Happy new year to you all–I hope you had a peaceful and fulfilling holiday season. Mine was hectic (surprise), but I had some quality time with my kid and my wife, so although I wouldn’t say it was relaxing, it was a good couple of weeks. Tomorrow I will fill you in on my big change for 2015, but in the meantime I want to mention what’s caught my attention since last we spoke.
I was perusing my blog reader this morning at the uncivilized hour of 4am (because my internal alarm clock is always on east coast time), catching up on some reading since I haven’t had a whole lot of down time this week. And I came across a blog post featuring a video based on a David Foster Wallace commencement speech from almost a decade ago.
The CDC has released the 2013 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Survey. This is pretty much a must-read if you’re caring for sexual assault patients and others who need to be screened, tested, and/or prophylaxed for STDs. One size definitely does not fit all, so understanding issues like increasing prevalence of certain diseases and updated recommendations for screening are critical. You can read the full report here (PDF) or check out the fact sheet (a good handout for discussion at your next staff meeting) here (PDF).
I know it’s been quiet here for a few days. The truth is that usually when that happens it’s the migraines to blame and not the workload or the travel (although in fairness I’ve gone from Orlando to Charlottesville to Ft Bliss in El Paso, TX since my last post, so the travel has been kicking my butt). While I’m trying to gut out this migraine spiral I’m in, I’ve managed to peruse my social media streams while hanging out in airports. So here’s what’s caught my eye since last we spoke:
I know that many of you are evaluating drug-endangered children as a part of your practice (or perhaps hoping to expand your practice to include this population), so here’s a brand new resource just out: A Circle of Healing for Native Children Endangered by Drugs is a new 7-part video series available from OVC. You can view portions of it online or order a copy of the full series. Click through for details:
The adult webinar for the Tribal Forensic Healthcare project in January will be one presented by Jennifer Pierce-Weeks and me. Sustaining SANE Programs: Long-Range Thinking for Program Management and Staff is scheduled for January 12th from 3-4:30 pm ET. As with all webinars from this project, CEUs will be available. Click through for session details:
Thanks to Sheila Early for this: Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Medical Society have published Human Trafficking: Guidebook on Identification, Assessment and Response in the Healthcare Setting (PDF). It was published this fall, and although there are a few sections that are state specific, I would recommend this for clinicians regardless of geography. It’s worth your time to review.
I am racing right now, trying to get everything done, as are many of you, no doubt. I had a great time in New Orleans, and now I’m off to Orlando to spend some quality time with the Army JAGs. I was traveling this weekend, and then trying to organize a bit before this next trip–I’m away from home for 11 days, so laundry. Also, how is it possible the holidays are so close? I’ll be taking the week of Christmas off, so I am trying to get as much done in the few remaining days I have at home as humanly possible. Still had time for a bit of reading, though–here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:
For those of you looking for continuing education on strangulation, there’s another session coming up, this one a webinar offered by BWJP. It’ll be held on 12 December from 2-3:30pm CT. Dr. Bill Smock will be one of the featured speakers. Registration must happen by 11 December to participate. This will be a good one for multidisciplinary teams, so you may want to forward the webinar details to members of your MDTs and CCRs. Click through for details:
There’s a new report out from NIJ worth checking out–Teen Dating Violence: How Peers Can Effect Risk and Protective Factors (PDF). I’ll be reading it in an airport somewhere over the next few weeks…
I have a new blog post over on NSVRC’s SANE Sustainability page. This one is on leadership and it includes a podcast from the app, for those who haven’t had an opportunity to check it out yet.
If you’re trying to figure out what to pick up for members of your team this year, allow me to make some suggestions. They’re all things I have either given, currently covet, or plan to give myself this season.To make it a bit more fun, I’ve broken the list down a bit this year:
I hope everyone who was celebrating had an enjoyable holiday–we definitely did. Our week was filled with too much food and lots of time with friends and family, so my battery was recharged a bit. I’m back home now, but only for a minute. This week I’m heading to New Orleans where I hope to see some of you here.
I tried to stay offline as much as I could while on vacation last week, but did see a few things that caught my attention. Here’s what I’ve been reading since last we spoke:
Occasionally I compile some of the odds and ends that have been stacking up in my inbox for FHO readers. I figured if you are stuck working a shift during this holiday and have some downtime (as if) here’s a good way to use some time. Click through for details:
I’m in Cleveland this week, having some much needed family time. With the holiday here in the US, postings will be on a modified schedule (I’m going to take Thursday and Friday off, so just 3 posts for the week). We’ll resume with regular posts next week, but fair warning–December is an ugly travel month for me, culminating in a court martial the week before Christmas, so we’ll just see how regular my posts are over the next 4 weeks. I had a little down time over the weekend to read and play catch up–here’s what’s caught my eye since last we spoke:
There’s a new website, See the Signs that focuses on recognizing and responding to domestic and sexual violence. There are three online courses offered on the site: one about intervening to prevent domestic and sexual violence (created by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network and the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence); one about having conversations with teens about healthy dating relationships (created by Jewish Women International); and one on protecting children from domestic violence (created by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). I haven’t worked my way through the site or the courses yet, but I hope to at least spend some time with it over the holiday. I’ll be interested to hear what you think.
(h/t VAWnet)
The Institute of Medicine has an upcoming workshop, Means of Violence. It will be held December 18th and 19th in Washington, DC, beginning at 8:30 am. Although this will be a live workshop, there will also be a simultaneous webcast that will be available globally. Click through for details:
I just finished a really enjoyable week teaching an IPV course with forensic nurses in Indian Country. Part of the conversation was about co-occurring child abuse and child witnessing. Serendipitously, this publication showed up in my inbox this morning, and I’m working my way through it now. Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive (PDF) was just released by the US Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence. It’s a pretty chewy document, so settle in.
It’s very early in Phoenix, AZ as I write this–I’m here to teach the IPV medical-forensic exam course for IHS (we have another one coming up in February if you’re interested), so it’s a packed week. I had my kiddo in town over the weekend for a friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah and then I hopped a plane last night after putting her on one of her own (an occurrence that happens too often in my life). All this to say, I didn’t read much this weekend, but let me share what caught my attention since last we spoke. More next week, I promise.
Yesterday in class one of our participants mentioned this video, produced by the California Attorney General’s Office, as we were discussing the impact of domestic violence on children. I hadn’t seen it, but obviously I went right out and found it as soon as we were done. A good resource to bookmark for future education sessions, staff meetings, etc.