I spent much of the week getting to know more about the Delphi Method that I am now planning to use. I have learned about its strengths and limitations, but no matter how much I learn about it, the one phrase that keeps going through my head is “This sounds like FUN!” I can’t wait to get started on the recruitment process. However, first I need to get through the proposal approval process. One step at a time…

References:

Bernoff, J. & Schadler, T. (2010). Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, transform your business. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Keeney, S., Hasson, F. & McKenna, H. (2011). The Delphi technique in nursing and health research. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

You know, I think this was my first research-induced tangent! I think my brain is tingling now!!!

References:

Chesbrough, H. (2006). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Image Credit: Found on I Can Be Right, or I Can Be Happy: The Ever-Changing Philosophy of a Recovering Control Freak

Dr. Holley (my dissertation mentor) has pointed out some issues that need to be addressed. Most notably, why would any leadership care about my study? I think that leaders should always care about how their customers (patients) and employees are communicating with each other and how they are communicating with management. Social networking presents problems for old-style corporations or organizations that have always maintained tight control over what is said within and by and about their organization. Such control is lost when social networking tools are used. However, on the potentially positive side, social networking can also open the lines of communication between patients and clinicians and between employees and management. Such openness has the potential of reducing confrontation and increasing collaboration between employees and management (Chesbrough, 2006; Levine, Locke, Searls, & Weinberger, 2001; Tapscott, & Williams, 2008). I am also planning to do some research on how social networking could affect the cost of healthcare and productivity for both patients and clinicians. I am eager to see if there is an affect.

References:

Chesbrough, H. (2006). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Levine, R. Locke, C. Searls, D. and Weinberger, D. (2001). The cluetrain manifesto: The end of business as usual. New York: Perseus Publishing.

Tapscott, D. & Williams, A.D. (2008). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Penguin Group.

P.S. My new word-of-the-day is winsome. I was called this by someone I work with. What do you think?

I want to work on my dissertation project and get back into school, but the energy and motivation are just not there. So, I thought I would reach out to all my friends on Facebook and Twitter and this blog to see if you’ve ever experienced anything like this. Have you? How did you get over or past it? Any ideas anyone? All thoughts or ideas are welcome!

Image Credit: Retrieved using Google Images from Mr. Arauz’s Blog.

Facebook Comments:

11-15-2010 – Julie Baskin: Cathy- in ref to your “energy drain” question, according to AOL this will solve (if only partially) the problem! LOL While I can’t totally vouch for this claim, I do find that some yoga routines give me energy and help focus me =-)

My Response: Thanks Julie! I’ll give it a try…

11-15-2010 – James Elliott: Have you been tested for vitamin D deficiency? My wife experienced what you have been through and her doctor tested her for vitamin D deficiency and found her drastically deficient. Vitamin D deficiency simulates many symptoms of other illnesses. Have that checked out.

My Response: I’ve had a Vitamin D deficiency in the recent past, but I take Vitamin D twice a day to combat that. I will have my MD take another look very soon. Thanks for the idea James!

Since surgery my pain levels have been minimal. I have a pretty high pain threshold and I shake off pain killers and anesthesia fairly quickly when they are necessary. However, I do know that pain can knock down your immune system, so when I have surgery or suffer an injury, I try to remember to take the prescribed pain meds as ordered. The trouble is that most of the instructions say to take the pain meds so many times each day “as needed.”  So if I don’t feel that I “need” a pain med, I don’t take it. A recent experience may change that practice for me…

A couple of days after coming home from the hospital, I took my pain medication in the morning and then, before they wore off, I laid down to take a nap. When I woke up a few hours later I didn’t have any pain, so I didn’t take any more meds. However, I was feeling run down and basically flat. I didn’t associate that feeling with pain and just tried to rest and relax. Later in the evening I did start feeling some pain around my surgery incisions (my appendectomy was done laperscopically so I have three half-inch incisions) so I took a pain pill. Forty-five minutes later I felt MUCH better all over. The flat feeling was gone and I felt completely normal!

In talking with friends and family about this experience I have learned that physical pain can manifest in a variety of ways – like my flat feeling. One person described a burn she had where she started feeling very cold even though her burn didn’t hurt. She took a pain med and the cold & shivers went away. Another friend called this type of experience “deferred pain”. This probably has to do with my high pain threshold. My body was reacting to the pain I wasn’t feeling by making me feel run-down and tired.

Have you ever experienced something like this? How did you handle it? I’d love to hear your stories…

As I look at the giraffes I could not help but wonder how anyone could doubt the Theory of Evolution in favor of “Intelligent Design”? Evolution is based on sound science and keen observation of geographical and biological evidence by thousands of scientists over hundreds of years. “Intelligent Design” is based on Judeo-Christian mythology and has no basis in scientific fact. Also, look at the photo of the giraffe at the right. What is intelligent about the design of this creature? What kind of reason would an intelligent designer have in creating this creature? What part does it play in the environment in which it lives that adds to the environment?

However, if we look at the giraffe from the evolutionary point of view…

• Giraffes have long legs to help them run from predators and to make them tall in order to make them more difficult to take down by predators that are lower to the ground.
• Giraffes have their characteristic long necks that enables them to reach higher sources of food than other animals
• The spots on the skins of giraffes provide them with natural camouflage in their savanna environment.

From the view of “Intelligent Design” the giraffe is nothing but a whimsical joke. From the evolutionary point of view the giraffe is a marvel.

I’d rather believe in the marvel than in the joke. Wouldn’t you? What is your opinion and why?

I started on my trip to Crescent City, CA on September 1st. It’s a lovely little city and I was enchanted with it. It was easy to come up with new photos every day. Today was my first full day home and I was exhausted, so I snapped a picture of my dog. I am finding that the ordinary days are going to be the hardest ones to get interesting pictures. I’ll have to be very cognizant of new and interesting compositions and ideas for venues. I’ve already started exploring. Perhaps this will be a good excuse for me to explore my own community a bit more.

You can follow my progress here. You can see my Mom’s fantastic photos here.

Outdoor Mural in Crescent City, CA - Taken on September 1, 2010 by Catherine Ford

Greetings from beautiful Crescent City, CA! I’m on the road for the rest of this week. Tomorrow and Friday I will be teaching a class at Sutter Coast Hospital on how to build web sites on the Sutter Health Intranet (MySutter – Different from MySutter Online). I love doing this job! I find teaching so much fun and want to do it more than I currently do. Hence, why I’m going to school to earn a doctorate!

I’ve also started a new project today. A friend of mine on Twitter told me about a project he’s doing called Photo365. The concept is basically to take one photo a day for 365 days. If you’re interested, you can follow my progress here. I will also be posting some of the other photos I take on this blog. Today’s photo-of-the-day is a carved wooden statue of a mermaid riding a whale. I believe it’s carved from drift wood. I was very taken with it. Please take a look and let me know if you have any photography tips. That’s part of the point of the Photo365 Project – improving your photography skills. My Mom has agreed to do this project with me, so I may occasionally post links to her photos too. She’s much better at photography than I am because she’s been doing it longer than I have.

• Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts – This is a look at the lives and times of the women behind the Founding Fathers. Not only the wives, but also mothers, sisters, and daughters. I’m only part way through this book, but I’m planning to buy copies for all of the women in my family. This is an often overlooked side of our history and Cokie Roberts does a good job of examining it.
• Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales - Have you ever had books you just thought you should read? That’s why I’m reading this one. So far I’m pretty disappointed. I like the ones you’d expect – Cinderella, Rapunzel, and a few others. Mostly however, I’m left scratching my head and wondering how most of these fairy tales survived to the present. It’s a very pretty book though – Green leather cover with gold lettering and gold edges on the pages.
• The Assault on Reason by Al Gore – This is a good book for those who embrace reason and wonder why more people don’t. Mr. Gore does a good job of explaining how the Right Wing is using fear to influence Americans rather than allowing reason and facts to be the guide that the Founding Fathers wanted it to be. I’m only part way through this book and will write a book review when I’m done.
• Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business by Eric Qualman – This is a fantastic book for anyone diving into social media and is concerned about how to use it and how it can positively or negatively affect your business. Again, I’m only part way through this book and will write a book review when I’m done.

On my waiting list:

• The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah’s Book Club) (Paperback)
  
• Lean Six Sigma Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide
• Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot
  
• Ethics, the Heart of Leadership
  
• Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration’s War on American Values
  

What are you reading right now? Is there anything you can recommend to me? I’m open to just about anything. Please post your recommendations in the comments below…