Robert Musser, Ph.D.

Doing Good to Yourself and Others, a Call to Altruism

April 15-21, 2018 could be one of the most important weeks for you this year. The “Points of Light” organization has designated this week as National Volunteer Week. Did you know that volunteer work, altruism, has benefits both for the giver and the recipient? A growing body of research is indicating that appropriate emotional compassion and active benefit provided for others increases the well-being of both the recipient and the donor. These benefits for the caregiver often include greater mental health, increased longevity, more optimal physiological functioning, deeper social engagements, and even better outcomes when facing a number of illnesses and diseases. As part of your own general self-care while a student at UAMS, you might consider getting involved in meaningful volunteer work, altruism, along the way.

Those who have been studying the value of altruism have emphasized a few pointers:

First, the benefits accrue to the giver whose compassion does not overwhelm her or him. Of course there is a danger in caring too much for the other at the expense of one’s own needs, and such an approach is detrimental to health.

Second, the caregiver needs both to care emotively and to act in some beneficial way toward those cared about. To feel concern is appropriate; to act beneficially is helpful; best is the combination of the two. Also, it is better to engage in face-to-face caregiving, yet the donation of goods or money is also useful.

Third, the donation, be it goods or services or financial support, should be something that is recognized as a benefit by the recipient.

Stephen Post, who has tracked relevant research on this topic, summarizes “It’s Good to Be Good.”

Who knew? Doing good for others is good for me. Altruism benefits also the altruist.

As Martin Buber famously taught, the human experience is most fully human when I value both “I” and “Thou.” To practice genuine care for someone other than myself is also, at its best, to take care of myself. And remember some of those others may very well be Pinnacle Mountain, humpback whales, or abandoned pets. There is benefit also in doing good to the nonhuman members of our planet.

My inclination is to tell you to go, be good, but it seems ludicrous to command volunteerism. Consider spoiling yourself, then, by your altruism: caring for and doing good.

FYI, Abbreviate with Care

For your information, we humans are prone to abbreviate. Some of us, military types and medical types and such, are espec. prone to abbreviate. Like most things in life, to abbreviate serves us well and serves us ill. COP & UAMS & COM & CHP & COPH and CON save space and effort and mean the same as their longer equivalents. But to the uninitiated, abbreviations confuse and can be offputting and secretive. In addition, an abbreviated form can carry unwanted connotations. When working in a nursing home many years ago, I learned not to sign the paper charts with my initials BM. I abbreviated RM for Robert instead. A friend told me about beginning work in a medical facility and wondering why so many of the patients were described as SOB until he heard the shortness of their breath and realized it was not a commentary on their attitudes. I heard about a person who invited a friend to dinner WTF (Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday she thought).

The long and the short of it is, abbrev. w/ care.

Do Abbreviate

When you must save space or characters (e.g. when texting or taking notes).
When you are sure you and your reader will understand the same meaning.
When you need to keep private from the uninstructed a message that must be sent.

Do NOT Abbreviate

If the other party does not know (of even if you are unsure whether they know or not) the meaning.
If the meaning is ambiguous.
When patient safety and quality of care are at issue,

Confused by the message on the Slideshow in the Student Success Center? Here is what was written:

Abbrs are gr8. In our med wrld we use them oft & to gd effct. COPD is much easier than wrtng or spking out the ent. phrase. Some abbrs can ref to more than one sit. Ck out our curr blog pst on the use of abbrs.

Here it is without all the abbreviations:

Abbreviations are great. In our medical world we use them often and to good effect. COPD is much easier than writing or speaking out the entire phrase. However, some abbreviations can refer to more than one situation. Check out our current blog post on the use of abbreviations.

Remember to abbreviate with care.

Welcome Back to Work

Someone observed, “There should be a sympathy card for having to go back to work after vacation.” I don’t know who first came up with the thought; now there are several versions circulating on the internet, some spruced up with images. These creations sound like just the kind of diversion someone coming back to work after a break would pursue. Anything to delay full immersion into the cascading stream of activities that is our normal. Well, welcome back. Stop in and say “Hello,” if you have a chance. I too am trying to reorient and forge ahead into the new semester.

With that in mind, it’s a good time to remind us of some helpful basics as we get back to work: Think Back, Look Ahead, Live in the Present.

Think Back

Build on last semester. Recognize the ways in which your knowledge, your skills, and your training will serve you well in classes this semester. Perhaps engage in a short mental review over the big ideas and even some key ideas from your training so far. It’s helpful to connect your learning across various subjects, and it can be encouraging to recognize how far you have already come. You made it—good for you, and go on to greater levels yet.

Look Ahead

Think about the semester to come. I recommend some calendar planning early on in each semester. Use a monthly calendar to lay out key dates for exams, papers, major projects, and so forth. You might also include your own key dates: a birthday or anniversary or Valentine’s Day you must not forget, doctor’s appointments, and so on. Use a weekly calendar to lay out your typical weekly schedule: when are your classes, what hours do you set aside for study, when do you take care of household chores, exercise, etc. Planning ahead will be a key component to success, academic and otherwise.

Live in the Present

Live the life that is directly in front of you with full attention to the moment. The practice of mindful living enhances your wellbeing and helps your success. Ease back into your work. Don’t try to complete the upcoming semester in the first day or the first week. Yet, do get going—complete something significant today.

A Final Reminder—Recreate Periodically

Remember also to plan some recreative activities during the semester. Arkansas Parks and Tourism maintains a calendar of activities around the state. The website address is https://www.arkansas.com/events/. Many of the events are free. You might visit art exhibits and juried competitions in Mena and El Dorado. You might enjoy the monthly performance of music at the Garland County Library in Hot Springs. During January there is an “Artists’ Garage Sale” in Mena where you can buy art supplies and artwork. On February 8 Hope, Arkansas hosts “An Evening with Frederick Douglas” as part of Black History Month. Eureka Springs has a pirate-themed Mayor’s Ball on February 10 as part of its Mardi Gras celebrations. There are ongoing activities all around the state.

Welcome back, then. Enjoy yourself and your loved ones. Have a great semester learning and living.

Tips for Academic Searches

Along the way I’ve written a paper for one or another of my classes or for a professional assignment. I thought I would share a few practical search tips for academic searches that might help you. They have worked for me along the way; may they work for you as well.

#1. Learn how to specify your topic.

I learned from Wikipedia to put a name to this step—disambiguate. If you are looking for information on John Adams, for instance, Wikipedia has a page where you can figure out which John Adams you mean. There are 17 politicians by that name, 13 of them American. There are 2 composers and 7 military men, and there are numerous other categories (such as sports figures) as well. Learn how to be as specific as possible when you are using search tools.

#2. Use the search engine features to your advantage.

If you are looking for journal articles and using one of the databases available through the UAMS library:

You can limit your search to certain years (if you need the current state of research on a particular condition or a prescription drug, you can easily eliminate materials published more than 5 years ago, say).
You can limit the sources of the information (to full articles, to a specific journal title, to reviews if you need to find out how a particular book was evaluated, and so on).
You can limit your search by languages.
Other limiting options are available; use them to your advantage to target your search.

#3. Learn the function of and use the Boolean operators.

Boolean operators are words like “and”, “or” and so forth. Most search engines incorporate these features into the basic functions where you search by subject, keyword, author and so forth. Effective use of these commands can help to focus your search and shorten your time evaluating the results of your search request.

#4. Follow the references.

As you begin to read articles, books, and other materials note whom they reference, especially if the reference is identified as particularly important or a leader in the field. In this regard check in with the reference librarian and with your professors. They have expertise in identifying particularly important work and perhaps also in helping you to steer clear of inaccurate, misleading, or confusing sources.

Happy digging!

Come Outside: Green Spaces at UAMS

Ever find yourself inside on one of those glorious warm sunny days when nature seems to beckon us to come outside? Maybe, like me, you weren’t raised in the city, and you need some fresh air and a chance to stretch your arms and inhale and exhale deeply. Maybe you miss the the chatter of the critters and the sounds of human living going by. It’s rejuvenating (it makes us young again) to smell the delightful aromas of the blooms or of a just-passed rain—you can almost taste the dewy sweetness. How nice to be caressed by the gentle massage of a breeze, to see green plants and birds on the wing, butterflies at a blossom. But, we live in a mini-city of concrete high rises and technological marvels. It’s not so easy to get outside and breathe free.

There are some green spaces around UAMS, don’t you know. Tucked here and there are some spaces where you might decompress for a few moments. You might even take your studies and work outside. I’ve located and noted places around the campus with benches, in some cases tables and shade. For the most part, these are also green spaces designed with a variety of plant life and often soothing water feature backdrops. Come outside and enjoy.

Green Spaces at UAMS

The gardens among the campus buildings behind the student center and the COPH building. There are 3 outdoor spaces, each of which is lined with greenery and includes benches:
- Between building 4A and building 5A.
- Between building 7A and buildings 2 and 3, next to 5A.
- Between building 7A and 6A, this is the “Legacy Garden.”
There are some shaded tables and chairs outside the student center (around the side of the building from the entrance).
There are benches on the hill behind and above I. Dodd Wilson building.
There are some shaded tables and chairs outside the Resident Hall Administrative Services building.
There are several balconies with tables and chairs in Rahn Education building. The largest (also the most used) is outside the Metro Deli 2 indoor seating area. It appears to me that there are balconies facing north toward the Hillcrest area, facing east toward downtown, and facing West.
The UAMS Garden, also called the Chancellor’s Garden on Campus Drive outside the Chancellor’s suite and accessible from the sidewalk on Campus Drive.
There are shaded tables and chairs outside the cafeteria which is located on the ground floor of the Central Building. There are often several people in this area, eating and visiting so it may not be as conducive to study and quiet.
The Healing Garden outside the Gathering Place café on the first floor of the Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Off the first floor lobby of the hospital toward parking one and looking toward the VA center there are some outdoor benches.
Outside of the Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI) there is a small green garden space with bench seating.

The weather appears to be moving slowly toward cooler Autumn. It’s a good time to be outside.

Human Errors

You may have noticed a mistake or two in the text of this blog. There are at least 8 (a light-hearted illustration on my part of the theme of the blog). Can you find them all? You may email me at remusser@uams.edu for a list of the ones I intentionally included.

Oops. I did it again. I apologize. My misteak. Earlier this week I sent an email to a colleague, and I included a brief description of the file I attached. Guess what—I failed to attach the document. Know what happened the next time I sent that same person an attachment? Your right, I attached the document. Why are we so afraid to goof up? In the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, the author Peterr C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel make the observation, “. . . errors are an integral part of striving to increase one’s mastery over new material.” And later in the discussion they add, “When learners commit errors and are given corrective feedback, the errors are not learned.” This finding is in contrast to a widely-held belief that the very act of making a mistake reinforces that mistake in the mind and actions of the learner. Not so, if the learner or the instructor provide reflection and correction.

Some of the Best Learning is Built on Errors

I can hear the naysayers (myself included) push back that some errors are more critical than others. As Stewart on the TV show “The Big Bang theory” observed, “It’s wrong to say a tomato is a vegetable; it’s very wrong to say it’s a suspension bridge.’ I don’t want my surgeon or my airline pilot getting it wrong. That’s why there are flight simulators and practice ahead of time—it’s better to make our mistakes in the learning lab than on the actual job. With reflection and another go at it we learn, and we do better. We do make mistakes; the time tested statement is correct, “to err is human.” It might be nice to live an error-free life in an error-free world, but we do not. In fact, contrary to our expectations the best learning is built on failures and on the subsequent efforts to evaluate what went wrong, why, and how to avoid that problem next time. After all, Edison’s light bulb was not nearly his first attempt nor was he the first person to create an electric light.

In our culture to accept mistakes, even more to embrace them as a valued component of learning, goes against the grain. One of the unfortunate affects of this attitude is that we become risk averse, unlikely to test new skills or to try new ways of thinking. Yet, novel thinking and novel methods are necessary for improvement. So, give yourself a brake. Embrace your mistakes. Do note them, examine them (why did that happen, what exactly happened, how can I do better next time), and learn.

Welcome to UAMS: Welcome to Change

Welcome to UAMS, and specifically welcome to the College of Pharmacy. Soon enough you will learn the shortcut abbreviations: COP, PDA, Pharm for Pharmacology. You’ll know Rahn and I Dodd Wilson and Shorey as the names of buildings. You will be able to decipher office numbers like 3/118 in the library (my number; drop by sometime; I’m your contact in the Student Success Center). You’re in store for a lot of changes along the way. You’ll pick up new information, and you’ll also develop new ways of thinking and living in a new profession you are learning.

A Gateway to Change

13 years ago this summer I moved to central Arkansas from the Saint Louis area. That city skyline is easily recognizable with the soaring Gateway Arch on the western banks of the Mississippi River. That arch signals the passageway to great change for so many people in the history of our country. You are walking now through a sort of doorway into your own new frontier with changes in your circumstances, changes for your loved ones, changes for those whom you will assist as a pharmacist. Change can be unnerving. Change can call forth nervy excitement. Certain it is that change is inevitable.

Managing Change Well

Know that the change is coming; that recognition is the first important step in managing well. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other counsellors suggest some additional strategies:

Do change when change is required. Some of us approach our lives in over-simplified, tried-and-true, usual procedures. You will do well to know early on that this academic experience is not the same as undergraduate study. You will be required to know much more information, and you will be required to practice more sophisticated kinds of reasoning and problem-solving. You will need to make the necessary changes. By the way, we can help with some of that.
Do not change what does not matter or is inevitable. The world, you and I, your fellow-students, and your professors, for instance, are imperfect. We will be forever frustrated and ultimately defeated if we try to turn this existence into a utopian perfection. As a friend of mine said, “Aim for perfection. Settle for excellence.”
Put into effect the kind of change needed. Some changes are simply at the level of detail. For example, you will be required to memorize a considerable amount of information about various drugs. To learn more information like this is a first-order change, more of the same. Some changes are second-order changes. You will likely be learning about new approaches to medicating, new ways of delivering medications and so forth. These second-order changes involve not merely more of the same, but shifts in the framework and the basic structure. So it’s important to make first-order changes when more of the same is needed, and we should change the whole framework when that is needed. Of course, wisdom lies in knowing which level of change is required when. Again, maybe we can help with that.

Once again, welcome to the training program here. As you change for the better, we’d like to help you succeed in this new life . We wish you all the best and look forward for you and with you to a good journey.

Dr. Bob Musser
Student Learning Specialist
College of Pharmacy
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Resilience Study

More years ago than I care to remember, in high school, I ran the 880 yard dash and one mile relay leg. Meets opened with those nutty guys running the 2 mile. Only in that race did everyone run together: the varsity and the freshman/sophomore teams. At one race, when I was a senior, a lone freshman from another town ran so slowly he was in danger of being lapped twice by the winning varsity runner. Only a desperate sprint at the end of his sixth lap prevented this ignominy. He struggled to the next curve and fell off the track into the grass, not finishing. Some years later my younger brother, one of those nutty long-distance runners, told me “The Rest of the Story.” That same runner moved to another event, off the track even, onto the field, and he won the conference meet in the high jump his senior year.

Success, Failure, and Resilience

As we think about resilience in this series of posts, why does one succeed and another not? What is resilience? Is it the dogged determination of General Grant, or is it the transition to another endeavor to which a person is better suited? Both seem resilient in different ways. Both moved on to success.

3 Models of Resilience

Resilience study has become an established academic subject, principally among psychologists and psychiatrists and originally focused on childhood development in the face of crises or traumas. In her book Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development Ann Masten notes that some research has given attention to the variables in situations requiring resilience. At least three models of resilience have arisen out of attention to these variables. One model notes that resilience arises in the direct interplay between a person’s assets and some risk or adversity. As a UAMS student you might spend your assets of organization and detailed recall to prepare a paper or study for an exam.

A second model notes that mediators, indirect influences, are often present. Masten recounts that economic downturn in the late 20th century led to a significant rise in worsening adolescent family relationships among Iowa farm families. In our situation, poor sleep, unhealthy diet and exercise, and other issues can contribute to adverse academic performance. As best you can, eat well (not much, but well), sleep well, keep active. Take care of yourself, and you will more likely thrive. A third model suggests that moderators are often significant. A moderator is an intervention which removes or ameliorates an adversity. They function like airbags, Masten suggests, lying dormant, unused until needed. For instance, someone prevents an attacker or shields a victim. Masten mentions the widespread use of 911 as a moderator which greatly improved outcomes.

I think of our Student Success Center as this kind of moderator. We are here for academic coaching, for peer tutoring, for writing help, for referral to other services. Help us help you be more resilient when you face adversity at UAMS. Face adversity you will; be as prepared as you can to bounce back, a resilient success.

Congratulations and Graduation

Congratulations!

You made it to one degree or another. You made it, and now it’s time to move on. Go with our blessing. Live well, be good, work hard, take care.

To those of you graduating this semester, congratulations on this important achievement. To those who have courses yet to come and hurdles yet to clear, congratulations on your progress so far. Take a break, and celebrate. Celebrate with your classmates. Celebrate with your partners and your families. Those communities help make us who we are, and one way or another the ones standing alongside contributed to our success. Some of them cheered you on and gave you needed motivation. Some to them challenged you and made you prove that you could be better. Some of them did the mundane tasks so you could concentrate on your studies. Remember that lots of people celebrate with you: family and friends and mentors and colleagues.

Honor the Graduation Rituals

And remember too that milestones such as these are often marked by rituals. New nurses are pinned and welcomed into the professional community of nursing. Those of you who have demonstrated skilled expertise earn important certificates. At graduation you will receive official degrees, and new PhDs will be hooded. Rituals are important markers of initiation and accomplishment. Rituals signal that we have taken on new identities and roles in society. Rituals are communal acts that say something about what our lives mean. Now, it’s true that rituals can be laborious and take work on our part, and who wants to jump through another hoop at this stage in the game? Go ahead and honor the ritual. Time-honored traditions have their place. Even if you aren’t particularly enamored by the ritual, I’ll bet an especially tender parent or a loving spouse will care. They will love to see and applaud the actual event. These professional rituals should be honored. Don’t neglect them, and do claim your rightful place among the accomplished.

So once again, congratulations. Go with our best wishes. As you go follow all that good motherly advice: brush your teeth, continue to study hard, be a good person, live well, work hard, take care of yourselves, wash your hands and behind your ears.
Bye for now.

Fun with Words: An Invitation to Enjoy Learning

Words are Fun

Academe is a proper noun referring to “An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught.” Academy is a noun derived from Academe and referring to “A modern school where football is taught.” Some years ago I ran across the Devil’s Dictionary in which these and other delightful definitions are found. I like to have fun with words; I hope the same for you. You have to do some learning while here, might as well have some fun. Ambrose Bierce, the editor of the Devils’ Dictionary, was a Civil War general and later writer who assembled this collection of wry observations. For instance, he defined an acquaintance as “A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to, a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.” Bierce is probably most famous for his definition of history, “n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.” He also includes the following entry I love for its succinctness and subtlety. “Once, adv., enough.” I hope I’ve tempted you. Be warned: Bierce’s dictionary was published in 1906 and includes material we might find troubling today. He’s not gender inclusive, for instance, and his terminology may offend at times.

Second, way back in the Dark Ages of 1982, I received a book with the following inscription,

The book is Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words. Aside from you wondering what sort of friendship includes the gift of a dictionary as a present, here again I hope to tempt you to learn enjoyably. You would find that tomomania is an excessive desire to undergo surgery. You might discover that zymology is the science of fermentation. And, if you are aware that something insipid is unappealing, then it makes sense that good food is quite sipid, tasty. You’d be surprised at the number of manias and phobias that are frequent enough to have been named. There are a number of medical terms here, a reminder to us that, even if we know the terms tocology, xerotic, bromatology, occlude, variolation, or even oncology, our patients hear a foreign language. These entries are in a dictionary of obscure and unusual words. It’s good to learn to describe them in simpler terms. By the way, be sure to guard yourself each year against the seasonal condition of vernalgia. Personally I find the best treatment includes pointless outdoor activities enjoyed simply for their pleasure—frisbee tossing among friends, a stroll (people don’t stroll enough anymore), a bask on the lawn on a sunny afternoon.

A final gem I discovered: “Sherry’s Grammar List” at https://languageandgrammar.com/common-grammar-errors/. I have added this address to my favorites tab. Included is a handy index to common grammatical questions and mistakes:

When to use “affect” and when “effect?”
Using “had,” the past perfect tense.
There, their, they’re.
Beside/besides.
A.M./P.M. (unfortunately—to my way of thinking—she does not point out the correct use of 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight; there is no 12:00 A.M. nor 12:00 P.M., but that’s my losing fight).
Incredible/incredulous.

I trust the third reference is of immediate and practical help in your studies. The other two are a reminder to keep learning and have fun.

These definitions and many other delightful entries can be found in the Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, New York: The World Publishing Company, 1911; available online at http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/Bierce_Ambrose_-_The_Devil-s_Dictionary.pdf and at https://archive.org/details/cu31924014323772 (several other online copies available).