tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post3912089440401312826..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: Person-to-person: a better approach to developing academic chemical safety culture? Chemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-63773630335148054062013-07-25T12:38:09.887-04:002013-07-25T12:38:09.887-04:00I think hiring some industrial chemists as profess...I think hiring some industrial chemists as professors would have a huge impact on the culture in academia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-76515897459301096512013-07-24T21:50:40.917-04:002013-07-24T21:50:40.917-04:00As you describe it, such a position would be more ...As you describe it, such a position would be more cost-effective the bigger the department was. Cost-effective enough? As you say, the only sign of success is a negative... "XX days since the last lab accident." If there's already safety officers on the payroll, what are they doing that is more important than actually seeing what the labs are doing? <br /><br />Another possibility is that a similar role could also be played by (senior) student volunteers who undergo some extra training. (There were trained peer counselors for various substance abuse- and relationship-hotlines in undergrad as i recall, at least at my school.) Or who do it for 1/2 an FTE. bad wolfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-15436353970432882952013-07-24T20:12:30.368-04:002013-07-24T20:12:30.368-04:00I always thought older PhD's were shorter was ...I always thought older PhD's were shorter was because they were underfed. .gr.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-31777675414005076572013-07-24T12:22:57.399-04:002013-07-24T12:22:57.399-04:00Safety doesn't matter (at least in grad school...Safety doesn't matter (at least in grad school) because most advisors don't care. Their job is get grants, come up with ideas, and get people to do what they envision. Everything else is your responsibility. <br /><br />In that environment, safety and productivity will inevitably conflict, and either safety will lose (and maybe you) or safety wins, and you're not around or employable in chemistry. If the school cares, something might change, but more likely either the advisor cares and it becomes a matter of personal attention or other techniques most effectively growing safety, or he/she doesn't and nothing they do is going to matter.<br /><br />In most of Gawande's articles, everyone in theory has the same goals - to get patients to survive or do better after surgery, and probably to do it more cheaply or with less effort. The problems are thus human relations problems, or work process problems that can be solved because (almost) everyone wants them solved. Safety in contrast is a cost - it gets in the way of what people want to do, and so is easily ignored by people who don't want to pay the costs for it. Unlike in industry, in grad schools students aren't likely to have anywhere else to go to deal with safety issues; if their advisor doesn't care, and they have ultimate power over their career and work, how much can safety change?Hapnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-73669315791604378862013-07-24T12:03:34.871-04:002013-07-24T12:03:34.871-04:00Yeah, that's never going to work because of co...Yeah, that's never going to work because of cost these days. I think 50 years ago and more, this was probably the advisor's job. You know, they would actually go into the lab and teach graduate students how to do stuff and not blow themselves up. Probably one of the reasons why PhD were shorter at the time. Learning synthesis was not done entirely by trial and error (I know that's not the only reason they were shorter). Now an entire position would have to be created and this person would be using up waaaaaaay too much paid time with every individual student.uncle samnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-8291406723519225932013-07-24T11:48:54.432-04:002013-07-24T11:48:54.432-04:00You would have to be very selective for such a pos...You would have to be very selective for such a position, otherwise they wouldn't receive the necessary respect. For something like that to work in chemistry it would have to seem like they know more than those they're advising.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com