Chris / Piglet,

excuse my ignorance / stupidity but are you really learning Swedish or is that a joke?
If you are in Sweden could you let me know? I am thinking of going there, in fact I have been invited for an interview in August

Hi Jojo,

I like the writing, it forces me to think and put a structure to what I am thinking. It's also nice to start with a blank piece of paper and then to create a coherent text. The feeling of having achieved / finished something feels great. I like achieving.
To reverse the question: what really puts me of is the draining process of having to wait for feedback, everything taking ages and then getting feedback which does not make sense, is unfunded or which showes that the supervisor has not read what your wrote, as a result having to restart completely and having feeling that things go in circles. I do not like having to work with people who do seem to be interested, yet relying on them.

Hi lighthousekeeper23,

I am from Holland, yet work in germany

Regards

Hi Claret707,

I think Verdy hit the nail on the head; Are the feelings of feeling low a result of the PdD or are you feeling low in general. Getting a job, which as I understand from the forum is not always easy, yet if you would still feel low, you would not have gained a lot. I could be something like like burn out?

Hi Jojo,
I am using "Vancouver" in which references should be presented like this: Jansen D The Quality of.... Br Med J 2007;57(530): 422-424
The last figures indicate the pages.
In he text at end of the sentence in which you refer to this article you would incidate :1 etc.

Yeah, but it is also about how the feedback is given. I am an educator myself and have learned when giving feedback to stress to good points first and ask the student what could have been done differently. Often students are very self critical already, then to focus on "errors" only is not helpful.

Well,

maybe I did not express myself clearly: I think working on issues like being able to negotiate, being able to communicate well, able to set goals and targets etc. would all be important to be successful in a PhD.

Hi Skaniruth

I think most universities with a medical school have opportunities to do clinical research in a specific topic. You would have to contact a speciality and discuss. It helps if have a contact person and an explicit idea what you want to do.

Clinical research in general I am nor sure where that would be feasable.

Regards

Hi Leb050,

going through this research project it seems to me important to look at "soft skills": communication, negotiation, dealing with loss etc. I have notided that it is not the intellectual ability which is most difficult but having to work with supervisors who do not seem to care, who do not respond to E mails, who are not good in giving contructive feedback etc. Obviously one could argue that the supervisor should work on his / her inability to communicate properly, yet it is perhaps an idea to look at these issues yourself and develop them as good as you can. I found for example a presentation skills course very good in bringing accross my message.

Regards

SSRI's are normally not addictive yet sometimes it is difficult to stop them (this maybe related to the underlying depression coming back, there is debate related to this issue as some people find it really hard to stop them). Usually it is recommended to use them at least for several months, normally a period of 6 months is advised.

Hi Nore,

just a few words related to depressants, although I realise that you are problably not going to take them.
There are various types with different side effect profiles. The most commonly prescribed ones are SSRI's (like Fluoxetine (Prozac)). Again it depends upon which one is prescribed yet in general the effects are mild, usually initially gastro-intestinal (upset tummy), sometimes they make you more alert (Like Prozac), others maybe somewhat sedating.
Unfortunately different people react differently hence the long list of potential side effects on the information leaflet in the pack

Hi Ace,

there is a good book by David Silverman (Doing Qualitative Research) which I found very useful.
For me the whole issue of qualitative research is still quite confusing and I haven't made a decision yet regarding what would be the best method ,let alone a very specific research question.

So it seems what you are going through is quite normal.

Regards

Hi Birdsandbees,

let the forum know what came out of your conversation.

I once had a unpleasant boss and felt very threatened. Yet once we had a meeting and I said that I really felt intimidated by his behaviour and that I intended to take action regarding this. Surprisingly he apologised and said that was not his intention etc. and was a lot easier to work with afterwards.
It may work if you express what is going on, if not things will continue, or even gets worse.

Hi Birdsandbees,

indeed you do not know how your supervisor will react: He may also be positive regarding your views. He may not be aware of what he is doing to you. Often it is not a bad idea to mention your weakness: "I am sorry but I find it very difficult how you present your criticisms, it upsets me. Are you aware of that? " etc.

hi Piglet,

thanks for sharing this: It shows that the PhD can be done and is encouraging for all.

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