Sending Some Love

I've been so busy writing articles for The Almost Doctor's Channel (as you can see from my profile here) that I haven't had time to update my own blog! Since it's Valentine's Day, I wanted to send some love out to all of my wonderful readers who still keep up with me and let you all know that I'm determined to do better!

I'm not a huge fan of the consumer approach to today but I do like the idea of using this "holiday" to tell the important people in your life that you love and appreciate them and that's what I want to do for you guys. When I started this blog I had no idea that it would be received with such interest and warmth by so many. The comments that I've received and the feedback I've been given has been amazing and has helped me through some difficult parts of the application process.

I can only hope that I've been able to do the same for all of you. Have a beautiful day.

Hello From The Newest Contributing Writer For The (Almost) Doctor's Channel

I am very pleased to announce that I was offered the opportunity to contribute weekly for The Almost Doctor's Channel blog (which I've written about before here) and I've accepted! My first piece as a regular writer for them was posted Monday so please take a peek and feel free to comment and/or share. I have to admit, I'm chuffed to bits I get a bio/pic of my own on the contributor page. I absolutely couldn’t have done this without all of your support, dear internet (and real life!) friends, so thank you for following me and reading my articles, you are the best!

Ta da! I Am Officially An Employee of The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine!

It's my first day (don't worry, I'm on my lunch break) and I am so looking forward to being finished with the new hire paperwork so I can get to some actual research! I've only been in Chicago for a few weeks but I was able to get connected with some amazing people at Northwestern who really took an interest in my research background and were instrumental in helping me find jobs to apply to in the clinical informatics field. I was offered a research assistant position on a patient-centered informatics project last Monday, which I immediately accepted and here I am today (sitting at a desk with THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW!).

Some of the things I'll be doing are new, which is great because I'll have the opportunity to learn and grow as a researcher. The biggest change will be working directly with cardio patients who are involved in the study. While I loved my job at Partners, that was the one area where it fell short and I'm very excited to get experience working in the hospital. I'll also be part-time on a project that is focused on a local community health clinic, which I'm excited about because it will be a great way to get involved with public health in my own neighborhood! That's just a brief overview of the two projects but after I've plowed through the rest of the protocols I will post a bit about the actual aims of the studies and what I'll be working on in particular.

Finally, I cannot express how grateful I am to be settled into a new apartment in a new city with a new job all in less than a month. I absolutely could not have done it alone so THANK YOU to everyone for your support, advice, and assistance. I can't wait to see where this new adventure will take me!

Gorgeous view

Ascovime USA

I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about such a fantastic project! I've been involved with Ascovime USA for several years through one of their former volunteers who still works closely with the organization. Together we've worked to publicize and raise support for the work that's being done by this wonderful non-profit. Here is a link to their website that I help to maintain where you'll find a history of the project along with more recent information about plans for the future
To provide a little background: Ascovime was started by a Cameroonian surgeon, Dr. Georges Bwelle, who wanted to serve the people in rural villages around his country by providing much-needed healthcare. Every weekend during the rainy season, joined by several volunteers, Dr. Bwelle loads up his van with medical supplies and travels to areas that don't have access to a doctor to set up improvised clinics where he treats patients.
Over the years Ascovime has grown to provide more than just healthcare and has started several off-shoot endeavors to support the development and independence of the Cameroonian people. Their latest enterprise, Project Education, is an effort to provide birth certificates for children so they can attend school (in Cameroon a birth certificate is required to receive an education but many families can't afford the $16 US equivalent that it takes to get one).
Volunteers are warmly welcomed on the project and are given the amazing opportunity to work with Dr. Bwelle in the field. I've personally wanted to go to Cameroon ever since I first found out about the possibility  and am hoping that next year I may finally get to go (I'll definitely need to brush up on my French)!
In closing, Ascovime is amazing and deserves your support for so many reasons, the people involved work tirelessly to help the poor and destitute with no thought of recognition or reward. They do it because they care and because they're helping make the world a better place. I am thrilled to be able to help them in a small way by getting word out about this very special cause. I can't wait to volunteer myself and experience the ability to make a difference in a real and tangible way.
If you want to contribute, please consider donating to Ascovime through the website linked to above. If you are unable to donate financially then please repost or retweet  a link to this story so that we can get the word out. Every little bit helps enormously!

Thanks!

1500 Pageviews!

Yesterday I hit 1500 pageviews thanks to YOU awesome readers. It's so exciting to see that people are actually checking out my posts. So THANK YOU ALL for reading, sharing links, and telling friends about this blog :)

1,000 Pageviews!

Today journalistdoingscience reached over 1,000 views and and I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading over the past few months! It's so nice to hear from people that they appreciated a recent post or shared a link with a friend and it's lovely to see that I must have at least a few readers other than my Mum :) I hope you all continue to read and enjoy my blog!