Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Really?
I am apparently so pathetic that I just watched this entire Slinky on a treadmill video. Twice.
The Plan
Twenty years (and one month!) ago, I finished a bachelor's degree in art history. After a relatively lucrative but soul killing career as a contract administrator, I earned a master's degree in library science and moved to Tennessee to live the dream as an academic librarian.
I like my job most of the time. Among (lots of) other things, I answer research questions at the reference desk and teach about 60 library instruction sessions a year to classes in all disciplines. Many of the classes are freshman English classes, and over the past 5 years, my enthusiasm for working with first-year students has waned. I'm not interested in most of their research topics, and many of the students are not interested in what I can teach them. However, I do enjoy working with nursing, biology and nutrition classes. The students are often more invested in the research process and their research topics are usually pretty interesting.
So, my new dream is to reinvent myself as a health sciences librarian, preferably at a university or medical school (Vanderbilt would be convenient!), and to do many of the same things I do in my current job, but to do them more exclusively with students in medical and health disciplines.
To be hired as a health sciences librarian, however, I'll need work or educational experience in a health-related field. I'm probably not cut out for nursing school, which was one option I considered. Thankfully, however, my brother mentioned public health, and that's when the light bulb came on.
Public health is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses not only health and medicine, but also communication, education, and other social sciences. To me, that's the best of all worlds rolled into one. I like reading about and studying medicine and health, but I'm not interested in being a medical practitioner. Research and education, however--I can do that!
As fortune has it, East Tennessee State University has a Master's of Public Health program that is taught completely online. Thus, I could complete an MPH program while continuing to work at MTSU. I missed the March deadline to apply to the program this year, so this month I am applying to ETSU as a non-degree seeking student. If accepted to ETSU, I would take public health classes this fall and next spring. If then accepted into the public health program next summer, I could transfer up to nine credit hours earned as a non-degree student and apply the hours toward the MPH degree.
Even if I never end up working as a health sciences librarian, a second master's degree is a good thing for an academic librarian to have. Many schools require a second degree for employment or for promotion, though my current employer doesn't care.
The one huge hurdle in the plan, besides paying for everything and doing well in my classes, is that I need to take and earn good scores on the GRE before I apply to the public health program. I've taken the exam twice in the past, but scores are only good for 5 years. Also, my previous scores in the quantitative (MATH) section never put me above the 50th percentile rank, something I'll need to improve in order to be accepted into the program.
So, that's the plan. Thanks for reading.
I like my job most of the time. Among (lots of) other things, I answer research questions at the reference desk and teach about 60 library instruction sessions a year to classes in all disciplines. Many of the classes are freshman English classes, and over the past 5 years, my enthusiasm for working with first-year students has waned. I'm not interested in most of their research topics, and many of the students are not interested in what I can teach them. However, I do enjoy working with nursing, biology and nutrition classes. The students are often more invested in the research process and their research topics are usually pretty interesting.
So, my new dream is to reinvent myself as a health sciences librarian, preferably at a university or medical school (Vanderbilt would be convenient!), and to do many of the same things I do in my current job, but to do them more exclusively with students in medical and health disciplines.
To be hired as a health sciences librarian, however, I'll need work or educational experience in a health-related field. I'm probably not cut out for nursing school, which was one option I considered. Thankfully, however, my brother mentioned public health, and that's when the light bulb came on.
Public health is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses not only health and medicine, but also communication, education, and other social sciences. To me, that's the best of all worlds rolled into one. I like reading about and studying medicine and health, but I'm not interested in being a medical practitioner. Research and education, however--I can do that!
As fortune has it, East Tennessee State University has a Master's of Public Health program that is taught completely online. Thus, I could complete an MPH program while continuing to work at MTSU. I missed the March deadline to apply to the program this year, so this month I am applying to ETSU as a non-degree seeking student. If accepted to ETSU, I would take public health classes this fall and next spring. If then accepted into the public health program next summer, I could transfer up to nine credit hours earned as a non-degree student and apply the hours toward the MPH degree.
Even if I never end up working as a health sciences librarian, a second master's degree is a good thing for an academic librarian to have. Many schools require a second degree for employment or for promotion, though my current employer doesn't care.
The one huge hurdle in the plan, besides paying for everything and doing well in my classes, is that I need to take and earn good scores on the GRE before I apply to the public health program. I've taken the exam twice in the past, but scores are only good for 5 years. Also, my previous scores in the quantitative (MATH) section never put me above the 50th percentile rank, something I'll need to improve in order to be accepted into the program.
So, that's the plan. Thanks for reading.
Monday, May 14, 2012
It Looks So Easy on TV
I was awake at 5:30 this morning, quite an unusual event, particularly on a Monday. Now, at nearly 7, I'm at the computer checking out the world. If I could wiggle my nose and suddenly be transported to work, bathed, dressed, and coiffed, I'd be OK with starting my work day. But the thought of doing all three of those tasks makes me want to crawl right back into bed.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Really?
How could anyone rate a Lyle Lovett album at one star, or even two for that matter? Sometimes I read an unfavorable review and wonder if I'm not discriminating enough. Not this time.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Just Sayin'
For once in my life, I'd like to go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before a trip out of town. This, apparently, will not be that one time. But by golly, I'm determined to rip those two audiobooks, wash all the dishes and paint my toenails before I leave. A girl's got to have her priorities in order.
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