Who Cares?

How many PhD students does it take to not only make copies of the forms necessary for their experiment but to place them in the appropriate filing cabinet too? Apparently more than two. I don't get it, it's not like this study is brain surgery. It's just brain wave recording with a dose of spirituality thrown in for good measure. There may be a quite acceptable back story behind this oversight but it's hard to be understanding when this isn't the first time the ball has been dropped.

As a result, all of my running around to get the kids to the bus stop while trying to get dressed myself, circling around the parking lot ad nauseam, and walking to the psych lab on the other side of campus in suffocating heat was in vain. But at least I was able to serve as the bad guy for someone else and sharpen my diplomatic skills while trying to smooth out the wrinkle. Luckily I was able to reschedule the frazzled student, but neither one of us should have been inconvenienced in the first place. Not only should the paperwork have been copied a month ago, when the study first started, but the blunt needles we use to apply gel on the electrode cap should have been there as well. (I have to jab my finger with this every time so volunteers don't think I'm going to inject their brains with death serum.) I still don't understand why Mr. 18 year old frat boy recruiter Blaine, who was in the lab yesterday, didn't have enough foresight to try to make sure supplies were available for me. (Dude,I showed you the ropes and you leave me hangin.)

I may not be as knowledgeable in the field of CNS as the main investigator, but if it were my name attached to this study, I'd like to think I would care enough to do the job well. It's one thing to spout off about theory and the virtues of science in psych blogs, but if you can't efficiently run your labs...