MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'colleges'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:12:23 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182369&cid=t_170063_180_f&fid=38604&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmakeitgreat%2F%7E3%2FHAM7W4Mf0yA%2F Note from Phil: Today’s article is an interesting look at whether online colleges are just as good as traditional colleges in creating a worthy workforce. These are excellent tips from Riley Kissel, and ones you should keep in mind if you’re hiring people with diplomas from non-traditional colleges. Is an online degree as good as an offline degree? Seasoned small business owners and human resources personnel can be skeptical when it comes to web-based education.  Many interviewers don’t know the difference between “print a degree” programs and the best online colleges out there, leaving them uncertain as to whether or not a particular applicant has the right qualifications.  Businesses always want to make sure that potential employees have the necessary level of ac... Phil Gerbyshak blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182369 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:15:00 +0100 5182369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050524&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkDOyFnvKS7k%2F On Tuesday, Cato held a forum on the big profits made by putatively “nonprofit” colleges, the subject of a new Cato Policy Analysis. Not surprisingly, Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, objected to the use of the term “profits” to categorize the excess money colleges take in through undergraduate students, but all the panelists seemed to agree that there is both significant waste in higher ed, and that the Capitol Hill obsession with unabashedly for-profit institutions misses big cracks all over the Ivory Tower. Unfortunately, of course, many of you couldn’t join us on Tuesday. Thankfully, you can now take in the entire bit of illuminating infotainment right here: On a related note, give George Leef&#821... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050524 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:30:18 +0100 5050524 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921396&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKyovaxBLj6s%2F By Neal McCluskeyOver at the New America Foundation’s “Higher Ed Watch” blog, Stephen Burd purports to know “the truth behind Senate Republican’s boycott of the Harkin hearing.” And what is that truth? Republicans are trying to “discredit an investigation that has revealed just how much damage their efforts to deregulate the industry over the past decade have caused both students and taxpayers.” Really? Okay, it is possible that Republicans are trying to save themselves some sort of blame or embarrasment — I can’t read their minds — but if so they’ve done a terrible job. Every time Harkin holds one of his hearings the bulk of the media coverage treats it like it has revealed shocking abuse by the entire for-profit se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921396 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:54:55 +0100 4921396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911453&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnTYzEENXook%2F By Neal McCluskey Yesterday, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) held his fifth — and perhaps final – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee show-hearing lambasting for-profit colleges. As usual, it was a decidedly one-sided affair, with no profit-defenders apparently invited to testify, and Republican committee members boycotting. Perhaps the only interesting thing that occurred was Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), who has never given any indication he doesn’t support Harkin’s obsessive whale hunt, saying the proceedings could have benefitted from more than one point of view. According to MarketWatch, Franken lamented that “it would have been nice to have someone here to represent the for-profit schools.” Now, he might have only wanted a for-profit rep there to recei... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911453 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:16:42 +0100 4911453 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893415&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyrejsaU4zQo%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe hotly anticipated — and dreaded — “gainful employment” regulations aimed at for-profit colleges were released this morning, and based on media reports the big news is that they are a little more lenient than originally expected. Most importantly, schools that fail to meet debt-to-income and debt-repayment requirements will not be cut off from federal student aid — the financial crack on which almost every college and university depends — until 2015. That’s the big news, at least as reported. But it isn’t the important story. The real story remains that the Obama administration, and at least the education leadership in the Senate, continues to divert the public’s eye towards for-profit schools when the entire hig... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893415 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:53:18 +0100 4893415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820923&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F12%2Fthe-stupid-complex%2F Nowhere in the DSM-IV does it mention “the stupid complex,” but I’m telling you it’s an epidemic these days. I used to suffer in silence. But ever since I’ve come out of the closet, I swear I find a fellow sufferer every day. At my last therapy session, I was telling her how scared I was that everyone was going to find out that I was inherently stupid. She laughed out loud and said, “Do you know how many times I hear that a day?” Oh. Good. Then it’s not just me. I don’t know when it started. It could be a result of being a twin, and needing to form a sense of identity separate from my sister. Since she stole “tomboy” early on, I became “the brain,” except that mine didn’t work, but no one really knew that but me. And I was able to keep it a secret all throug... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820923 Thu, 12 May 2011 15:35:01 +0100 4820923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747650&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F24%2Fwillpower-self-control-can-be-learned%2F I’m a little astounded by how quickly some people are willing to just throw up their hands and, rather than learning how to gain more willpower and self-control in their life, use technology tools as a substitute for learning those skills. Or suggesting how we seem to be at the mercy of social networking sites, which have some sort of undeniable power over us, our choices and our behaviors. I’m talking about the article in today’s Boston Globe from Tracy Jan bemoaning how college students nowadays are “tangled in an endless web of distractions.” The article reads like college students are saying, “The Internet and Facebook are just too darned addicting, I can’t help myself!” It’s gotten so bad that some college professors — even a... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747650 Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:49:05 +0100 4747650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734048&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEm4sS4pU8fY%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, speaking at Facebook headquarters, President Obama assessed the guts of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and other congressional Republicans and concluded that their deficit reduction plan isn’t “particularly courageous.” That might be accurate – their plan lacks specificity and could target a lot more for elimination — but it’s pretty rich for the President to throw out such a conclusion. After all, his whole strategy appears to be the bankruptingly lame-but-safe crying of doom for cute kids and other supposedly defenseless people no matter what the size of the proposed cut to a social program or how ineffective the program has been. That, and the constant lamentation that “the rich” – a small and th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734048 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:29:35 +0100 4734048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704713&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F12%2F6-tips-for-living-with-an-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-college%2F As Autism Awareness month continues, April is a time of transition for many high school seniors, as they learn what colleges and universities they got into. So it seems like an ideal time to talk about autism and college, and some tips to help with the transition. The excerpt below is from the book, Living Well on the Spectrum by author Valerie L. Gaus, Ph.D. The book is a self-help book that helps a person with an autism spectrum disorder identify life goals and the steps needed to achieve them. Read on for the excerpt… April is the month when most high school seniors receive their college acceptance letters and begin to plan the next phase of their lives. The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for people on the spectrum. All too often I am referred a youn... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704713 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:05:05 +0100 4704713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540551&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxRMdVAkb5aw%2F By Neal McCluskeyIn dribs and drabs the plot thickens in the quiet little saga surrounding the GAO's brutal and broken August report on for-profit colleges. The latest development is the near-silent transformation of the GAO office that produced the knee-capping report that was later quietly reissued with lots of new, for-profit-exonerating material. I say "near-silent transformation" because word about it somehow got to the Coalition for Educational Success, a career college advocacy group.  Yesterday, CES issued a press release on the matter, and this morning I contacted GAO's public affairs office about it. To the GAO's credit, their public affairs folks quickly sent me a copy of a memo announcing the end of the Forensic Audits and Special Investigations (FSI) team. Sadly, it... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540551 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:29:48 +0100 4540551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532192&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQC1nfoEUoec%2F By Neal McCluskeyHeating and cooling equipment installed upside down. A ramp for the disabled too steep for wheelchairs. A leaning tower of time. A $3.4 million renovation for a theater slated for demolition. Payouts to everyone from airborne videographers to feng shui experts. Welcome to community college! These and a litany of other failures and abuses are chronicled in a new Los Angeles Times article on the disaster that has been the Los Angeles Community College District's decade-long, $5.7 billion building orgy.  It's a tale made especially sickening by California college officials' repeated wailing that state budget cuts are forcing them to dig "deep into bone."  It's also galling in the face of Washington politicians' continued berating of for-profit schools and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532192 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:25:03 +0100 4532192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450273&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgYWKaOKx5CY%2F By Neal McCluskeyToday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed what we already knew it would confirm: According to it's own investigation, errors were made in producing a report highly damaging to for-profit colleges, but no one had any bad intentions and the report still stands. Well, the significantly revised report -- the one much more favorable to for-profits schools that got almost no attention because GAO sneaked it out -- still stands. And please, don't try to hold the GAO accountable yourself: The GAO's press release states that the report on its internal investigation will not be publicly released. Now, it's quite possible that the GAO investigation on for-profit colleges really was on the up-and-up and there truly isn't anything to see here. But giv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450273 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:10:02 +0100 4450273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4428999&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGWpaeNPTmQI%2F By Neal McCluskeyLast week, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Comittee, announced that on February 17 he will continue his obssessive attack on for-profit colleges, holding yet another hearing to determine just how evil profit-seekers are.  At least, that is what will presumably be discussed — the specific subject of the hearing is yet to be identified. But the committee actually tackling, say, rampant waste throughout higher education driven by federal student aid, or just giving for-profit schools an even-handed treatment, would be too huge a turnaround to contemplate. Despite there being no end in sight to Harkin’s seige, for-profit institutions aren’t just rolling over, and today they launched their latest ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4428999 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:06:56 +0100 4428999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4386301&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F22%2Funiversities-college-students-and-mental-health%2F With the recent tragedy allegedly perpetrated by suspended college student Jared Loughner in Tuscon, AZ, the role of colleges’ and universities’ student counseling centers has taken center stage. This is a little odd, given that Mr. Loughner attended a community college that lacked a student counseling center. Most community colleges — catering to part-time students who often have families or hold down full-time jobs — don’t seem to have the mental health counseling centers that most traditional universities and colleges have. Dr. Emily Gibson, a family physician who apparently works with students at a college, recently wrote a blog entry about mental illness in the college student. In this entry, she seems to bemoan the fact that students have come to expect ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4386301 Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:47:23 +0100 4386301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343111&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTr91zD-Y0eU%2F By Neal McCluskeyWith the release of a new report analyzing a quietly amended Government Accountability Office study that’s been used to club for-profit colleges, fear of GAO bias has reached a fever pitch. Sadly, the GAO’s response to the report does anything but assuage that fear. To get a decent sense for the government abuse both surrounding, and possibly perpetrated by, the GAO study in question, it’s worth a quick rehash of events. Basically, the study was requested by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee who has been waging war against for-profit colleges on the suspicion that the sector is rife with fraud, waste, and abuse. To get data to support his suspicion, Harkin asked the GAO to con... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343111 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:22:51 +0100 4343111 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175696&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Falcoholic-energy-drinks-health-hazards-and-bannings%2F2010.11.17 In this video, you will see an interview I was asked to do on November 11th on local TV about alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko that has been in the news recently. I talk about the potential harmful effects of the ingredients of a product like this. As of this posting there have been a number of states, colleges, and universities who have taken steps to ban these type of beverages.   At the end of the interview, I talk about how I don’t think banning a product like this is going to solve the problem. In the article “Banning Four Loko Doesn’t Solve Problems,” Alex Belz from The North Wind explains: It seems these health officials are either unaware of or choosing to ignore the fact that combining a caffeinated beverage with an alcoholic one is a time-tested... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175696 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0100 4175696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4106062&cid=t_170063_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FPTSfGsg6psw%2F In his latest effort to probe conflicts of interest in the drug and device industry, US Senator Chuck Grassley has written FDA commish Margaret Hamburg to ask how the agency determines whether the financial interests of clinical investigators may adversely affect patients in clinical trials and the “integrity and reliability” of the studies submitted for product approval. As Grassley notes in his October 22 letter, the FDA requires manufacturers that submit applications and clinical studies for product approvals to file disclosure statements about the financial interests of investigators who are not full-time or part-time employees, but are or were involved in conducting studies submitted to the FDA. Specifically, disclosures should include info about financial arrangements bet... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4106062 Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:03:45 +0100 4106062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065353&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoTBKt6_Pu-Y%2F By Tad DeHavenA study from the American Institutes of Research finds that federal and state governments have wasted billions of dollars on subsidies for students who didn’t make it past their first year in college. The federal total for first-year college drop outs was $1.5 billion from 2003 to 2008. Due to data limitations, the figures are only for first year, full-time students at four-year colleges and universities. Community colleges have even higher drop-out rates, and part-time students or students returning to college are more likely to drop out. Therefore, the numbers in the report are “only a fraction of the total costs of first-year attrition the nation and the states face.” Moreover, it doesn’t include the cost for students who drop out some time after their sophomore ye... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065353 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:50:26 +0100 4065353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060909&cid=t_170063_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorandpatient.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fwhy-do-doctors-have-such-large-egos.html Doctors are usually quite smart. They are academically bright , as proven by the fact that they managed to get into medical college inspite of intense competition; and have successfully graduated from a demanding course. Also, while not all doctors are brain surgeons, most are intelligent and have a high opinion of their own intellectual abilities.However, some of them are quite badly behaved. They are rude to their patients - and make them wait interminably in their waiting rooms, for no good reason. Since doctors are in the business of saving lives , some of them start behaving as if they were demiGods. It's quite easy for them to delude themselves into having a very high opinion of their worth. This is often bolstered by their patients, who look upto doctors and often worship them. ( As... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060909 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:10:00 +0100 4060909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4055700&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0sZyLnG1c54%2F By Neal McCluskeyPresident Obama has seemingly made an entire mountain range out of his Race-to-the-Top reform molehill, while he’s gotten more or less a free pass on all he’s done to enrich the status quo. And now, with big midterm losses looming for his party, he appears to be resorting to one of the easiest political ploys in the book: Claim the GOP will cut funding to education and, in so doing, hurt innocent children and cripple the nation’s economic future. As the President opined in his weekly address: [I]f Republicans in Congress had their way….We’d have a harder time offering our kids the best education possible. Because they’d have us cut education by 20 percent — cuts that would reduce financial aid for eight million students; cuts that... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4055700 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:05:26 +0100 4055700 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3968999&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlcD6DAc7pk4%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released the latest student-loan default data, and along with it offered some good ol’ fashioned profit-bashing. Meanwhile, politically favored schools got off with nary a negative word. The FY 2008 default rates certainly aren’t good. Overall, 7 percent of borrowers whose first payments were due between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008, had defaulted by September 30, 2009. And yes, for-profit schools had the highest rate out of non-profit private, public, and for-profit schools, which came in at 4 percent, 6 percent, and 11.6 percent, respectively. To what did Secretary of Education Arne Duncan attribute these results? The overall default rate, he suggested, was but the sad consequence of ”ma... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3968999 Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:59:15 +0100 3968999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907642&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F08%2F26%2Fthe-transition-year-an-interview-with-courtney-knowles%2F Earlier this year, The Jed Foundation and the American Psychiatric Foundation launched one of the newest mental health resources on the Web, The Transition Year. Recently, I was able to talk with Courtney Knowles, the Executive Director of The Jed Foundation, to get the skinny on this one-stop shop and why its contents are so beneficial for both students and parents before, during, and even after the college years. There’s a never-ending line at the bookstore. Posters announcing football schedules and Greek rush events are posted every couple of feet. Meal cards are being swiped every few minutes and music is blasting down the hall from the room where two longtime roommates are, once again, haggling over who’s in charge of buying the toilet paper. Yep, it’s that time of year again: ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907642 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:36:42 +0100 3907642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880834&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBIPPMq9W5nk%2F Today, the annual U.S. News and World Report “Best Colleges” guide came out, and as always it is a slightly celebratory occasion for me. Though I agree with many people who critique the guide for its debatable methodology and implicit assumption that all schools can be cleanly ranked from best to worst, the simple fact that the issue exists makes me happy. When you spend the bulk of your time analyzing moribund, monopolistic, K-12 schooling, it’s just refreshing to dive into an education ocean where guides are abundant because consumers have plentiful, powerful choice. It also doesn’t hurt that, in stark contrast to elementary and secondary schooling, the United States seems to be the envy of the world in higher ed. Unfortunately, my higher ed enthusias... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880834 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:00:37 +0100 3880834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706654&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4UrRkZz_iyg%2F By Neal McCluskeyWhile we’re all shooting off our guns in celebration of good Supreme Court news, Roger has reported the blow to liberty dealt by the Court’s lower-profile CLS v. Martinez decision. I won’t elaborate on whether the Court made the right decision — on that I stand with Roger (and Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas). I just want to add one thing about the root problem in the CLS case: You can’t have both taxpayer funding of higher education and full freedom. As Ilya Shapiro and I wrote in an April op-ed about the case: It is impossible to reconcile free speech with governmentally compelled support of speech. Just as public colleges cannot choose both which student groups to fund and avoid discrimination, they cannot pay a professor without priv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706654 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:52:50 +0100 3706654 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690838&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmedical-schools-why-do-some-do-primary-care-better%2F2010.06.23 A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship journal, finds that medical schools vary greatly in producing more primary care physicians and getting them into underserved communities. - “Public schools graduate higher proportions of primary care physicians” than private schools. - “The 3 historically black colleges and universities with medical schools (Morehouse College, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University) score at the top” in training primary care physicians who then go on to practice in underserved communities. (Click here for an interview with two recent graduates of historically black colleges and with Wayne Riley, MD, FACP, who is the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and a regent ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690838 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3690838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3567942&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F15%2Fgo-to-your-graduation%2F Our regular contributor and one of the therapists here at Psych Central, Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D., has a great new article entitled, Yes, You Should Go to Your Graduation. It’s worth checking out if you’re a student facing the imminent graduation ceremony, or a parent of such a student. From mid-May well into June, my corner of the world is celebrating one graduation after another. With four colleges, a state university, two community colleges and more high schools and alternative schools than I can count within a 25-mile circle around my town, the hills are alive with the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance.” It’s the season when graduating seniors wear funny hats and walk across a stage or field or gym floor after what seems like an interminable wait. It’s a time whe... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3567942 Sat, 15 May 2010 16:46:04 +0100 3567942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533837&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-primary-care-shortage-what-can-we-do-today%2F2010.05.05 The new healthcare reform law, which is called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), will be a huge disappointment to the millions of previously-uninsured people who finally purchase insurance policies when they try to find a doctor. Primary care physicians are already in short supply and the most popular ones have closed practices or long waits for new patients. Imagine when 2014 hits and all of those patients come calling. Who is going to be available to treat them? (more…) *This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533837 Wed, 05 May 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3533837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490621&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fdx42C1eO9Us%2F By Neal McCluskeyWhen kids want to know if other kids want to play a game they just ask, “Hey, wanna play?” Apparently, that kind of straightforward interest assessment won’t cut it with the Obama administration, which today announced that it is eliminating the option for schools to survey women about their desires to play intercollegiate sports in order to comply with Title IX.  The only safe way for schools to comply with the law, as a result, will be to have men and women participate in athletics in almost perfect proportion to their share of total enrollment, and without regard to how potentially disproportionate their desires to play. In announcing the logic-leaping change, Vice President Biden said it was a “no-brainer.” That’s true, but not in the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490621 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:14:01 +0100 3490621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3243776&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRn6agnYFkmA%2F By Neal McCluskeyAs part of his ill-considered credentialing-to-compete initiative, President Obama wants to greatly increase both the size and availablity of Pell Grants. Under his proposed FY 2011 budget, the total pot of Pell aid would rise from $28.2 billion in 2009 to $34.8 billion in 2011; the maximum award would go from $5,350 to $5,710; and the number of students served would rise by around 1 million.   A critical question, of course, is whether increasing Pell will ultimately make college more affordable or self-defeatingly fuel further tuition inflation. The New York Times took that up in yesterday’s Room for Debate blog. Economist Richard Vedder has long educated people about the inflationary effect of student aid, and does so again with great clarity. It’s ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3243776 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:21:48 +0100 3243776 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912168&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmewnSvyUiHw%2F Today the College Board — maker of such fine products as the SAT and Advanced Placement exams — released its annual reports on college prices and student aid. College prices, it seems, have gone up significantly over the last year. However, if the following statement from the reports’ author, economist Sandy Baum, is accurate — I haven’t been able to see the reports myself yet — student aid largely offset the price increases. And do you know what that might mean? Colleges were able to charge students more without greatly affecting access by pawning much of the new charges off on donors and taxpayers: Sandy Baum, the College Board senior policy analyst who wrote both reports, said it was important to focus on the net price students actually paid, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912168 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:42:48 +0100 2912168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851740&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7WV-RsICUJA%2F On Sunday, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by the chancellor and vice chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, in which the writers proposed that the federal government start pumping money into a select few public universities. Why? On the constantly repeated but never substantiated assertion that state and local governments have been cutting those schools off. As I point out in the following, unpublished letter to the editor, that is what we in the business call “a lie:” It’s unfortunate that officials of a taxpayer-funded university felt the need to deceive in order to get more taxpayer dough, but that’s what UC Berkeley’s Robert Birgeneau and Frank Yeary did. Writing about the supposedly dire financial straits of public higher education (“Rescuing Ou... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851740 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:02:09 +0100 2851740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803886&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlMgOXjofQRg%2F The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsiblilty Act will probably be approved by the House of Representatives today, and to push it along the bill’s sponsor, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), makes clear for whom he is working: Let’s remember whose voices really matter here. It’s time to listen to our students and our families. First of all, do the voices of taxpayers not matter at all? You know, the folks who are going to foot the bill for all this largesse? Oh yeah – concentrated benefits, diffuse costs. And have students and their families really been trees falling in the wilderness with no one to hear them? With inflation-adjusted aid per full-time-equivalent student (table 3) rising from $4,454 in 1987 to $10,392 in 2007 — a 134 percent increase — it sure does... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803886 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:37:04 +0100 2803886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737698&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6QKjjQMhsjk%2F Recently Anheuser-Busch  hit upon the marketing idea of selling Bud Light beer in cans decorated with the college-team colors.  As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) doesn’t have much else to do - it’s not like there’s been say fraud going on in the mortgage market – it quickly turned its attention to the issue, expressing “grave concern” that these team-colored cans would encourage underage and binge drinking. As quoted in the Wall Street Journal,  FTC attorney Janet Evans said “this does not appear to be responsible activity.”  What’s not responsible is the FTC wasting taxpayer resources wondering what color beer cans we are drinking out of.  When I was an underage drinker, the last thing on my mind was the color of the can.  ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737698 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:27:29 +0100 2737698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2653671&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqluhO8I2kB0%2F It’s not often that I can transition from my education beat to other hot topics, but an Inside Higher Ed story on colleges’ health-care benefits includes this little nugget: One trend documented in the survey that may concern many employees is the increase in “consumer driven” health insurance plans by colleges. These typically involve employees setting up tax-free accounts to pay for some care, and then high deductibles for major medical expenses. This year, 17 percent of colleges were offering the plans, up from 11 percent two years ago. So what’s so terrible about “consumer driven” health care, which from the article sounds like health savings accounts ? The story doesn’t say — nor does it give any details on who puts the money into... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2653671 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:31:12 +0100 2653671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2613829&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYWSMk_XCRlQ%2F Understandably, the public is a little preoccupied right now with efforts in Washington to “reform” health care by making it much, much worse. Fortunately, people are starting to notice that a congressional bum rush is heading right toward them — maybe they’ll be able stop it in time. Unfortunately, that is giving Washington a chance to sneak some other stuff by us. In particular, I’m thinking of the just-introduced Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. It’s been largely ignored so far, save a little chatter about the community college stuff it incorporates. In a simpler time, it would have generated a lot more copy. After all, it will: end federally backed student loans that come through private companies, and instead make Uncle Sam the universal lender; greatly increas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2613829 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:59:31 +0100 2613829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598186&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUakKnH9jZss%2F With the Obama Administration promising to ramp up all sorts of college-affordability (read: government expenditure) efforts in the coming months, now is a crucial time for Americans to understand why our colleges and universities ingest money as bottomlessly as their students guzzle beer. With that in mind, the release of a new report from the John William Pope Center is perfectly timed. The Revenue-to-Cost Spiral in Higher Education explains how colleges’ internal arrangements render them almost destined to spend every dime they bring in, no matter how wastefully. The basic problem, argues author and economist Robert E. Martin, is that very few colleges and universities are intended to make a profit — which would give “owners” a powerful incentive... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598186 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:54:58 +0100 2598186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424029&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJg-RkqeBr-A%2F A tax credit bill was recently proposed in South Carolina to give parents an easier choice between public and private schools. It would do this by cutting taxes on parents who pay for their own children’s education, and by cutting taxes on anyone who donates to a non-profit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). The SGOs would subsidize tuition for low income families (who owe little in taxes and so couldn’t benefit substantially from the direct tax credit). Charleston minister Rev. Joseph Darby opposes such programs, and I support them. We’ve decided to have this dialogue to explain why. Our closing comments appear below, and the previous installments are here and here and here. Rev. Joe Darby Closing Comment Thanks for the research and references, Andrew, but I do... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424029 Tue, 19 May 2009 17:00:06 +0100 2424029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405022&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRiMBjn2iPXc%2F While much of the debate around the so-called “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights” has been on ending various card policies aimed at disguising different credit risks, one group of cardholders is certain to lose their right to credit under this bill: adults between the ages of 18 and 21. Under the current Senate bill, the only way for someone under the age of 21 to get a credit card would be either: 1) they have a co-signer, such as their parent, sign for it, or 2) they maintain a job with sufficient income to cover any obligations arising from the credit card. By contrast, neither of these requirements is put in place for student loans; there is the clear expectation that you pay those loans back in the future from your increased future income that results from going to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405022 Thu, 14 May 2009 17:51:06 +0100 2405022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2210603&cid=t_170063_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorandpatient.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fnatasha-gets-into-oxford-on-full.html Natasha, my daughter, is completing her BSc in Biotech from Jai Hind College of Bombay University. She has got into the MSc program for Integrated Immunology into Oxford University, UK, for 2009-2010 - and we just found out that she has been awarded a 100% Clarendon Fund scholarship for her studies. She's on top of the world that she doesn't have to depend upon her parents for her fees ! (Source: The Patient's Doctor) The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2210603 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:00:00 +0100 2210603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1798211&cid=t_170063_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E5%2F393858187%2FT.asp [Thank you to HR Moody for compiling and contributing this great collection of news items and stories from a bioethics and gerontological perspective]:*********************************ARE YOU FEELING OLD YET? What are they letting children learn in college these days? One of the great things for gerontologists who teach college students is that we get to feel old ourselves all the time. Consider the latest points about this year's freshmen, the Class of 2012, as reported by Beloit College's well-known "Mind Set" compendium. For our freshmen this year: -GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available -"WWW" has never stood for World Wide Wrestling -The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents -IBM has never made typewriters -Lenin's name h... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1798211 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:01:00 +0100 1798211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1734257&cid=t_170063_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F375170986%2F Concerned about the influence drugmakers may have on medical education, the renowned institution is expected to announce today that it will severely restrict industry financing of doctors’ continuing education at its medical school, according to The New York Times. The move comes amid growing criticism that industry-sponsored CME is designed to promote specific products, while pharma maintains its money is intended solely to keep doctors up to date. To sort it out, Stanford plans to announce that it will no longer let drug and device makers specify which courses they wish to finance. Instead, companies will be asked to contribute only to a schoolwide pool of money that can be used for any class, even ones that never mention products, the Times writes. With its approach, Stanford becomes... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734257 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:17:34 +0100 1734257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1458508&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F05%2F20%2Fdistinguishing-fiction-from-reality-in-college-students%2F You knew that the actions of the Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho were going to reverberate and likely help change the face of college campuses forever. Not just in the obvious ways, such as increased campus security, but in much more subtle ways too. Such as the English professor ratting you out for your “dark” fiction that, if you were Stephen King, might bring you a $1 million paycheck. But as a starving college student living on campus, it might instead bring you nothing more than a forced psychiatric evaluation and a police escort off campus. That’s the story of Steven Barber, who wrote just such dark fiction for a University of Virginia creative writing class. Of course, Mr. Barber probably shouldn’t have had 3 guns in his dorm room, but still. Where do co... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1458508 Wed, 21 May 2008 00:36:42 +0100 1458508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1407327&cid=t_170063_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F280234049%2F Yesterday, we wrote that the Association of American Medical Colleges released a report that was two years in the making and recommended that drug and device makers shouldn’t be allowed to offer freebies - including meals, gifts, travel and ghost-writing helps - to docs, staffers and students in any or all 129 of the nation’s medical colleges. The 30-member task force, which included a few dissident ceo’s from Pfizer, Lilly and Amgen (read those footnotes carefully), put their heads together over concerns that undue industry influence may raise questions about the “objectivity and integrity of academic teaching, learning and practice” and undermine the ability of academia and industry to jointly promote the public’s interest in sound health. There are situations... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1407327 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:54:10 +0100 1407327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1404054&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F04%2F28%2Fmedical-giveaways-to-be-banned-in-medical-schools%2F The spigot of free gifts, travel and other give aways to doctors, professors and students in the nation’s 129 medical schools is about to be closed. Gosh, I don’t know how they’ll manage… The New York Times brings us the story today: Drug and medical device companies should be banned from offering free food, gifts, travel and ghost-writing services to doctors, staff members and students in all 129 of the nation’s medical colleges, an influential college association has concluded. The proposed ban is the result of a two-year effort by the group, the Association of American Medical Colleges, to create a model policy governing interactions between the schools and industry. While schools can ignore the association’s advice, most follow its recommendation... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1404054 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:39:56 +0100 1404054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1404200&cid=t_170063_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F279323333%2F Drug and device makers shouldn’t be allowed to offer freebies - including meals, gifts, travel and ghost-writing helps - to docs, staffers and students in any or all 129 of the nation’s medical colleges, according to a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which spents two years on the project. “Over recent decades, medical schools and teaching hospitals have become increasingly dependent on industy support of their core educational missions,” the report states. “This reliance raises concerns because such support, including gifts, can influence the objectivity and integrity of academic teaching, learning a nd practice, thereby calling into question the commitment of academia and industry together to promote the public’s interest by ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1404200 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:01:05 +0100 1404200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1399130&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F04%2F25%2Fneed-to-get-into-college-try-adhd%2F This article describes how disclosing a disability may actually be a liability, as colleges could potentially see such students as requiring more work and attention (even if, by law, they are not allowed to consider such disabilities in their application process; they still do). Once a student has an ADHD label, they may be surprised at how much it follows them throughout school, and even life too. It may even follow them to graduate school, if they choose to go that route, and what was once something used to the student’s advantage may end up becoming a liability on the student’s academic record. Dr. Fournier’s advice is good, too: Talk to your daughter and explain to her that this scenario is no different from a student-athlete taking steroids to increase physical p... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1399130 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:46:43 +0100 1399130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1266665&cid=t_170063_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F243015223%2F The Association of American Medical Colleges and the Association of American Universities have just issued a report that, they hope, will provide a “roadmap” for medical schools, teaching hospitals, and major research universities to “identify, evaluate, and manage financial conflicts of interest in research that involves human research subjects.” (This is the report). The groups note that recommendations were issued in 2001 and 2002, but concerns remains, especially in the wake of a scandal at the National Institutes of Health and and as academic institutions expand their relationships with industry. But a recent study revealed that, as of 2006, just 38 percent of the medical schools surveyed had policies addressing institutional conflicts of interest. And so they ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1266665 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:39:15 +0100 1266665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1237810&cid=t_170063_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F236535598%2F Joanne Jacobs, educator, blogger and author of Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the Charter School That Beat the Odds, participates today in our Author Speaks Series with an excellent article on how "Schools won’t improve until administrators and teachers can admit the problems, analyze what’s going wrong and try new strategies. Students won’t improve if they think they’re “special” just the way they are." Enjoy, and feel free to add your comment to engage in a stimulating conversation. ----------------------- The First Step Is Failure By Joanne Jacobs When self-esteem became an education watchword in 1986, I thought it was a harmless fad. I was wrong: It wasn’t harmless. Many teachers were persuaded that students should be pumped u... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1237810 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:38:14 +0100 1237810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1236360&cid=t_170063_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F235791568%2Ftop_10_online_colleges_ranked.html Have you ever considered a business degree online? Those who do … tell you that online colleges are far from equal. Todays rankings show where you'll obtain the best bang from your bank. Interestingly, research just in - can help you make the best selections. How so? Online Education data Base or OBED has spoken again!  2008 Online College rankings are in! It seems that Upper Iowa University reigned in many ways this year … and many say it is for good reason. The scores were ranked according to:1. Acceptance rate… or AR2. Financial Aid … or FA3. Graduation rate … GR4. Peer Web citations … PW5. Retention rate … RR6. Scholarly citations … SC7. Student faculty ratio … SF8. Years accredited … YAIt’s ... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1236360 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:12:06 +0100 1236360