MedWorm Tags: degree

Recognizing Different Arrhythmias: There’s An App For That

Better Health — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:00:55 +0100

The recognition and management of cardiac arrhythmias is a must-have clinical skill for residents and physicians, and one that is often not well-taught at some institutions. For example, deciding whether a patient is in a shockable rhythm, realizing what medications should or should not be given in a particular situation, or assessing the degree of atrioventricular block, can all be important considerations in patient care. The Arrhythmias app, designed by Abe Balsamo, recently cracked the Top 10 list of most-downloaded medical apps in the app store. This app represents Mr. Balsamo’s first foray into the app world, though he has several other apps in development, according to his website AppsByAbe.com. The app’s growing popularity has been driven by its point-of-care abilities that...

The Psychology of the Casey Anthony Trial

World of Psychology — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:13:09 +0100

So Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder, meaning we can go back to our everyday, regular lives. On July 5, the jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse (but found her guilty of four lesser, misdemeanor offenses related to her interrogations). What? You mean you “want answers” as to why she wasn’t found guilty? We all want answers in our lives. We yearn for answers. People spend years in therapy looking for answers. But life isn’t always so neat, nor does it always provide easy-to-understand answers to such a tragic series of events that led to the death of Casey Anthony’s toddler, Caylee. So the short answer is — there are no answers. You’re looking for justice in a worl...

Happy Independence Day, 2011

World of Psychology — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:11:55 +0100

We’re celebrating our Independence Day here in the U.S., so I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and safe day of celebration. The United States is celebrating our 235th birthday today. I’m honored and blessed to be living in a pretty great country (although, like every society, we certainly have our flaws). The United States was born of great dissatisfaction with the way the people were then being governed, especially an ever-increasing and seemingly never-ending tax burden. Today’s United States faces some of the same concerns — taxes keep going up while government takes on more and more. Let’s hope it never gets to another Revolution, but at the same time, I hope our politicians remember that their citizens don’t have endless pockets....

Did They Learn Correlation and Causation in College?

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:12:10 +0100

By Neal McCluskeyIt looks like Peter Thiel won’t be unopposed advising kids to stay out of college Thanks to a new report from Georgetown University economist Anthony Carnevale, and a David Leonhardt column based on Carnevale’s study, over the last few days the college-for-all crowd has been striking back. But they seem to have missed something in their own college training: correlation does not equal causation. Carnevale, Leonhardt, and others’ argument is basically that there are big, positive returns on a college degree. It’s something, frankly, that’s not generally in dispute. I say “generally,” because while on average college grads make a lot more than people without a degree, there’s a lot more to the story than averages. Ind...

Introducing Panic About Anxiety

World of Psychology — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:34:41 +0100

Lots of people experience panic attacks. For some people, it can get so bad that they also get agoraphobia — the fear of leaving one’s house. So I’m happy to introduce Panic About Anxiety with Summer Beretsky, a blog that will explore panic, agoraphobia and even topics about general anxiety in upcoming entries. If you’re not familiar with Summer, you can check out her archives at the World of Psychology blog. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she received her Master of Arts degree in Communication. She enjoys writing about her experiences with anxiety, panic, and Paxil. She contributes to the World of Psychology blog here on PsychCentral and has written for the Los Angeles Times. You can follow her on Twitter @summerberetsky. You can read more about her here. W...

Naked Therapy or Just Cam-Girl Soft Porn?

World of Psychology — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:30:19 +0100

When is psychotherapy, well, therapeutic? Is it any more therapeutic if your “therapist” starts taking off their clothes during your session? A freelance computer programmer, Sarah White, has decided that anyone can do therapy online. And not only that, she does it while she disrobes, one piece of clothing at a time. Yes, I’m serious. She calls this “Naked Therapy.” No, I’m still not kidding (and neither, apparently, is Sarah White). Be forewarned — a lot of the links in this article lead to websites with half-naked photos of a woman. I suppose the hook here is obvious — someone peddling cam-girl soft porn under the guise of something that’s “therapeutic,” because they hold a notepad and take notes while disrobing. So what a...

Should You Tell Your Boss About a Mental Illness?

World of Psychology — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:39:08 +0100

Many people struggle with the question of whether or not to tell their bosses about their mood disorders at work. Washington Post columnist Amy Joyce wrote an excellent article on this a few years ago. I have included the first few paragraphs below, but urge you to read the rest of her article, as it gives no straight answers but explores that terrain with great depth. If you have depression or some other mental illness, what do you do about work? Hope no one notices? Disclose your illness early on and trust that your boss will understand? Should You Tell is a complicated question. There is no right answer, and there are some risks to consider. I discovered this years ago after watching a movie at home with two friends. One of them looked up, scared. She hesitated. And then she let it out:...

Introducing Adventures in Positive Psychology

World of Psychology — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:55:40 +0100

I’m pleased to introduce our newest blog, Adventures in Positive Psychology with Joe Wilner, MA, focused on the topic of positive psychology. You’ve probably heard a thing or two about positive psychology in the past decade, because of its focus on helping people to better understand themselves and their lives to increase happiness. Sure, life can be challenging sometimes and many face a mental health concern. But that’s no reason you shouldn’t be seeking personal growth all of your life too, and find ways to increase your happiness and well-being. Joe Wilner has a Masters Degree in Psychology and a Masters in Liberal Arts, with a concentration in Management and Leadership. Joe is a certified meditation instructor through the American Institute of Health Care Professionals (AIH...

Hello

Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:30:00 +0100

Hi Doc,Thought I stop by and wish all of your followers and your family, I am not sure about you though, a very happy new year.For me it will get worse, last year things progressed, this year maybe I will forget all and have no resentments because I cannnt remember ther.God Bless & Keep You,joe (Source: Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers)

Calories in Disguise

World of Psychology — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:20:17 +0100

Low-carb proponents claim that eating a low-carb diet enhances weight loss irrespective of caloric content. Low-fat proponents often make the same claim. Many other advocates of special diets make similar claims: It’s not calories, it’s something else causing weight loss. In support of their diet’s efficacy, proponents often cite their own successes or the success of other followers. However, they often fail to acknowledge that many other people lose weight following radically different weight-loss plans. And never mind the scientific research, as it provides evidence that all successful weight loss programs share a common characteristic: create a calorie deficit on a consistent basis and weight loss follows. Calorie Defined A calorie is a unit of energy. It is the amount ...

Contraindications For Use of Aortic Endovascular Graft

Inside Surgery — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:45:01 +0100

To use an endovascular graft in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair the infrarenal diameter of the neck must be < 32 mm, length of the aneurysm neck must > 10 mm, and the degree of angulation must be < 60%. (Source: Inside Surgery)

“Dear Foreigners, You Do the Math” –USA

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:55:45 +0100

This study compares the percentages of students scoring at advanced levels across countries, and it controls for the confounding effects of differing populations of disadvantaged groups. When the researchers looked exclusively at white students and at students with at least one parent with a college degree, the results remained largely the same. Among white students, for instance, 8 percent of Americans scored “advanced” in math, landing us in 25th place among nations for which scores were available–behind nearly every other advanced industrialized nation on Earth. And the highest ranked U.S. state, Massachusetts, trails the overall averages of 14 nations. This may come as a shock to those who imagined that America’s educational shortcomings were restricted to inne...

Voice Awards 2010: Interview with Fredrick Frese, Ph.D.

World of Psychology — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:00:43 +0100

Last week, I had the opportunity to report from SAMHSA’s annual Voice Awards in Hollywood and to interview one of the consumer leadership award winners. Frederick Frese, Ph.D. is a psychologist with more than 40 years experience in public mental health care. Until 1995, Frese was Director of Psychology for 15 years at Western Reserve Psychiatric Hospital. Now he is the Coordinator of the Summit County Recovery Project, serving recovering consumers in and around Akron, OH. Dr. John M. Grohol: So you’ve had a distinguished career, but it all seemed to start with your diagnosis of schizophrenia when you joined the Marines. Dr. Frederick Frese: Actually, I was in the Marine Corps for about four years when I had the diagnosis and was discharged. Then spent 10 years, in 10 different ...

A 12-Step Meeting On the Air: An Interview with Denise McIntee

World of Psychology — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:49:29 +0100

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being interviewed on “Steppin’ Out Radio” by WABC-TV Sports Anchor and Reporter Scott Clark. Producer Denise McIntee formed her company, Powerful Radio Productions, to communicate true stories of inspiration and recovery from substance abuse. Denise lives in Sparkill, New York with her twin daughters, Danielle and Dominique, and her husband Mike who works for the Late Show with David Letterman. To find out more about her work, please visit their website at www.steppinoutradio.com. Question: How is Steppin’ Out like a 12-step meeting anywhere in the world? Denise: Steppin’ Out is like a 12 step meeting anywhere in the world because we tell the true stories from real people who have overcome their problems and who unself...

Getting Sober: Hope In the Rooms and Online

World of Psychology — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 11:47:41 +0100

Recovering alcoholics say there is magic to be found in the rooms of their support groups. I have experienced and benefited from that, but, like others can’t name the exact ingredient of the meetings that has healing faculties. Tara Handron, a playwright and actress, does as good of a job as anyone I’ve known, at uncovering why and how recovering alcoholics are able to stay sober when they spill their guts between four walls. The other night I attended her one-person performance, a 60-minute play, that discards clichéd portrayals of recovery and relies on complex characters and richly layered stories to expose the raw emotions so many alcoholic women experience. Tara’s back-to-back portrayals of over 20 female alcoholics of various ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic ...

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Todd Smith Charged With First-Degree Kidnapping

Inside Surgery — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:00:06 +0100

Alabama orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Todd Smith was charged with first-degree kidnapping by authorities after he allegedly became involved in an altercation with the mother of his child where she alleges he entered her home with a gun. (Source: Inside Surgery)

Graduate School Options

Productivity501 — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:00:04 +0100

Graduate school is the next academic step after getting a bachelor’s degree. Graduate schools award masters and doctorate and several other types of recognition. In this post, we are going to look at some of the different types of graduate school options and talk about what each one entails and how it benefits you in the job market. Graduate Citation A graduate citation isn’t a degree, but it recognizes the completion of a collection of classes on a particular topic. A graduate citation is similar to a certificate (see below), but smaller in scope. It is the smallest unit of work you can do beyond a single class that is formally recognized. It generally requires three or four classes tightly focused on a specific topic. The citation classes can be used toward other gradu...

A Tough Route To Becoming A Doctor

Better Health — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:00:00 +0100

This occurred after a liver, heart, lung, and kidney transplant: Allison John, 32, made medical history in 2006 after she received her fourth organ transplant — a kidney from her father, 61-year-old David John, to add to her previous heart, lung and liver transplants. A life plagued by illness and frequent hospital visits has not deterred John from her dream of becoming a doctor, however. After 14 years of interrupted study, she finally received her medical degree from Cardiff University last month, according to the U.K. press. Wow. -WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. *This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes* (Source: Better Health)

Bad Science: MyType iPad Research

World of Psychology — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:22:05 +0100

I hate to give press to a “research firm” that doesn’t know the first thing about reporting statistics or basic methodology in their own “research” report. I guess that’s what happens when you get a bunch of people together who are mostly technologists, not statisticians or social scientists. This past week, MyType, a Facebook personality application that takes your data and then sells aggregated reports based upon your answers to their quiz, released a report about the iPad. They suggested that iPad owners and those looking to buy one were “selfish elites” while those who were iPad critics were characterized as “independent geeks.” You can already tell that this isn’t exactly going to be a scientific analysis, right? First...

Happy Independence Day, 2010

World of Psychology — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:07:55 +0100

We’re celebrating our Independence Day here in the U.S., so I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and safe day of celebration. The United States is celebrating our 234th birthday today. I’m honored and blessed to be living in a pretty great country (although, like every society, we certainly have our flaws). It’s a great day to sit outside (if you can stand the heat — another day of 95 F degree weather here in New England), fire up the barbecue, and share good times with family and friends. On behalf of everyone here at Psych Central, here’s wishing your July 4th is a happy and joyous occasion (free of any family arguments or strife). Please enjoy the day! (Source: World of Psychology)

Is Having Kids a Waste of Your Degree? Study Shows That Highly Educated Women Opt for Motherhood

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:46:22 +0100

A recent report on childlessness and women from the Pew Center shows a trend that seems obvious: On the whole, more women are opting out of motherhood today than in the past. But under the surface is an interesting twist – among the most highly educated women, rates of childlessness have actually gone down. The Pew Center’s report looks at the percent of women ages 40-44 who’ve never borne any children during the periods 1990-1992 and 2006-2008. Overall, and across racial demographics, the number of women who chose not to become mothers rose. But when the data were compared by level of education (high school diploma, college degree, master’s degree, etc.), the most highly educated women are having children more often than in the past. The New York Times guesses that wo...

Lack of reality leads to a reality check

Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:01:00 +0100

Over the last few weeks have had these thoughts that if my father (dad has dementia/alzheimers) passed away before my mother that we might be able to bring my mother home to live with us, finish out our basement, etc. I understand that this is just the hope-full part of me that wants to hang on to some thought of renewal or future. But then reality of my mother's condition hits me square in the face. We attempted to take my mother out to eat with all of her grandchildren this past week. The plan was to take her out of the memory care facility, go to lunch, come back and then visit with my dad. But, my mother threw a fit, and could not understand why we could not also take my dad. I told my mom that we could not because of his dementia/behavior. She then flatly denied that my father had dem...

Do You Live In a Smart City?

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:30:54 +0100

Where you live is a matter of taste (or often, coincidence), but it’s also an indicator of things like personality, lifestyle preferences, professional direction, and even your health and fitness. But what about how smart you are? According to an article in GOOD Magazine, “Where the smart people at?“, the traditional way of measuring intelligence within a given city is measuring the proportion or raw number of college degree-holders in a city, but economist Rob Pitingolo things that’s insufficient, and has devised his own way of measuring a city’s smarts. Pitingolo says that having a bunch of intelligent people in one general area is meaningless unless they’re interacting and exchanging ideas. Y’know, doin’ smart stuff. So instead he measured...

What Two Poles?

World of Psychology — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:15:45 +0100

He looks as if he got confused when dressing this morning in his Eddie Bauer hiking boots and his Armani suit. Then I remember the snow and slush I schlepped through on the way to his office. Always ill prepared for wintry weather, or just too stubborn to buy hideous boots, I sit on his leather couch, nervously shaking my wet, tennis shoed foot, legs crossed, pillow clutched protectively in front of me and my demons. For $135, we are reviewing my meds today. On more than one occasion, it’s been pointed out that I “present” well. This psychological jargon translates into: me, looking just fine. By some unconscious effort, perhaps I do act in that manner. Still, no Oscar, or the riches that accompany it, arrives in my mail box. Go figure. Indeed, I am in grand shape. This is the only s...

The College Earnings Premium — Why It’s Meaningless

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:48:36 +0100

By Andrew J. CoulsonThe WSJ reports today on the average lifetime earnings advantage conferred by a college degree. This statistic is probably worse than useless. “College” isn’t a single thing, and its benefits will not likely be enjoyed equally by every single student, even those pursuing precisely the same degrees. For a college earnings premium figure to be of any value to policymakers or prospective college students, it would be necessary to break it down by field and by student characteristics. What’s the premium difference, for instance, between workers who majored in engineering, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, economics, etc., compared to those who majored in communications, art history, social work, multicultural studies, etc.? A similar brea...

Well, None Of Us Saw This Coming

Mental Nurse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:32:59 +0100

From 2013 nursing will, for better or worse, become an all degree profession from 2013. Seems to be fairly well covered by the media. Nursing to become graduate entry All new nurses in the UK from 2013 will have to spend at least three years being trained to degree level, the government has announced. This has been well discussed here before. The next stage of the plan will probably be to create generic nurse training. The story is also covered at the Times and at the Torygraph. Funnily enough the RCN has an article about transport for student nurses as their top story. So why are we moving over to an all degree nursing course? Health Minister for England Ann Keen said: “Nurses are the largest single profession within the health service, and are critical to the delivery of high qual...

Elyn Saks Receives MacArthur Genius Grant

World of Psychology — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:25:57 +0100

USC law professor Elyn Saks is one of the recipients this year of the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grants” of $500,000 — no strings attached. You may remember her as the author of the book, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, her story of living with schizophrenia which was published in 2007. She’s led an extraordinary life and career, demonstrating that even serious mental illness doesn’t have to be a handicap: Saks, 53, suffered from schizophrenia all her life, but kept it hidden while excelling in her academic studies, receiving a philosophy degree from Oxford University and a law degree from Yale University before joining the faculty at USC. She is also an adjunct professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego, where she does research abo...

Academic excellent!

beth's myeloma blog — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:38:57 +0100

I’ve started master’s degree programs three times in the last 18 years, and have quit each time. I’ve wanted to finish for forever, but something always gets in the way. I filled out an interest form at one of the UNC web sites, and immediately received an autoreply. I think the same person who writes a lot of the menus for Chinese restaurants wrote this. Possibly Related Posts: North Carolina spider identification (Source: beth's myeloma blog)

Education Has Diminishing Returns!?

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:42:27 +0100

Inside Higher Ed features a terrific essay today by economist Michael Rizzo. Rizzo takes issue with President Obama’s goals to have all Americans complete at least one post-secondary year of education or job training, and for the nation to have the world’s highest percentage of college graduates by 2020. I’ve opined about this before, but Rizzo does it much more comprehensively, noting especially that - surprise! - education can suffer from “diminishing returns.” Here’s the meat of Rizzo’s piece, but you really should read the whole thing: More education has to be a good thing. After all, receiving more schooling can’t make you less productive, right? Education is like exercise, reading, spending time with one’s children, and sleeping –...

Does Watching Whales Make You a Better Teacher?

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:22:09 +0100

Years ago, talking with a public school teacher friend of mine at the end of the school year, she told me how excited she was about her impending orca whale watching outings in the San Juan Islands. Not only would it be a blast, but it would count as a continuing education credit (toward a master’s of education degree, as I recall) that would boost her salary substantially. Normally, I bite my tongue in such situations. But before I could stop myself I blurted out the question: “Is watching whales going to make you a better teacher?” The lack of any relationship between education master’s degrees and student achievement is acknowledged in a recent study from the Center for American Progress by Marguerite Roza and Raegen Miller. In fact, Roza and Miller find ...

Wine, Hope and Autism

World of Psychology — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:14:19 +0100

What most people who have a mental or developmental disorder want is something that’s hard to dole out — hope. We just want to know that it’s going to be okay, someday, and that we have a chance of finding “normal.” That’s why it touched my heart to read about a bunch of winemakers in Japan (not typically known for its wine). But these winemakers were different — the staff is made up of more than 100 developmentally disabled and autistic individuals. Not only do they work at the winery, they live there too, and there’s a school there as well. This comprehensive, 360 degree approach is hope-giving. It provides people who society otherwise does not give a chance a place to feel special and like they belong. And belong they do: Hiromitsu Watan...

Happiness, But Not Sadness, Catches On

World of Psychology — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:44:28 +0100

In an interesting article published yesterday, we noted a new study of 5,000 people that looked at their emotional states over 20 years. The researchers found that while happiness may spread through a person’s social network of friends, neighbors and family (”contagious” may be too strong a word, since the effect is not really like a virus), sadness did not. Using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Index (a standard metric) that study participants completed, the researchers found that when an individual becomes happy, a friend living within a mile experiences a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy. A co-resident spouse experiences an 8 percent increased chance, siblings living within one mile have a 14 percent increased chance, and for next doo...

Degree or Diploma?

Mental Nurse — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:40:01 +0100

So, nursing is set to become an all-graduate profession by 2015. Technically, I am a graduate; just not a nursing one (yes, I did psychology, but let’s not talk about that). Somehow I don’t think this will wash with future employers anyway. So, since I’m currently doing the diploma, I have a decision to make. At the end of my second year (assuming I can manage a 55% average mark) I will be given the chance to change to the degree course. If I do so, I will be given a means tested bursary and my income will drop by roughly half. Given that I already spend the majority of my free time doing bank shifts, I’m slightly concerned by this. Alternatively, I can hope I get a job once qualified that will put me through the degree ‘top up’ and spend yet more time i...

Scare Tactics to Prevent Psychological Tests on eBay

World of Psychology — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:44:15 +0100

Our friends over at The National Psychologist alerted us to a change in eBay’s policy about selling “protected” psychological tests — they now allow the sale (and resale) of such tests, whereas before this policy change they did not. Their reasoning? Test publishers have not shown any basis, other than pure speculation, that making such tests available for sale could cause the public harm. Many psychological tests are “protected” or “secured,” meaning they are originally sold only to certain qualified professionals (e.g., licensed professionals or researchers), with proof of their qualification. This is done to protect the integrity of the test. The more people know about a specific test (say, one of the IQ tests commonly used, or the MMPI...

DON’T cheat your way to a university degree (because you’ll get screwed!!!)

Sciencesque — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:56:51 +0100

About three weeks ago, I wrote about an article in McLeans in which they claimed over 50% of university students are cheating their way through their degrees. Of course, this news sent shock waves through the Canadian education system since the findings essentially devalue everyone’s university degree. However, not everyone agrees with the McLeans article, and on March 1st, another point of view was published in the U of A student paper The Gateway. The Gateway article questions how McLeans weighted their survey data. When McLeans says that over 50% of students cheat, they are lumping together activities such as cheating on final exams and plagerizing term papers with other milder infractions such as asking a friend for the answer to Question 3 on your Organic Chem pre-lab assignment...