Can't believe it's the last week of term already

Can't believe it's the last week of term already.  Still lots to try to get finished. Some recent highlights:

Been marking student assignments on the module I run on our MSc Health Psychology programme. Students have to write a case study of a hypothetical person who has a chronic health condition, describe the psychosocial issues they face, then choose and justify a self management intervention that will help them with these issues. Students can choose any condition they wish. Diabetes, HIV and arthritis proved the most popular choices this year.

I've also been writing new modules for the degree restructuring that's currently taking place for next academic year, including: clinical and counselling psychology, applied social psychology and professional skills for psychology graduates. I'm particularly keen on the last of these but finding an assessment strategy that will work for such a large group of students (its a mandatory module) will be a bit of a challenge.

In the last week I've drafted ethics submissions for projects with external collaborators, on the experience of volunteering and of monitoring one's fertility. I'm hoping that dissertation students and/or placement students will work on these in the next six months to a year.

I've also just submitted a research paper on PCOS to a journal - please please PLEASE don't let it be rejected... and have decided to write a blog entry as an excuse to digress from the very long NHS form I have been struggling with...

Enjoyable student discussion, and some frustration too.

One hour plus meeting today with student on MSc health psych about his dissertation plans, and a piece of coursework he is about to attempt on my module M99PY Self management of chronic conditions.

Very interesting dissertation proposal on an aspect of caregiver burden in home-based care for dementia.
Good case study plan too - choosing a self management intervention for type 2 diabetes.

We had a very productive discussion - just wish I could spend an equal time with all the students I teach but the numbers mean that it doesn't bear thinking about.

Meanwhile have been writing a draft training programme in motivational interviewing for a public sector organisation - more later if we win the bid - and giving a two hour lecture to undergraduates on the discursive defense of threatened identities.  We were 'discussing' two key papers:

Horton-Salway, M. (2001) 'Narrative Identities and the Management of Personal Accountability in Talk About ME: A Discursive Psychology Approach to Illness Narrative.' Journal of Health Psychology 6, (2) 247-259
Willott, S. and Griffin, C. (1999) 'Building Your Own Lifeboat: Working-Class Male Offenders Talk About Economic Crime.' British Journal of Social Psychology 38, 445-460

...or rather I should say I was talking about them.  Only two students had actually read a paper in advance of the class, so the seminar discussion fell rather flat.  I think I may also have offended one student with my reply to her question: "What is the exam on? Are we having a lecture on the exam?"

I asked her how many lectures she'd had on the module and her exasperated response suggested that she knew what I meant but dared not say out loud (That the exam is on the topics covered in the lectures we've been having all year - or did you think I just turned up and lectured because I'd nothing better to do...?).

I fear I may have compromised my student satisfaction scores...

Oh and gave feedback to a PhD student who is champing at the bit to submit for ethical approval of her next research study (apologies for the horse metaphor Felicity)

Module starts again

Wrote a reference today for one of our graduates who is applying to do a masters in social work.  This is a highly relevant way to apply the knowledge and skills developed in a BSc Psychology degree. 
I've also been finalising the module guide and various teaching materials for my MSc health psychology module which starts tomorrow: M99PY Self management of chronic illness and disability.  Tomorrow's session is on theoretical models of disability.  I'll be telling students about the papers they will be asked to present on in the comming weeks, including:

Pain


Campbell, C., & Guy, A. (2007). 'Why can't they do anything for a simple back problem?' A qualitative examination of expectations for low back pain treatment and outcome. Journal of Health Psychology, 12(4), 641-652.

Fullen, B. M., Baxter, G. D., O'Donovan, B. G. G., Doody, C., Daly, L., & Hurley, D. A. (2008). Doctors' attitudes and beliefs regarding acute low back pain management: A systematic review. Pain, 136(3), 388-396.

Diabetes

Dantzer, C., Swendsen, J., Maurice-Tison, S., & Salamon, R. (2003). Anxiety and depression in juvenile diabetes: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 23(6),787-800.
Grigsby, A. B., Anderson, R. J., Freedland, K. E., Clouse, R. E., & Lustman, P. J. (2002). Prevalence of anxiety in adults with diabetes a systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53(6), 1053-1060.

Asthma

Milton, B., Whitehead, M., Holland, P., & Hamilton, V. (2004). The social and economic consequences of childhood asthma across the lifecourse: A systematic review. Child: Care, Health and Development, 30(6), 711-728.

Weiser, E. B. (2007). The prevalence of anxiety disorders among adults with asthma: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 14(4), 297-307.

Stroke

Donnellan, C., Hevey, D., Hickey, A., & O'Neill, D. (2006). Defining and quantifying coping strategies after stroke: A review. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 77(11), 1208-1218.

Gilworth, G., Phil, M., Cert, A., Sansam, K. A. J., & Kent, R. M. (2009). Personal experiences of returning to work following stroke: An exploratory study. Work, 34(1), 95-103.

Coronary heart disease

French, D. P., Cooper, A., & Weinman, J. (2006). Illness perceptions predict attendance at cardiac rehabilitation following acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61(6), 757-767.

Woodgate, J., & Brawley, L. R. (2008). Self-efficacy for exercise in cardiac rehabilitation: Review and recommendations. Journal of Health Psychology, 13(3), 366-387.

Cancer

Najjar, N., Davis, L. W., Beck-Coon, K., & Carney Doebbeling, C. (2009). Compassion fatigue: A review of the research to date and relevance to cancer-care providers. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(2), 267-277.

Ussher, J. M., Perz, J., Hawkins, Y., & Brack, M. (2009). Evaluating the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for informal carers of cancer patients: A systematic review of the research literature. Health Psychology Review, 3(1), 85-107.

Drafting and crunching

Today:



I sent my bit of a paper off to a co-author for checking.


I started drafting a second.


I crunched a lot of data in an Excel spreadsheet.

Thinking...

After a yesterday making lots of phone calls and trying to set up meetings, in connection with continuing professional development courses, I have decided to have a day devoted to thinking and organising my ideas.

I think I'd have been rather surprised when I set out on an academic career to find that so little time would be available to sit and think deeply about things - but that's how it has turned out.

So today, instead of giving in to the tyranny of email and short term targets, I am going to really concentrate on what I want to achieve in my PCOS work for the next three years, so that I have a truly coherent set of plans to discuss with potential collaborators.  I already have a long list of possibilities, so it's just a question of dreaming up the best possible outcome to aim for.  Wish me luck...