Progress!!!!

I've been working nonstop for the past few days since my mom left. And progress has been made!

I got word last week that I'd received IRB approval for my dissertation study.

I finished my comp paper today and turned it in this afternoon. Woo hoo!!!! (Or as Rebecca is so fond of saying, "Hoo WAY!" So now it is in the hands of Dr. Vermeersch, who may or may not even read the darn thing, and one other reviewer. Once they pass on it, then I'm considered to have officially advanced to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

I also met with the staff at the University of Redlands Counseling Center, where I'll be collecting my data. We worked out all the final little details and logistics. Everything is set for the study to commence. We'll begin collecting data next week when school starts for them. I'm sure there will be hiccups along the way and kinks to work out, but it is good to know that the study is off the ground. I just have to set up the website for the collection of the data for a supplemental survey I'm having participants do online. I actually did that tonight in my religion class, so now I just need to test it and make sure it is actually collecting the data.

This morning, I went in to Casa Colina for a couple of hours to finish up some work on some reports I've been working on the last couple of days at work. It is fast-paced there, and there just isn't enough time to see all the patients, interview them, administer the tests, score and interpret them, and get the reports written up in the time allotted. Especially on the inpatient unit where there is so much extra chaos (like the patient I saw this week who remained in a fetal position with a blanket over her head throughout the evaluation).

So I'm feeling really great about all the progress I've made this week. Now I just have to get my dissertation proposal done. Mostly, it is written and just has to be assembled. The introduction will come straight from my comp paper. The methods and plan for statistical analyses were done for the IRB proposal. I have all my committee contacted and agreeable to be on my committee, and they're all full time in the department (or at U of R), so I don't anticipate too much difficulty scheduling. I hope it can be before fall quarter starts. That will give me approximately 6-8 weeks in which I don't have to do anything but work on my applications for internship (and the class I'm TAing...and the two classes I'm taking...and my work at Casa Colina).

The one downer is that I dropped my cell phone in a sink of water this afternoon. I've got the battery out and it is drying out, so hopefully it won't be dead on me. I love my new cell phone!!!