Interview with Jacque De Fouw 1

Jacque De Fouw joined the university as Health Educator in September 2000 after twenty-six years of nursing and nurse educator experience in Michigan.

1. How much would you say that the United States government filter what you are taught as a medical student? What kind of information do they provide? What role, if any, does The United States’ Effective Health Care Program (EHCP), whose mission is to be “dedicated to fulfilling this need (finding reliable and practical data that can inform people in order that they may make the best health decisions) through high-quality research and getting that information to you, someone who needs to make health care decisions” play in your education or in the education you provide your students?

The government does have guidelines for what you do and what you can’t do. They are allowed to sensor things. So, pretty much what I was taught in nursing school was medical science; I don’t think it was propaganda for the government. Although, some people think that some of the cigarette stuff and tobacco. It was pretty well founded in science so that it was the basis for what we were taught.

I think you’re referring to the FDA. I know that there have been a lot of criticisms of the FDA in recent years. I do know that they have so many duties relegated to them by different administrations and not enough staff. They are terribly understaffed to be able to do things. I know that there is a problem with things not being scientifically driven, instead being more industry driven; and they are trying to get away from that. It has been a big problem with the FDA. The industry wants to pay for things to be done. And in the very recent years, we have seen a lot of medications that we have tested and seem to be safe, but when they’re put on the market those that who don’t see the benefit of the medicine to those that are in need complain that it was put out too soon. It may also have a side effect that doesn’t seem so great. I know that the FDA is trying to get around that, however, the FDA is politically driven—the people are appointed to their positions. My cousin was the head of the FDA for a while, and he had been appointed, but when Bush came into power he was sent to another position and someone else took his place. I know that my cousin had worked very hard on preventing mad-cow disease from coming to the United States. He tried to get away from the industry driven side of things and getting back to the scientifically based agency. Now that they have added tobacco to their list of things to do and regulate, it’s just a big problem with not having enough money and not enough staff.

English 1010 Evaluation

Haha…this is what I wrote last semester for my evaluation. Wow, my writing has changed…

Although English is my primary language, I am continually amazed by the various aspects of my English, such as grammar, tone, or word choice, that need growth. During these last fifteen weeks, I have become more aware of my writing and comprehension strengths and weaknesses; strengths, which include that my ideas are relevant and on topic and weaknesses which are supporting my thoughts with concrete statements and writing errors, such as commas, quotation marks, etc. With this new knowledge and understanding of my currents writing level, I have been able to see more clearly how I have grown and the ways in which I can improve.

In conclusion, I feel that through focusing on my writing and comprehension weaknesses, I have developed a clearer picture of what I am capable of. This is exciting as I can always use motivation to write. Throughout the semester I have been pushed to study new and different ideas, learn different terms that were connected with them, discuss them with my fellow classmates, and organize these new ones while creating my own in order to write an assortment of essays. And after fighting through this jungle of a variety learning techniques and weeding out some bad habits, I am confident that I am prepared for what battles lie ahead of me next semester in English 1020.

ADDICTION: Movies

My love for movies has certainly been obvious this year as I viewed close to forty during this school year alone. The very idea that you can escape to another person’s life or simply a different reality is appealing—I experience a “high” that lasts for at least thirty minutes following a film. Somehow, my mind builds a connection to the characters, scenery, and music.

The life of movies is the passion—heart and soul—of each of the actors, directors, and producers. Different perspectives allow for different views and philosophies to be integrated into the story, dialogue, characters, and atmosphere of the film. Throughout each scene, my understanding of the mind of the writers and directors becomes clearer. The meaning or moral of the story within these films have a great emotional affect upon me, because I create an emotional attachment with the characters—I feel as if I have gone on their life journey with them.

Does Pigment Make The Black Man Incapable?

What is your first thought when you hear or see the name “Bill Cosby?” Do you think of infamy or fame? Do you think of loving father or a sexual harasser? Do you think of hero or man with amnesia? Ta-Nehisi Coates addresses most specifically the “audacity of Bill Cosby’s black conservatism” in his article entitled “’This is how we lost to the white man.’” Throughout Coates’ piece, he gave somewhat of a history and created a sort of “backdrop” to place Cosby’s most recent activity in front of and in comparison to. However, I feel that Coates’ attack toward the end of his article was based on opinion rather than fact. Not only did I feel that Cosby was underrepresented, but I also felt that Coates’ logic was just as ridiculous as he said Cosby’s was.

Dear Diary

Have you ever missed someone so much that you can hardly breathe, sleep or eat? Every waking moment you spend consists of wasteful sighs and dreams of an existence—a day—where you fall asleep to hopeful dreams of tomorrow and you wake to a blissful morning. Faint sounds of chirping, smells of fresh coffee, and the sensation of that special someone lying next to you listening anxiously for your next breath, absorb your senses. Each time you pass a couple your thoughts are automatically consumed in that person that is etched on your beating, red, sick pump that sends life to your aching soul.

What am I to do? One girl. One life. One chance. Clinging to what the future holds forces me to an state of unawareness; helpless and sick, I feel the reality I desire will never come. I long for each refreshing breath with every fiber in my bones; from the exact moment my eyes meet his, I loose control. My knees weaken and buckle, my stomach turns and leaps, and in one sweeping motion I no longer standing on the ground.

For now, I am made to wait and grasp to the intangible dream, thought, and feeling that endlessly ensnares my thoughts to its captive audience. Am I so weak as to allow my emotions to take control? Yes! Ha…indeed, I am.

“Handling The Pan” in Memphis

Making my way to yet another brown brick building, I glide up the stairs, through the double doors, up two more flights of stairs and head down the hall, going north. Patterson only has one amiable quality in my eyes—the building is always just the right temperature. Entering the large classroom, I notice a man that I fail to recognize. I assume that this is just the man I had come to see speak--Dr. Pete Gathje. With a name like Gathje, I’m already impressed. But soon, some other students trickle in and Dr. Gathje’s time had come. First, Wendy, the English 1020 professor who makes us earn our sanity, introduced her former professor. During the brief preface to the informative speech, Wendy spoke of Dr. Gathje’s involvement—both founder and director—with Emanuel House Manna, a non-profit organization that “promotes hospitality for homeless persons, provides support for Prisoners and their families, promotes educational work in schools and the community, and promotes efforts to abolish the death penalty.” In conjunction with his work at Manna House, Wendy mentioned Dr. Gathje’s position of Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary.

Although the amiable man had caught my attention through various statistics, he did not strike me as the sort of fellow that could convince me to pull national defense finances for the homeless. There is something so flawed and yet so true about his logic. Therefore, I must give this homeless issue more thought. Until then, I will ponder the never-ending question, “How can we (The City of Memphis) help the poor and homeless with our time and finances?”

Left Behind…Again…

One summer afternoon, I received a panicked phone call from my Mom that Ryan was extremely depressed. “I’ve never seen him like this before,” she whimpered. Scared that her only son had been wounded, she pleaded with me, “PLEASE! Send him a card or a letter; give him a phone call and talk with him for a while. SOMETHING! He misses you so much!” After such a traumatic conversation, I felt compelled as a sister and friend to leap at the first opportunity I had to write him a letter. Throughout the two-page letter, I addressed the depression that he was struggling with by reassuring him that the Lord was with him; “God will comfort and guide you.” Praise the Lord that with each passing summer Ryan acquired a higher tolerance for my absence; and with a growing tolerance, came a growing knowledge of coping mechanisms. Unfortunately, I missed him, but comprehending what he was feeling was difficult as I’m the eldest child. The saddest part was that I didn’t seem to miss him as much or in the same way as he missed me; I guess I just don’t realize how difficult is has been for him to adjust.