One of the ideas I have had floating in my head is the need for there to be more university programs across the country in public health preparedness. When I began my 17 year long career in public health preparedness, we were all still learning about what it means. Today, there are plenty of young people who would benefit from what we have learned. As far as I know, there are not any programs here in Michigan that focus on public health preparedness. I have taught a healthcare emergency management class before, but there needs to be more than a class on the subject. I want to partner with a university here in Michigan to develop a full program. If there is anyone interested in this, please feel free to contact me: chamberlaink2@gmail.com or comment on this post.
Author: Kerry
Women, stop bullying each other at work.
I ran across and article from the Atlantic about women bullying each other at work. It saddens me this is still something we deal with. I believe if you treat your coworkers with respect you will get it back. Most of us can see a person who will bully or stab you in the back pretty quickly. Those types of folks I steer clear from. I’ll be the best I can be, but I won’t go out of my way for someone that treats others badly. It just doesn’t make sense.
So, ladies…stop bullying each other. Just because you ate a lot of crap on your way up doesn’t mean you need to dish it out.
New First Author Publication
My new journal article published in Cogent Social Sciences is now available online.
Measuring outrage through a quantitative study of Iraqi immigrants in Michigan
Check it out!
How not to become a Queen Bee
In my last post I talked about the Queen Bee. I said at the end of the post a few words on not becoming one. In this post I want to elaborate on how avoid it. It’s easy to let ourselves become negative towards each other. However, the world does not have to become dog eat dog or in this case women undermining other women.
The Queen Bee
Women are rising up through the ranks of many different types of career paths. This includes careers where women were not common before now. You would think women are helping each other out. More senior women helping junior women make their mark. However, I don’t think this is case. I’m not saying that women don’t help each other at all. I have had many women lend me a hand over time. What I am saying there are many times where women get shut out by other women. When that happens it doesn’t make sense.
Everyone needs a PR firm
I think everyone these days could use a PR firm. Unlike any other time before the Internet, we have the power to say whatever is on our mind in an instant. No longer a problem for the famous, now anyone can say something that could at best make them look bad or at worst destroy their life. I love YouTube for mostly makeup tutorials and cooking shows. Lately my YouTube feed has been drowning in people with drama. The drama is entertaining, but what I want to point out is how a person can really ruin their reputation using social media. This is not a post on how to use social media. There are already too many of those articles out there. What I want to talk about is reputation management for the average person.
How to make vaccines more acceptable to the public. A comparison to antibiotic over use.
Dr. Tuteur, the author the Skeptical OB blog, posted an article on why antibiotics are more acceptable than vaccines. If you want to read the full post click here. Dr. Tuteur suggests the reason why antibiotics are more acceptable than vaccines are the fact that antibiotics are simple and work quickly. A vaccine on the other hand has a more complex mechanism of action and you don’t see it working.
What it’s like to earn a PhD online
Online degree programs have endured a stigma. Many people believe if you didn’t go to a brick and mortar school, you didn’t really earn a degree. When I talk to some people about how I got my PhD, it goes something like this:
Countering Misinformation With Data
How many times have you heard this conversation play out?
“I believe vaccines cause autism.”
“No they don’t, see my data. There are many studies that prove this to be incorrect.”
“Vaccines are full of toxins.”
“Vaccines have low levels of certain substances that are not toxic. The dose makes the poison.”
My Research Philosophy
I have completed my series on models for health education. I want to focus more on something a bit more personal. The big reason I started this blog is to get my research philosophy out there. One of the things I want to do is to do more community-based diverse population research. The primary topic is to see if the emergency preparedness and response messages are working their way to the hardest to reach people.
Kerry Chamberlain, PhD, MPH 