(Have you entered our giveaway yet for IAFN conference registration?)

BMJ has a new full-text article available, How to get started in quality improvement. If you’ve spent any time on this site you know I’m a big fan of any type of programming that affirmatively identifies issues and ideally, makes system-level changes to reduce or eliminate those issues (as opposed to catching the same problems over and over and correcting them once they’ve already been made on a case by case, clinician by clinician basis). It’s the difference between quality assurance (QA) programs and quality improvement (QI) ones. Jen Pierce-Weeks and I tackled that issue in the Sustainability app, here. Since launching the Sustainability app, OVC published the SANE Program Development and Operation Guide, and they addressed the issue of quality improvement, as well.

This BMJ piece is a good follow-on. It’s obviously not tailored to forensic clinical programs, but there’s no reason the information wouldn’t apply to a variety of programs, regardless of location or structure. And this provides much more instruction for taking the plunge into QI. Program managers, in particular, should consider spending some time with this article, especially as you consider the major challenges you may have in providing the best possible care to patients in your community.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

(Have you entered our giveaway yet for IAFN conference registration?)

The windchill in the DC area is -3, but it’s better than the ground temp of -14 in E Lansing where I’m headed later today. I finally made it home after 15 days on the road, so it was a glorious weekend here. We did nothing but cook, watch old episodes of British Bakeoff and keep the fireplace going around the clock–heaven. However, that’s done, and now I will be gone the remainder of the month. Particularly with the shutdown appearing to have no end in sight, I am not complaining. If ever there was a time to be (extra) grateful for work it is when your spouse is not getting paid to go to the job that she shows up at daily.

Here’s what’s caught my eye since last we spoke:

I didn’t go to the women’s march this year since I had just gotten back to town, but this was an excellent take on why we shouldn’t give up on it

A powerful look at mental illness: Yale will not save you

If you didn’t see this UCLA gymnast’s floor routine a few weeks back, it’s a must watch. You can check it out and her inspiring plans post-graduation here.

Kill or be killed shouldn’t be the only option for battered women

Also: how the shutdown is impacting domestic violence shelters

No surprise sex ed fails teens regularly, but particularly around the issue of sexting

An aspirational online list for 2019

The gay penguins of Australia–this is delightful

Finally: I’ve been lucky enough to see Kamala Harris in action during Judiciary Committee hearings, so I am very interested to watch her campaign unfold. As with all the candidates, there are some things about her that concern me, but she is one of a few Dems that has a clear track record on issues important to me as both a woman and as a forensic clinician.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

(Have you entered our giveaway yet for IAFN conference registration?)

Well, I have to tell you, 2019 has started out with a bang. Last week was Hawaii, this week is Tacoma, and I still have E. Lansing, Cleveland and Ft. Bragg before January is over. Never have I been so happy to see holes open up in my calendar–February is going to be bliss since it looks like I have only one trip scheduled now for the entire month. Whew–I need to get reacquainted with the other human in my household before March hits and we get right back at it.

Like last week, my time won’t be my own this week. I’ll try and keep posts as regular as possible, but it may be tricky. I did have some downtime over the weekend to catch up on some reading, though. Here’s what caught my eye since last we spoke:

A little news about me 🙂

The end of likability politics

“Their strength comes from collaborative, generational efforts to move toward the good.”

This incredible interactive site mapping violence against black women

Related

Currently one of my favorite Insta accounts

Traditional masculinity is officially labeled harmful by the APA

A Dreamer and a Rhodes scholar

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

I started FHO 10 years ago as a way to make sure there was a way to bring accessible and affordable continuing education to my fellow forensic colleagues. A lot has changed in the profession and in my own life since those early days, but we’re still here, doing the work that we do. To celebrate a decade on the interwebs, it seems fitting to give a little something away to one lucky FHO reader, so how do you feel about New Orleans in the fall with hundreds of your closest friends? Because I am definitely feeling that.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING!

ALSO: To celebrate 10 years of FHO, please use the coupon code FHOIS10 in the store (good through the end of the month) for 10% off the reviews.

Seriously, though–thanks for being the most excellent readership a woman could ask for. You fill my nerdy heart with joy and wonder on the regular. Here’s to the next 10.

[PLEASE NOTE: this is not a sponsored post. I am giving away an IAFN conference registration because the mission of this site has always focused on clinician education and the annual conference is the epitome of that ideal.]

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

We all were pretty busy in 2018, and even here at our little site, it turns out a bunch of you stopped by. So if you’re curious, scroll through to see who showed up and what you all were reading on FHO. And by all means, come back on Monday, because FHO turns 10(!), and to celebrate, we are doing the biggest giveaway ever. I promise, it’s worth your while (and open to all FHO readers, anywhere around the globe).

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

This is the last post of the year, my friends. I’m signing off to finish up some work here in Italy and then go on to Reykjavik where I will meet Sasha for a spot of vacation before we meet up with the girlchild for the remainder of the holiday season. Here’s hoping you have a healthy and happy holiday of your own. May the new year bring us peace–for our families and loved ones, the patients we serve, and the humans with whom we inhabit this planet. See you back here after the new year. xo Jen

unsplash-logoWout Vanacker

I’m writing this from my parents’ kitchen table as I sneak in a bit of family time before I head to Italy this week. I have bold plans for productivity before I strap into my long haul flight, but ultimately all I can say is, we’ll see. If all works out as planned, I’ll get in an Articles of Note before I go. 

I try to avoid using busy as an excuse or a battle cry or a shield (or a boast), but whew–as this year winds down I am wondering how it is possible we are at this point in the calendar already? I know I’m not alone in this. Anyway, here are a few things that caught my eye as I waited for my flight to the 216 this weekend:

A pathologist’s perspective on gunshot wounds

Seems like every year some paper publishes this same article, as if it’s a revelation, and not the annual indictment that it should be

Have you been reading the Star-Telegram’s investigative reports on sexual abuse in the fundamentalist Baptist churches?

Dangerousness, codified

Sex ed isn’t serving young black women

And finally, this fascinating read, apropos of pretty much nothing, but still…so interesting.

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

As things currently stand, I won’t be home again (save for 18 hours) until 26 December, so things over here may be pretty spotty. I’ll try to keep up as I bounce between the US and Europe over the next 4 weeks, but please be patient, since my time won’t always be my own and offerings also slow down significantly during the holidays. I’m currently at Ft. Bragg, and although there hasn’t been a ton of downtime, I have had the chance to catch up on a few articles I had bookmarked. Here’s what’s caught my eye since last we spoke;

I continue to be so excited by the work Monica and her folks are doing over at Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. The accolades are well-deserved.

The day my husband strangled me

The art of avoiding assholes

The NFL still has a domestic violence problem

And finally, Hanukkah Sameach to all of you who are celebrating!

Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.

Time for one of my favorite posts of the year, the annual team gift guide. This year’s has a little something for everyone, and I kept it all under $50 bucks, which will hopefully make it pretty manageable. And since Hanukkah begins Sunday night, we’re squeeking in right under the wire. Happy, merry gift giving everyone!

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Have you checked out the FHO store lately? You can find our newest research brief, Aging Bruises Based On Color, plus our original guide, Injury Following Consensual Sex. Both available now for electronic download.