telemedisin
I started my new job on Wednesday of this week. Allow me to share some of the details of this most interesting experience.
I arrived at the Research Park (as translated from Norwegian) at 9 am. This building is associated with the University Hospital in Tromso, and, as I would imagine, it is where a lot of research takes place. I took the elevator to the third floor, where the National Telemedisin Senter is located, and found my new boss, Halgeir, in his office.
(Just so you know, I am not exactly sure what telemedisin is, but I will write about that as soon as I figure it out.)
Halgeir is a middle-aged man who has worked at the University of Tromso, at the hospital, and now in the Telemedisin Senter. He is also blind, which is where I come in. My job is to read to him the various papers, books, and emails he recieves on a daily basis. Sometimes I record myself on an mp3 recorder, sometimes I just read aloud. Since a lot of the material is in English, he wanted someone who was at a highly fluent level. I am managing just fine.
The first thing I read was a paper he had written about medical data modules in three small communities in Northern Norway. He wanted me to check for grammar mistakes and other small errors.
Then we had lunch.
After lunch he had me read the first 45 pages in Robert F. Murphy's "The Body Silent" into the recorder. Even though I was recording it, he sat and listened anyway. The book is fascinating and I was basically being paid to sit and read it aloud. Murphy was an anthropologist at Columbia University for many years, doing field research in Brazil, among other places. Because of a tumor encircling his spinal chord, he became slowly paralyzed from the neck down starting at age 52. "The Body Silent" is both an anthropological look and Murphy's personal perspective on how we view disability and what it means to be "disabled." I have only read the first few chapters, but I would already recommend it to anyone.
I have a feeling I am going to learn quite a bit at this new job...not the least of which is a computer system designed for the blind. It talks out loud.
I arrived at the Research Park (as translated from Norwegian) at 9 am. This building is associated with the University Hospital in Tromso, and, as I would imagine, it is where a lot of research takes place. I took the elevator to the third floor, where the National Telemedisin Senter is located, and found my new boss, Halgeir, in his office.
(Just so you know, I am not exactly sure what telemedisin is, but I will write about that as soon as I figure it out.)
Halgeir is a middle-aged man who has worked at the University of Tromso, at the hospital, and now in the Telemedisin Senter. He is also blind, which is where I come in. My job is to read to him the various papers, books, and emails he recieves on a daily basis. Sometimes I record myself on an mp3 recorder, sometimes I just read aloud. Since a lot of the material is in English, he wanted someone who was at a highly fluent level. I am managing just fine.
The first thing I read was a paper he had written about medical data modules in three small communities in Northern Norway. He wanted me to check for grammar mistakes and other small errors.
Then we had lunch.
After lunch he had me read the first 45 pages in Robert F. Murphy's "The Body Silent" into the recorder. Even though I was recording it, he sat and listened anyway. The book is fascinating and I was basically being paid to sit and read it aloud. Murphy was an anthropologist at Columbia University for many years, doing field research in Brazil, among other places. Because of a tumor encircling his spinal chord, he became slowly paralyzed from the neck down starting at age 52. "The Body Silent" is both an anthropological look and Murphy's personal perspective on how we view disability and what it means to be "disabled." I have only read the first few chapters, but I would already recommend it to anyone.
I have a feeling I am going to learn quite a bit at this new job...not the least of which is a computer system designed for the blind. It talks out loud.
posted by Rachel @ 5:37 AM
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