MIA

If you're wondering why I didn't use the Thanksgiving break to make good on my promise to catch up on my posts, I actually have a legitimate excuse: my laptop died on Thanksgiving morning, and Zach and his laptop were away from about 6AM on Friday until Monday night.

Yes, in theory, I could have dragged my ass up to Columbia over the weekend and done the posting there. In fact, I did drag my ass up there on Sunday, but only because I had to get something done on my master's project before another round of panic set in.

Speaking of which . . . the first of several master's project deadlines -- getting the topic approved and writing a blurb about it to be forwarded to the dean -- was about 10 days ago. I'll have you know that I met the deadline with three days to spare, thank you very much.

If I haven't said so before, the master's project -- for a print "concentrator" like me -- is a 7,000- to 10,000-word magazine-style article. (Translation: about 25-40 double-spaced pages.) The first draft of the project is due on January 17th, the day after our "alleged winter break." And the final draft is due on March 20th, the day after our "alleged spring break." Nice, huh?

Oh, and tomorrow is deadline number two. By 9PM, I have to submit a preliminary outline of the project. Have I started it? Of course not. (But mostly because I have another deadline tomorrow: a 1,200-word essay for my Critical Issues class. Yes, I have started that.)

So anyway, in case you are interested, here's the blurb I submitted about my project:

Is There a Humanist in the House?
New Trends in Medical Education

Buffeted by political battles and unforgiving economics, the nation’s health-care system is in turmoil. While politicians and policy wonks tackle headline-making issues like universal health insurance and the future of Medicare, little public attention has been paid to the ailing institution at the heart of this system: the doctor-patient relationship.

A host of external forces—the strictures of managed care, the rise of medical malpractice claims, and the advent of the Internet, to name a few—have forever altered the dynamic between physician and patient, supplanting trust and respect with frustration and resentment on both sides. Faced with a future of disaffected doctors and dissatisfied patients, the medical profession is trying to bring humanism back to the bedside by altering the way it trains new doctors.

This project will explore recent innovations in medical education that seek to heal the fractured doctor-patient relationship. It will bring together a variety of voices—including those of medical students, medical residents, medical-school professors, residency directors, practicing physicians, patients, and health-care experts—to tell the story of a troubled relationship that may or may not be on the mend.