So many of us work for nonprofits in this field. And if you have any experience in writing federal grants as a part of that job, I think you will particularly agree with this.
{For your daily dose(s) of humor, I highly recommend the new Tumblr, When You Work at a Nonprofit.}
Polaris Project’s National Human Trafficking Resource Center has a webcast available, Recognizing Human Trafficking Victim Experiences. The presentation is about 35 minutes long and is interspersed with case studies and linked resources. Access the session here.
This month’s Nursing has a free CE offering, Open the Door for LGBTQ Patients. I like it for it’s review of terminology and suggested history questions, along with its reference section, which includes the Joint Commission’s field guide (PDF), and the IOM report on the health of LGBTQ people. It’s a short and easy read (meaning it’s a brief overview, so this shouldn’t be the only thing you read on the subject), and there are education credits attached if you need them, so probably a good way to spend a little time. Do follow the footnotes–they will lead you to some concepts we don’t spend nearly enough time talking about in our professional circles. Intersectionality, anyone?
Time once again for Articles of Note, in which I share the recently published literature that’s capturing my attention. Please remember this is not an exhaustive overview of what’s newly available, but it should give you a good place to start. There’s some amazing stuff out this month, so I think this list is a particularly rich one. Plus several familiar names among the authors, which is always fun.
I was supposed to have an Articles of Note post up yesterday, but in the mad race of this week, it just didn’t happen. But that’s not the purpose of this post–I’ll have it up next week and that will be that. No, the purpose of the post is to share a little food for thought that’s much needed on my end, as I have been obsessing over my calendar.
The Guardian has a fascinating podcast on a significant emerging issue: violence against women on social media sites and through other forms of digital communication. It’s not something we discuss a whole lot in healthcare, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be. Harassment and bullying online are certainly not foreign to many of our sexual assault and domestic violence patients, so understanding prevalence and impact is an important part of enhancing your clinical capacity in this digital age.
{For US readers, if you’re interested in your state’s laws on cyberstalking and cyberharassment, you can find a state by state breakdown here.}
Kim Day (of SAFEta acclaim for the handful of folks who don’t already know her) and I were talking last week about the word “evidence” and our move away from it when we speak about the work we do. I liked what she was saying so much, I asked her to write a guest post, which she graciously did amid all her other projects. Thanks, Kim, for the thoughtful offering. I look forward to the continuing conversation on this topic:
Is there a greater luxury than a week at home? For some of us, the answer is a resounding no. So many odds and ends to work through, but that doesn’t stop me from letting my mind (and eyes) wander. Here’s some of what I’ve been reading since last we spoke:
So there’s this: a truly fascinating article in yesterday’s NY Times, In a Culture of Disrespect, Patients Lose Out. The premise of the article, which is inspired by a pair of articles published in a 2012 issue of Academic Medicine (Part I and Part II, full text), can be gleaned from this statement:
When we tolerate a culture of disrespect, we aren’t just being insensitive, or obtuse, or lazy, or enabling. We’re in fact violating the first commandment of medicine. How can we stand idly by when our casual acceptance of disrespect is causing the same harm to our patients as medication errors, surgical mistakes, handoff lapses and missed lab results?
NCVC is offering a webinar coming up next week: Developing a Welfare Response to Child Trafficking. The session will be held July 25th at 2pm ET. You can register here.
One of the more eye-opening pieces I’ve read in sometime: I’m Not A Person With a Disability: I’m a Disabled Person. I truly had never considered this perspective.
Mint Press News has a podcast now available, Rape on the Reservation: Sexual Assault in the Native American Community (not to be confused with the must-watch documentary report by Current TV with the same name). While it addresses sexual assault, it also looks at its intersection with human trafficking, and perspectives in the piece are those of survivors and professionals.
Home is a good place to be. Getting home from the Pacific is a slog, but it’s a journey I will happily take when it means getting back to my people. Plus it allows plenty of time for reading. Here’s what’s been capturing my attention since last we spoke:
This week has been…interesting. I have been falling into my bed exhausted every night, so I haven’t been reading much. But last night a series of tweets lead me to this article, which I figured I’d share. Not all of it applies to clinicians, but I am extremely enamored with several points (especially numbers 1 and 2), which direct all good scientists to, in part, do things like keep idea notebooks and generate ideas broadly rather than in an attempt to solve a particular problem. Awesome. I know–so nerdy.
The National Strangulation Training Institute is hosting a webinar: Overcoming the Consent Defense in Strangulation Cases, presented by two friends of mine, Dr. Dean Hawley and Bridget Healy Ryan. The session will be held July 30th from 10-11:30 PT. You can register for the webinar here. That’s all the intel I have on this one–couldn’t find any abstract or additional details online. Regardless, it should be a good one.
The Tribal Forensic Healthcare project (full disclosure: I’m a consultant) is hosting a webinar July 18th at 3pm ET, Creating Bridges of Trust Through Cultural Competency in the Indian Healthcare Response to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Attendance will net you 1.5 CEUs (CMEs are also in the process of being obtained), free of charge, so this is an awesome opportunity for great training [Cordelia Clapp, RN, BSN is the featured speaker] AND credit hours for your recertification or licensure (or just general edification).
Just a quick note this morning: I have updated the clinical guide on using alternate light sources for identifying bruising. There’s still not much in the way of solid research on this one, so keep that in mind. But I am regularly asked about it as a tool, so look through what’s available. And if I’m missing anything critical, please let me know and I’ll add it.
I am going to be in trial next week, many time zones away from where I am now, so I put up the usual disclaimer: next week posts may be a tad erratic as I see what my connectivity is like and whether or not I get back to my hotel room for more than a 4 hour stretch on any given day. With that, I leave you with some food for thought: many of you have posted, emailed me or tweeted about this article in Salon. Read it if you haven’t yet–it’s worth your time. It also made me think of one of my very favorite comedy bits from way back in the day, for your viewing pleasure after the jump (it sets up right before the 1 minute mark, I just couldn’t find a video with *only* that joke):
Our colleagues over at Essentials of Correctional Nursing have an excellent post up, “What is gender responsiveness and trauma-informed care in nursing practice?” Do not skip this just because correctional healthcare isn’t your field–this is a worthwhile read for all clinicians.
I got an email from a colleague who was thinking about leaving her practice–she was torn between loving the work and despising her manager. Despising her manager was winning. Mostly she just wanted to vent, but she was asking with great seriousness if there was anything she could do to change her manager. And my experience is, no, there isn’t. The people I most enjoy working for are the people I most enjoy working with and those folks bring some fundamental qualities to the table that I need in order to feel like I can positively contribute to a project or a team. But I can’t force people to have those qualities–I can only seek them out whenever possible (and I am immensely grateful that I have the luxury to do this). There’s a reason that I tend to work with/for the same people over and over. You cannot overemphasize the importance of a positive culture of leadership and management (be it leading/managing projects or people).