DMU Magazine » How to do Just About Anything

How to plan a meal for 300

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:17:22 +0000

Melissa Roberts, catering supervisor at DMU, explains how:

Consider your location and whether all your guests will fit comfortably,
your seating, best kinds of tables and number of people per table, décor,
plated or buffet meal and type of menu. Don’t forget beverages and desserts!

Think about setup time. What is scheduled for the room before your event?

Ponder timing and its implications. Offering an appetizer menu at 4 p.m. instead of dinnertime will let you get away with serving less food.

Consider your serving style. Most locations prefer plated servings, but for huge quantities, buffet is best. Buffets go faster, too, if the event’s timeframe or program is a factor.

Decide your price limit. Tell your caterer the budget ahead of time — that’s key. Come to the meeting with ideas but understand they might not fit your budget. (Tip: Bulk beverages always go farther than bottled, especially with small cups.) Also, ask for an estimate with all details and charges so you aren’t surprised by any fees.

Plan ahead. For catered food, let your caterer know at least three or four weeks out. A good caterer can tell you what you’ve forgotten. The first week involves planning the menu; the second week, working on details; and the third, confirming the numbers of everything. The week of the event is prep time.

Collaborate. A good caterer will look out for your best interests. If you don’t get
along with the caterer, find a different one.

How to be as popular as pop music

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:56:34 +0000

The public relations staff at a Champaign- Urbana, IL, hospital once asked Jim Ellis, D.O.’88, then-head of its emergency department, if he would make nice with personalities at a local radio station. More than six years later, Ellis’ weekly “Ask-A-Doc” program on Mix 94.5 FM continues to be one of the station’s most popular.

The top reason for its success: Ellis – aka “Dr. J” – truly cares about people.

“He has a nice bedside manner on the air,” says Sarah Addison, co-host of the Mix’s morning show.

“The way he is with listeners and on air is the way he is with patients,” adds fellow co-host Kevin Lambert.

Lambert knows: In 2008, his colon burst while he was on air. Ellis happened to be on duty in the ER. “I was in so much pain, but he made me feel better,” Lambert recalls. “Some people are lucky enough to find the job they’re passionate about, and he is.”

Ellis, Lambert and Addison choose questions e-mailed by listeners that are topical, timely, pertinent to many and able to be covered in the segment. Ellis then researches answers and advice. The program airs Wednesday at 7:40 a.m. It is available by podcast and is archived on the station’s website, www.mix945.com.

Topics range widely, from the H1N1 flu to snoring, chest pain, mammograms and the drug that killed Michael Jackson. A mother once submitted an especially poignant question about her alcoholism; rather than talk about it on air, Ellis immediately e-mailed her to strongly encourage her to get help and inform her about local resources.

“I didn’t hear from her for two months, but then she e-mailed to say she went into rehab and had been dry eight weeks,” Ellis recalls. “Clearly we made a big difference in her life.”

Ellis combines “Ask-A-Doc” with emergency medicine and his role as regional director for Emergency Consultants Inc., a Michigan based company that provides ER staffing for hospitals in 16 states. He gets a kick out of talking with people who recognize him from the program, and he enjoys working with Addison and Lambert. “I’m by nature a jokester,” he says. “So our chemistry is really good.”

Photo © istockphoto/Graffizone

How to beat the blues

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:18:43 +0000

Endless days of gloomy weather. Continued fighting and biting in Washington over health care reform and everything else. Too much war, too slow of an economy and too little sunshine. Honestly, who isn’t depressed this time of year?

According to Lynn Martin, Ph.D., director of educational support services at DMU, about 500,000 Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder, typically during the winter. Many more battle the less-serious winter blues. Symptoms include lethargy, fatigue, appetite swings, irritability and avoidance of social situations.

Take heart, however: Martin offers these coping strategies that don’t require moving to Maui.

Exercise to improve mood, reduce stress and counter mass consumption of comfort foods.
When the sun does shine, get outside to soak up the sunlight.
Try light therapy with products that most resemble the sun’s rays. Choose light boxes that have at least 2,500 lux (a measure of light intensity).
Incorporate color into your environment, particularly shades of red, yellow, orange and bright green. Add a plant, colorful pillows or bright vases.
Eat right to bolster your immune system and sustain energy. Consider taking a daily vitamin.
Get your ZZZZs: Sleep in a cool room free of distractions and noise. Follow a bedtime routine (it worked when you were a kid). If you wake up in the middle of the night and don’t fall back asleep in 20 minutes, get up and do something. “Tell yourself you’ll get up and scrub the kitchen floor,” Martin says. “You’re sure to fall asleep.”
Have a good cry, then get over it. Keep a gratitude journal. For most of us, life truly is good.
Do what Mom told you: Sit up straight, comb your hair and smile. Dress in a way that makes you feel and look good. Have sex. Dance.
When all else fails, try something new – a new route to work, different music, a new restaurant – to change your mindset.

How to communicate effectively

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:43:05 +0000

Most of us can relate to two workplace nightmares: being held hostage in a boring, unproductive meeting and feeling the heebiejeebies of having to give a presentation.

DMU’s master of health care administration program can help. Through a unique agreement with Toastmasters International, DMU offers two courses designed to enhance students’ communication competency.

“We need to recognize the importance of communication so we can effectively administer to the whole patient and their families, to communicate up and down the hospital administration and to the community,” says Distinguished Toastmaster James Sandin, who teaches the courses.

Run a great meeting

Determine the meeting’s purpose – what you see happening as a result.
Define the meeting’s length and agenda. Stick with both.
Invite people who will truly bring value to the discussion. Explain how you would like them to participate – as brainstormers, advocates, conflict resolvers, problem solvers.
Prepare meeting materials and setting.
Communicate with key players before the meeting – important contributors, potential naysayers and especially those directly affected by any agenda items. That can contribute greatly to the meeting’s success.
Through purposeful, focused discussion, let participants know the meeting’s goal makes it worth their time. How will the meeting make things better for everyone?
If you’re not the meeting manager, don’t be the manager’s assassin. Work to achieve the meeting’s goal. If you leave a meeting complaining, you’re one reason it wasn’t successful.
At the meeting’s end, summarize results and clearly define duties and next steps. Follow up in a timely manner.

Give a great presentation

View the event as a conversation with an expanded number of listeners. Most audiences want you to succeed and won’t notice your nerves.
Make eye contact with a different audience member each time you make a complete statement.
Consider the goal of your talk – to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate.
Prepare and practice, practice, practice. Know your material, your audience and the room. Rehearse with any equipment or visual aids. If possible, practice on video and then critique your content and style.
Breathe. Smile. Pause – it can be a powerful way to emphasize a point.
Visualize yourself giving a powerful presentation, and remember there’s a good reason you are giving it.
Hang around after your presentation for further conversations and feedback. “That’s why a lot of ministers stand at the door after their sermons,” Sandin says. “It’s an opportunity to bring closure for people who may have questions or want more information.”

Photo © istockphoto/Robert Kneschke

How to rock as a RAGBRAI support crew

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:28:34 +0000

Having a good support crew makes a huge difference in one’s RAGBRAI experience. DMU maintenance worker James Yacko and his wife, Carol, garner rave reviews from Team DMU for their service, support and Carol’s spirited cheerleading.

“Jim is very task-oriented, and I have an infectious attitude toward life,” says Carol, operations manager at Straub Corp. in Des Moines.

The Yackos focus on “keeping the riders happy,” James says. As crew, they pack the riders’ bags and tents into the team’s panel truck and then unload it all at that evening’s host. They also scout the area so they can tell team members where to find the essentials of food, showers and entertainment.

James is a good crew member in part because he’s a RAGBRAI veteran: He first rode in its 10th year, 1982, and then pedaled 19 more. He’s crewed for other teams. He knows how to get the crew vehicle packed every morning without hounding sleepy riders.

“You have to baby them somewhat,” he says. “They’ve been riding all day. You make them feel like they can rest and relax.”

Photo © istockphoto/Kledge

How to ride a bicycle across the state of Iowa and live to tell about it

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:24:04 +0000

What do butt butter, sunblock, a full water bottle and a healthy appetite for pie have in common? They’re all top tips for surviving The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa®. Heading into its 38th year, RAGBRAI annually draws more than 10,000 bicyclists – including Team DMU – who pedal from the state’s west to east borders.

Members of Team DMU all share this advice: Don’t be in a hurry.

“RAGBRAI isn’t a race. There are so many things to see along the way,” says Shane McClinton, M.S.P.T.’01, D.P.T.’07, a physical therapist in the DMU Physical Therapy Clinic. “You get to meet a lot of people from outside the state and from other countries.”

Still, McClinton and other DMU RAGBRAI riders emphasize the importance of training. The seven-day ride averages 472 miles, and participants quickly realize that Iowa is not flat.

“A friend once advised me, ‘There’s no substitute for seat time,’” says Stephen Dengle, DMU interim president. “In addition to improving endurance, you need to acclimate your bottom and your neck. The more you ride beforehand, the more enjoyable the experience is.”

Riding with colleagues and students and meeting alumni along the way – including those who offer their backyards and bathrooms to Team DMU – make RAGBRAI enjoyable, say DMU riders David Strom, Ph.D., and Matthew Henry, Ph.D., associate professors of physiology and pharmacology, and Chris Catrenich, administrative secretary in DMU’s global health department.

“Seeing those alumni is a good way to reconnect with them, and it’s great for our students to meet them,” Strom says.

Catrenich offers one more bit of advice for RAGBRAI: Don’t expect to lose weight. The route is rife with tasty temptations, from pork chops on a stick to cinnamon rolls to almost everyone’s favorite, church-lady pies. Henry’s tone becomes reverent when he names his top choice, rhubarb.

“One rule I came up with is don’t eat nine of anything,” he advises. “I learned that after I ate nine pancakes and got on my bike.”

Photo © istockphoto/Subjug

How to be Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:13:52 +0000

For the past four decades, John Wattleworth, retired general services director for McFarland Clinic in Ames, IA, has been Santa Claus at hospitals, church groups, clinics and other settings. In recent years, his wife, Roberta Wattleworth, D.O.’81, M.H.A.’99, M.P.H.’04, chair and professor of family medicine, has joined the act as Mrs. Claus.

Every holiday, DMU’s Pediatrics Club brings holiday cheer and gifts to children residing at the House of Mercy, a local shelter and rehabilitation center; the Wattleworths bring their ho, ho, ho. They’ve collected some savvy St. Nick know-how:

Do your research. Check out online toy catalogs so you’re in the know when kids ask for the latest whizbang toy or game.
You’re Santa, not the Grinch: Don’t force hysterical children to sit on Santa’s lap, and don’t let their parents do so, either. Roberta has reminded John that some of the kids at the House of Mercy are afraid of Santa “because they’ve been hurt by males in their lives.”
Be ready for anything, including vomit, urination and senior citizens with red lipstick and a burning desire to smooch Santa.
Think on your feet: One skeptical child doubted John was the real deal because his beard wasn’t down to his belly; John simply explained that Mrs. Claus had gotten carried away with the clippers.
Learn from the little ones: “I just want my family to get back together,” a child at the House of Mercy once told John. “That makes you blink the tears back,” Roberta says. “You remember it’s not all the material things that are the most important in life.”

How to get kids moving

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:10:28 +0000

While most people think of a triathlon as an endurance sport for just the very fit, Hal Hatchett, D.P.M.’00, considers it a combination of the activities kids love – swimming, bicycling and running. After he and his family moved last year into a new home surrounded by trails, he came home from a run one day and told his wife, Kimberly, “We need to have a triathlon here in our subdivision – for kids.”

Hatchett, a DMU trustee and podiatric physician in Goose Creek, SC, pitched the idea to subdivision leaders and the local Summerville Family YMCA, and the first annual YMCA Kids Triathlon was born. Open to youth ages seven to 14, the event featured a 100-meter swim in the subdivision’s salt-water pool, a bike race of either two and a half or five miles, and a run of either a half-mile or mile. More than 200 kids participated.

“Most of the kids had never tried anything like this,” says Hatchett, a triathlete for more than four years. “The Y offered a training program before the event. I told the kids, ‘If you can swim, you can do this.’”

Hatchett’s 11-year-old daughter, Mary Beth, who’s competed in other youth triathlons, also got involved: In addition to participating, she helped with workshops and took participants on the bicycle route prior to the event. Both Hatchetts are involved in organizing this year’s Kids Triathlon.

“It’s a great sport for kids,” he says.

How to leave a legacy

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:03:03 +0000

For medical students, there is no better teacher than your body – including when you’re no longer in it.

Donated bodies are indispensable for teaching anatomical concepts to aspiring care givers. Participants in DMU’s body donor program make this ultimate gift.

“You can read and be book-smart, but there’s no better teacher than the human body,” says Clayton “CJ” Carlson, DMU’s anatomical coordinator.

Carlson says all religions support the medical donation of one’s body.

DMU holds an annual memorial service to honor deceased participants; their families are invited and asked to provide a photo of their loved one to be shown, not identified by name, during the service. This year’s event will occur May 21.

To leave this important legacy:

Talk with your loved ones about your desire to donate your body. If your family refuses to allow the donation after you’ve passed, DMU will not contest their decision.
Read about the program and complete the body donation form, or contact Carlson at 515-271-1481.
Donated bodies must be donated to DMU by a funeral home indicated on the body donation form or selected by the deceased’s family members.
A donation may be declined if tissues have been destroyed, if the body has been autopsied or if the cause of death was from communicable/infectious agents. A body also may be declined if the donor’s body weight is greater than the average for his/her height, or if the donor was HIV positive.
After anatomical studies are completed, the remains are cremated and returned to the family or interred by the University. The body also can be returned to a funeral home for burial.

How to choose shoes

Barb Boose — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:55:32 +0000

One of the worst things women do to their feet is wear high-heeled, high-fashion shoes, says Jill Frerichs, D.P.M.’01, assistant professor in the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery. Here’s how to kick the evil shoe habit:

Stand up straight when you measure your foot for size. Having your full weight on your feet will ensure an accurate measure of foot width.
Make sure the widest part of your foot sits in the widest part of the shoe.
Since shoe sizes vary by style and manufacturer, try them on before purchasing. Shoe-shop later in the day when feet are more swollen.
Women should choose dress shoes with proper width, cushioned soles, a rounded or squared toebox, fabrics or leather that expands, and heels no higher than two and a quarter inches.
Don’t think you’ll break in shoes. You’ll only torture your feet.
Avoid backless shoes – they force your toes to “claw” while walking.
Flipflops are for the pool or shower only. Enough said.