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hello data
I visualize data buried in non-proprietary healthcare databases
https://unsplash.com/@winstonchen

A day in a life: the edge of uncertainty

6/8/2016

 
Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, SF) is the best female chef in the world. Last night I gladly indulged and watched The Chef's Table on Netflix. Like any great "anything" it is rarely about performing the fundamental tasks inherent in any endeavor. The chefs portrayed are multi-dimensional in pursuit of passions that bleed into their creative life. If you want to truly be immersed in a trans-media craft of story--sign up for Netflix or tune in.

Not to be a spoiler or anything but the story arc of Dominique's childhood, relationship with her family, and the culture of beautiful Brittany, France create literal and figurative poetry. The menu is poetry with the actual dishes manifestations of memory and place.
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Thinking back to my first year participating in Medcomm Day I recognize a different perspective, business model, and gravitas. Every year, those of us working in medical communications provide a glimpse into our workday. Follow the hashtag #medcommsday and see what I mean.

​My first year, as luck would have it, I had scheduled an 'appointment only' viewing of rare documents on the campus of Duke University. My research yielded personal letters written in the 19th century about a patient possibly afflicted with what we would now consider Alzheimer's Disease.

Part of the research for my book project examining the trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease research and the evolution of a brand.

This year? You caught me with my laptop closed.

I went with my son and his buddy to the library to make summer reading selections, followed them as they skateboarded to a local cafe for iced tea and oatmeal chocolate chips the size of their heads, and eventually made my way back to my office to oversee two proposals and work on my latest book, 
Write Better Surveys. Period.

I also have 3 books I am reading:
  • Graphesis VIsual Forms of Knowledge Production
  • Changing the Subject. Art and Attention in the Internet Age
  • Canguilhem, Sartre, Foucalt, Althusser, Deleuze, Derrida. Philsophy in Turbulent Times.​
Not exactly book club selections but you may see how they play out in future posts.
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I try and read for 2 hours a day. Often it is research for a project but it doesn't matter.

It pays off tremendously when trying to sort complicated data or find the patterns during hypothesis hunting.

The writing bits have evolved in parallel with my approach to a working life. I now think of communication in medicine as a prism. In the same way you wouldn't appreciate storytelling about the world at large from someone with a packed suitcase that never left the familiar--I am a dynamic writer. I encourage everyone to follow creativity from beyond narrative non-fiction, medical education, or clinical research. I am currently using art to bring audiences together in a way that improves perception and communication.

I solved the biggest problem in teaching audiences about clinical evidence and improving numeracy in medicine. We aren't likely to raise our hands in front of our peers and reveal we don't know what a hazard ratio really indicates. Or why p-values alone don't mean a thing. But we will scrunch up our faces at a piece of artwork and admit "I don't get it". The same skills that improve communication about what we see--and often more importantly what we DON'T see are transferable to the often complex graphics in clinical research papers.

We need a new and fresh approach. â€‹
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Thoughtful discussions about content development and outcomes analytics that apply the principles and frameworks of health policy and economics to persistent and perplexing health and health care problems...


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    In a world of "evidence-based" medicine I am a bigger fan of practice-based evidence.

    ​Remember the quote by Upton Sinclair...


    “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”

    Follow the evolution of Alzheimer's Disease into a billion dollar brand
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  • Data & Donuts (thinky thoughts)
  • COLLABORATor
  • Data talks, people mumble
  • Cancer: The Brand
  • Time to make the donuts...
  • donuts (quick nibbles)
  • Tools for writers and soon-to-be writers
  • datamonger.health
  • The "How" of Data Fluency