Week 8: Overall Writing Progress

As previously discussed, my logistical delays with the TxDLA manifested itself with corresponding setbacks in my writing progress; however, it did not delay some of the valuable lessons I was able to learn. In the interest of gaining experience, and to better organize this beginner's first proposal writing attempts, I spent extra time this week reconnecting with my contacts at the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). For better or worse, they do not have a grant writer and do not write very many grants; therefore, they have appreciative of my help and have placed very few restrictions on my efforts.

I have chosen to continue to work at rewriting my past blog assignments. I have found the new focus, or rather a focus at all, to be both comforting and inspiring. Please find a new summary of the problem that I wish to address. While working with the NPF, I will concentrate on the medical specialty of Dermatology for obvious reasons; however, the successful completion and implementation of such a project can have far-reaching implications for many medical specialties in the future.

New Problem Statement (Week 1):

There is a discrepancy between the access to healthcare that is experienced by rural Americans and their urban-based cohorts. Both anecdotal and empirical research studies support such an analysis. While the short falls encompass several aspects, each with their own deficiencies; I would like to work on the limited access to specialty-based medical treatment (e.g. Dermatology, Urology, etc.) that some rural residents must face. Attracting, or retaining, healthcare providers, especially those practicing specialty-based medicine is difficult, costly, and often based on perceived geographical or cultural drawbacks associated with rural living.

Therefore, I wish to proceed in a different direction and wish to bring specialty-based information and treatment algorithms to the general practitioners already established in America's rural areas. The pilot project, or treatment algorithms, will focus in the treatment of psoriasis. While advanced therapeutic modalities in the treatment of patients with psoriasis can be difficult; most of the lower and moderately aggressive treatment agents can easily be implemented and monitored by knowledgeable primary care personnel, thus removing some of the economic and transportation problems keeping rural patients from urban-based specialty medical care. I would like to work with the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) since they are the premier catalyst for education, improvements, change, and research in the ever-changing field of psoriasis care. Their mission is "to find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and to eliminate their devastating effects through research, advocacy, and education".