tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post8450713035278792940..comments2024-03-29T18:16:16.530+11:00Comments on The Social Pathologist: The Problem with no Name.The Social Pathologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927698533626086780noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-66819267549501589492010-05-03T01:29:51.240+10:002010-05-03T01:29:51.240+10:00"Basic Australian medical education is geared..."Basic Australian medical education is geared towards producing generalists, sort of jacks-of-all-trades in the practice of medicine."<br /><br />Story of the UK medical education system, with some regional variation. (traditional universities focusing on academic medicine, medical schools with strong dentistry departments have a lot of focus on surgery. My own is becoming a massive focus of medical administration, leadership and management) <br /><br />Medical students on entry tend to poll at 10-20% wanting to become GPs. But half of students need to become GPs to cover our needs. <br /><br />From what I can tell this change happens because the 'alpha-female' power-grrrrls become broody and want a simple life to allow them to have a family. Being a GP allows for that: part-time or locum work is pathetically easily to get. Disruption to training pathways isn't a big issue. Take another point: 60% of females that start surgeon training are expect to retrain or drop out of medicine totally.Hughmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-34917554929626113852010-04-30T10:00:18.113+10:002010-04-30T10:00:18.113+10:00Thursday:
Thanks for the link. This is from the l...Thursday:<br /><br />Thanks for the link. This is from the link.<br /><br /><i>As Sarah Blaffer Hrdy points out in Mother Nature that the career versus children dilemma is hardwired into females.</i><br /><br />Blaffer is looking at the problem the wrong way. For some women, child care is a career, it's the chosen profession that they are suited by temperament to take. I know lots of "high status women", i.e lawyers and doctors who have given up their profession to stay at home with the kids because they love it. Indeed, one of the major problems with the Australian medical workforce is that there has been a massive under supply of doctors in this country. Training numbers were based on the assumption that women would work as many hours as men when they graduated, when in reality, after they had children, many women <i>chose</i> not to return to work full time, even though most of them could afford deluxe childcare. Women, when given choices, tend to chose career paths which accord with their temperaments. Both traditionalist and feminists societal conceptions don't recognise this.<br /><br />The childcare/work dilemma comes about mainly as a result of economic circumstances and personality factors. Hakim's middle group of mothers would work for a pittance just for a chance to get out of the house for a bit, get dressed up and have some adult contact for a while. Work is a legitimate excuse to get away from the kids and get some psychological breathing space. The psychological breathing space required tends to determine the amount of work a woman wants.The Social Pathologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927698533626086780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-1507765953892777142010-04-30T09:40:46.377+10:002010-04-30T09:40:46.377+10:00Jonathan.
In My experience, organic issues;hormon...Jonathan.<br /><br />In My experience, organic issues;hormones, diet, exercise etc seem to play a very small role in the condition. I imagine there are some women were this may be an issue, I always arrange a basic series of blood tests to exclude common organic pathology, I've actually never found one that has had an organic basis to her disease--that's not saying that its not possible, it just that it has not happened in my experience.<br /><br />One of the big big issues which I have with the "Americanisation" of medicine, is trying to find an organic problem for maladaptive behavioural response. There seems to be this presumption that there is an organic basis for all pathologies, when in reality many of our modern lifestyle illnesses are based on bad choices or bad cultural ideas. But more on this later.<br /><br />Hestia.<br /><i>She really thrived after this and it was so nice to see her doing well, having a smile on her face, and enjoying her precious baby!</i><br /><br />A lot of these women make fantastic mothers when they develop a style of mothering <i>that suits their personality</i>. Some women simply aren't suited to staying at home alone, looking after a child. The other big issue is the bullshit programming women get from their "friends", media, psychologists and so called child care experts. These women are taught "skills" which are guaranteed to set them up to fail.<br /><br />My point with regard to this post, is the assumption, made by Traditionalists especially, that a woman's natural place is in the home caring for children. Unfortunately this does not stack up with the reality of human nature. Many women(not all)are simply not wired up to be stay at home mothers. (But I'll be writing more about this in the next few posts).The Social Pathologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927698533626086780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-20171502385264447222010-04-30T09:32:36.012+10:002010-04-30T09:32:36.012+10:00You might be interested in the work of Sarah Blaff...You might be interested in the work of Sarah Blaffer Hrdy. Justin Martyr has a nice summary of the relevant bits <a href="http://www.thefaithheuristic.com/2009/11/humans-are-devolving.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Her big book is called Mother Nature.Thursdayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13002311410445623799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-42853531178877547152010-04-30T06:13:46.147+10:002010-04-30T06:13:46.147+10:00Interesting post. Lots of food for thought there....Interesting post. Lots of food for thought there.<br /><br />I've heard whispers of evidence suggesting that sometimes postpartum depression may be related to nutritional deficiencies. Particular nutrients I've heard cited include DHA, EPA, and the fat-soluble vitamins (K, D, A). If the mother was deficient to begin with, the fetal demand for these nutrients might make the deficiency really bad. I wonder if you have any experience that might support or refute this hypothesis. (Of course, I'm not suggesting this is a factor in every case.)Jonathannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29137904.post-46483049465325098392010-04-30T01:05:35.937+10:002010-04-30T01:05:35.937+10:00This was fascinating to read. I've volunteered...This was fascinating to read. I've volunteered with La Leche League as a peer counselor and serve as the leader for the Family Readiness Group (FRG--basically a support group) for my husband's unit and have seen and heard some heartbreaking cases dealing with PPD, the pressures women face to make decisions that aren't right for them, and the general problems that arise with new motherhood.<br /><br />I've had several young women in my FRG who had babies while their husbands were deployed and they were far away from family. They were pressured intensely by friends to SAH, breastfeed, practice attachment parenting, and were pretty much told they were bad parents if they did not. <br /><br />One called me crying in the middle of the night one night as she was completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and wasn't sure how she could last the rest of the deployment. I went over to get her, bringing her and her baby back to my house for the night, and as we stayed up talking, I was just sick about what she had told me. Her baby was six months old and waking up all night to nurse. A friend told her to co-sleep with the baby, nurse more, never let the baby alone while crying, and on and on. This poor girl was barely taking showers and eating as result of the advice. <br /><br />She was also struggling with her husband's deployment and was having a hard time not caving under the stress of having him in harm's way. <br /><br />Over the next few weeks, myself and the Major in rear detachment helped her access services and got her in contact with some veteran army wives/mothers who could encourage her in making the best choices for herself and child without judgment. Part of this included weaning her child from the breast and putting the baby in a safe place and taking a shower every day, even if baby whined and cried. She also used three hours of respite care in the base child care center every week so she could have some time to herself and the time necessary to go to doctors appts. She really thrived after this and it was so nice to see her doing well, having a smile on her face, and enjoying her precious baby!<br /><br />I've helped many other military wives get help or make better choices on many occasions. Part-time work or volunteer work (paid employment can be scarce in may military towns) is often a welcome blessing for many of these women. It's amazing to see the difference not only in the mothers but their children as well.<br /><br />During my husband's last deployment, I had a teenager from the local homeschool co-op come once or twice a week to look after my daughter while I did my business books or worked on projects that my daughter could not help with. She and the helper would play together, do a craft project, or read books and she really seemed to enjoy spending time with her "friend". My daughter also enjoys/ed going with me to the farmers mkt when I was running my booth there. She helped collect the money and loved talking to all the different people who came by. A good situation for all I think!Hestiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01987917145065027448noreply@blogger.com