communicating vital internal information as well as with peers across the healthcare spectrum.”

New topic.   I am now in the Healthcare Informatics class.  Having just completed week 1, I am very pleased with the course.  It is structured in the way all of the prior courses (except for Finance) have been – it’s engaging; I’m learning; it’s worth the investment of time, effort, and money.

Thankfully the Healthcare Finance Course is done

Finished it up yesterday.  This course was my least favorite so far...for multiple reasons. 

Week 2 dissertation work complete.....working on the Review of Literature.  Put out feelers for places to do data collection.  Realized I'll have to get IRB approval for each organization individually (the University one alone won't suffice).  Making progress.

Let the Dissertation Begin

Topic: The Healthcare Workforce's Affinity for Use of Social Media: A Comparison Across The 4 Generations in the Workplace.


Exciting huh?

This course

is not my favorite........more later......once I'm done.

Healthcare Economics Class Underway

Started this course this week.  Already deep into the numbers......some interesting observations I learned today....

New numbers re: healthcare spending are out indicating that health spending in the US last year grew at the slowest rate (4%) in 50 years.

Here are some key points from the report:
a. Health spending continued to outpace overall economic growth, climbing to 17.6% of GDP, one percentage point more than in 2008 and the largest increase in the report’s history.
b. Medicaid spending grew by 9%, up from 4.9% in 2008.
c. Spending for hospital services rose 5.1%, down from 5.2% in 2008.
d. Medicaid spending for hospital care grew 10.2%, up from 3.3% in 2008, while private spending growth slowed to 2.7%.
e. Prescription drug spending totaled $249.9 billion, increasing 5.3% after rising 3.1% in 2008.

Reference:
Davis, P. (2011). Health spending last year grew at slowest rate in 50 years, CMS says. AHA News. January 10. 47(1), p.1.

Finished

Just finished the Health Services Research Course.  Learned a lot on this topic that I didn't know -- stuff that I can put to good use right away in my daily work. 

Wish I had more wisdom to share...but alas...my brain is tired at the moment.  Maybe the wisdom will flow again soon.

I have 2 weeks off now before the Healthcare Finance course begins. 

Our class now has 25% of the coursework toward the doctoral degree complete.