pressure

this week i am trying to whip my research into some kind of shape. so far, it is quite shapeless, but things are looking up. or at least, looking like any action is better than no action.

i had a meeting at the clinic where the research is taking place and felt like i was in front of a firing squad. 27 health professionals, mainly nurses, came to the information session regarding their role in the research project. now, no offense mom, you are the exception to the rule, but i have always found nurses mainly mean and intimidating people. this was multiplied by a hundred, or at least twenty seven. after i had finished explaining the study twice, a woman in charge asked me again to clarify the ‘logistics.’ so, for the third time, i went over all of the logistics for the research. she than asked me to clarify again, saying that she wanted to be frank and that really by ‘logistics’ she meant payment. as i am clearly not making the big bucks with my public health graduate research, i was both annoyed and sympathetic. i’m sure there are lots of times when people are taken advantage of by western researchers… but honestly, there is no budget! once this was clarified, an audible sigh circulated around the room. however, after all of the interrogation, enough people volunteered for the staff focus group (which includes food… and may i also add that someone asked what kind of food would specifically be provided).

please everyone wish me luck that the focus group goes smoothly on the 9th. i will than be frantically writing up preliminary research findings to be able to graduate in june (requiring that all documents be in by april 18th). i will than finish up the research after i have technically finished my master’s.

i am focusing on the staff participants currently, but patients also need to be recruited. this may be difficult given the lack of compensation. however, the overall study that i am under is providing a significant amount of funding to the clinic, particularly to the research coordinator they hired internally to the clinic. so, hopefully once the overall project starts, and the money is moving a bit more, my presence won’t elicit so many disappointed sighs.