Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Gone!!!!!

CRNA's in Nashville and elsewhere have a reason to celebrate this week. First and foremost they should celebrate the liberties, freedoms, and privileges we all enjoy in this great country. But a secondary reason to rejoice is because today is a new day at MTSA! Today marks a very definite change in leadership there. MTSA has finally received the enema it has needed for well over a decade -- the past dean's pseudo-dynasty has ended. Halle-freaking-lujah!!!! I bet we could have a spectacular fireworks display, which might rival any seen before, if we asked for donations from all the people she's attacked, verbally assaulted, and demonized over the years. I know many who are happy that her horrific reign has ended. The current weather certainly is representative of the place that many believe she calls home - only it's much hotter there. There HAS to be a party to celebrate this joyous occasion. Stay tuned!

Ignorance, Arrogance, and Delusion

Relative to ignorance, arrogance, and delusion, one has to wonder how deep the well must be that the dean draws from. It must be plenty deep because she continually brings up a new draft of each. Only a potent mixture of these 3 could allow her to perpetually feign the moral, spiritual, and educational superiority and integrity of the school. It must certainly be a mix of these that prompted her to send out an email (in addition to the MTSA newsletter which was barely a week old) glorifying and describing the past-lapdog-president’s “contribution to several “important developments” at MTSA. Here’s the line of thought:

In case you missed reading in the newsletter about how great the past president was, here’s an email essentially telling you the same thing we told you in the newsletter. He was a really, really great guy and we want you to know how sad we are because he is gone. By the way, we have a new guy as president. We can’t control him. But Phil sure was great.

The article goes on to highlight the expansion, development, renovation, construction, and fundraising campaign the he so importantly contributed to. What is so conveniently left out of this article are several important facts that contribute to MTSA’s ranking of 69^th in the nation. Here is the rest of the story. About 8 or so years ago some really nice plans were hatched for building a brand new school. Obviously, building a new school would be no inexpensive undertaking. That’s when the administration found they were in a Catch-22. They needed money, and lots of it. They needed to fire up an alumni fundraising campaign. Along with this campaign they would ask several local deep-pocketed individuals, organizations, and corporate benefactors for additional funding. The grandiose plans came to a screeching halt along with the realization that virtually no alumni are willing to contribute to the school. Deep pockets like to see a large percentage of alumni giving prior to committing their dollars to large projects. The plan had to be scrapped because a great many alumni hate the school so much they want nothing to do with it, let alone give money!

Fast forward to 2005 when the dean’s lapdog becomes president. Since getting any real money from the alumni was out of the question, an alternate plan was devised.

Admitting, understanding, and dealing with the lack of alumni respect and involvement was never an option. That would mean having to deal with the wide-spread perception among alumni that religious fanaticism and cronyism is pervasive at MTSA. It was much easier to ignore the discontent among alumni and forge ahead with whatever support they could garner. Luckily for the dean, her lapdog was quite good at cajoling and squeezing some financial support from the few alumni who might have fond regard for the school. He is as tenacious as a badger and has the personality to match. He has an uncanny ability to tell anyone -- with a feigned sincerity that is almost imperceptible -- anything he perceives they want to hear. He will say or do anything to accomplish his goals and purposes. He is part badger, part snake-oil salesman, and part Edward Kennedy. These characteristics are necessitous and highly desired if you want to expand a school without much alumni support or involvement. I am disappointed however, that he couldn’t manage to get the school to at least a 68^th ranking.

The dean loves to crow about how Ol’ 69 has been around for threescore years now. Let’s take a cursory look at this relative to the alumni. Assuming a very conservative figure of 10 graduates per year multiplied by its 60 years; that’s 600 graduates. In the most recent edition of the MTSA newsletter I count only 32 people who attended recent alumni dinners that were held regionally. That’s roughly 5% of a 60 year base. Again, I believe that to be an ultra-conservative number. In part, it is the religious fanaticism existing at the school that has totally alienated the majority of alumni. Here’s a sample of alumni comments received on this blog that highlight this point:

“Keep telling it like it is! But I wanted to correct a comment you made, " ‘They wield their zealous beliefs in an unbalanced manner that is uncharacteristic among most of Adventism.’" I grew up Adventist, and lived here as well as out of state. Let me tell you, [in my experience] that behaviorIS common . . . especially so if you dare to question their "doctrine." Cults act like this. That is why it’s a doctrine-first-before-anything-else kind of place . . . [They] don’t follow their own church-taught doctrines.”

“Here's something taken from the MTSA Website under their "About MTSA" section:

Our Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals...

. . . to provide a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist learning environment

. . . The School will be known for its integration of Christian, Seventh-day Adventist values into its learning, scholarship, and service.

Core Values...

. . . A Christian, Seventh-day Adventist values-driven curriculum and program

. . . A family-centered approach to administering the program

Our Educational Philosophy...

. . . Spiritual: To create a safe, nurturing community of learning in which students are exposed to concepts of developing a right relationship with God, their Creator, and to facilitate integration of these Christian beliefs and values.

“This is comedy at it's best!! Having been a student there, and experienced their "SDA Philosophy and Values" firsthand, I would say they are a load of liars, UNLESS treating people like slaves and excrement IS the heart of Seventh-day Adventism. All that supposed “godliness” was not how I was treated when I was a student there. Can you sue them for false advertising?”

These comments, and others like them, were submitted by alumni. Again, it’s easy to see from these comments and from the schools philosophy that the primary focus is propagation of religious fanaticism. Educating quality anesthetists is secondary. It’s a wonder they got ranked as high as 69^th!

Stay tuned. We will next examine whether or not the U.S. Air Force Academy has impacted the dean’s long held religious beliefs!

MTSA Gets Its Own Version Of Der Stürmer

For those not familiar with propaganda -- you need look no further than the latest edition of the MTSA newsletter to gain an understanding of what it is and to see propaganda at its very best. The dirtier the edifice, the more whitewash one needs to make it look clean. The past president’s reign was so debauched it took several layers of whitewash to make this sepulcher of a president glisten. Since no authorship is noted for the piece dedicated to the ancien régime of the past president one could argue that the piece was written by Phil himself. It has every element one would expect to find within good propaganda: bandwagon, loaded words, testimonial, transfer, and repetition. Let’s examine these:

Bandwagon: Look at how great the past president was. We like him and you should too

Loaded words: See how great he was? He initiated, implemented, led, reminded, hoped, served, and was instrumental He is godly, honored, pleased, and disappointed. He had great influence and presence.

Testimonial, transfer, and repetition: From none other than the godly dean herself: She is “fully aware of God’s leading in sending Dr. Hunt.” “He has brought beauty . . . peace . . . leadership . . . and vision.” Dr. Hunt [was] “listening to the voice of God.” He provided “Godly [sic] advice and influence”, i.e. she is godly too because she got to be near someone else so godly. They are both just so godly. So very godly. So terrifically, incredibly godly. I mean, if you want to know what godly really is, well . . . friend – it’s them. Godly, godly, godly. It doesn’t get any godlier than this -- hearing God’s voice and all. Ah, to be like the godly duo of the dean and past president. It was like watching the interaction between Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Just . . . so . . . well . . . godly! They ultimately must take their place alongside many other “godly” people such as Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ernest Angly, Benny Hinn, Robert Tilton, and Tony Alamo. All of whom steadfastly proclaimed their godliness. (See previous comment in this blog -- godly people don’t have to get on a soap box and tell you how great they are. This is your first indication that you’re listening to a charlatan.)

Phil also provides his own testimonial concerning how godly he is: “God is in control.” God knows the final answer. “God had other plans” for him. He states that he follows God’s leading. Whew! I was tired of this whitewashed drivel after the first few insinuations that he seemingly has God in his pocket. It seems as though Moses and the prophets should be envious of Phil’s self-implied closeness to God. Just ask Phil! Oh, and by the way – if you look to Mr. Godly as an example, you will find that honoring and keeping the 8^th and 9^th commandments are entirely optional. Those two commandments, and likely the other eight, may be disregarded entirely as it suits furthering your individual needs and purposes. This example in itself is enough to warn any person with half a brain that the voice the president and dean are claiming to hear is not God’s voice at all but instead it is the voice of self-delusion. All this talk of godliness is yet another layer of subterfuge intended to cloak the ugliness of fanatic agendas, selfish motives, lust for control, and an overwhelming, maniacal, win-at-all-costs desire to perpetuate cronyism and the familial dynasty.

The one item in the newsletter that did bring a smile to my heart – that which I’ve waited 5 years to read and will benefit the school greatly – the president’s farewell letter. I hope you are all packed and have taken with you any trace of what you did at MTSA. Don’t forget DoD 5220.22-M.

Good News, Bad News, Good News, Bad News

It’s been a while. The Blogger has been on a strategic hiatus for a few months but I’m back. I trust all of you are doing well. I still have much to say. So . . . here . . . we . . . go!

First, The Good News!

After having been held hostage for five long years, MTSA is finally free from what was a pathetic presidential reign. This now past president was only a figure head anyway; a lapdog of the familial dynasty. He was a puppet-president; a marionette whose strings were firmly in the clutches of the dean. He allowed himself to be emasculated so completely that he was unable to effectuate any positive change during his tenure. He only marched in lock-step to the dean’s anthem of “All Things Adventist”. And he avidly sought, at any cost, to force others to do the same. He was no true educator. If anything, he was a religious zealot and “holy warrior.” Any flickering desire he may have harbored to educate quality anesthetists was engulfed and made secondary to the schools paramount mission of promulgating Adventism via religious fanaticism. And now, at long last, he is gone. Sadly, he leaves behind no positive legacy. He will be remembered as a lying, backstabbing, conniving, duplicitous administrator who was compelled by a pseudo-religiosity and a dysfunctional tenacity. At least he was consistent.

Now the bad news

The bad news is that others of the past-president’s ilk still remain. The cankerous infestation that allows and encourages nepotism, cronyism, and fanaticism is virally spread on a daily basis by the dean. No doubt telephone lines in Madison, TN have melted in the past few days as the dean’s paranoia over a newly appointed, non-Adventist President has risen to fever pitch. Strategies, contingencies, damage control – plans must be formulated at once! Now that her emasculated lapdog is gone – what to do, what to do? I really expected a better effort from her. She did not manage to push some Trojan-horse candidate into place. Maybe the combination of aging and dysfunction are taking the edge off her diabolicalness. My prediction: A multi-pronged attack. Her MO is, and always has been, to carefully prepare and implement character assassinations of anyone thwarting her designs. She must control or neutralize strategic board members. She has no control of the board (Damn that pesky board. Why do we need them anyway?) so she must develop a strategy for neutralizing them somehow. Secondly, since she currently has no control over this new “infidel” President (He’s probably Methodist, isn’t he? Oh my!) I expect over-the-top advances will be made to cozy up to him in an attempt to garner some level of control and sympathy. That’s a long shot though, so I expect most of her efforts will be directed toward continual attacks of the board AND, very important component here, finding a new lapdog. That HAS to be her number one concern. Every waking moment must be consumed with finding another ephemeral robot to do her bidding. It will be as if a menopausal Terminator has inhabited the skin of this relic for the next few months until she finds a presidential candidate she feels is suitable. A polite, smiling, once plump, aging dean possessing seemingly limitless chameleon-like abilities. Just waiting to snap your neck off at the shoulders if you blink for even a half a second. Expect an outstanding performance over the course of the next few months.

More Good News

As of today, May 17, 2010, MTSA has the most qualified administrator ever. Certainly the best since the drunken reign of Dean Ackerman. In fact, he is probably over qualified. Nonetheless, MTSA managed to stumble upon a new interim President that will bring a level of educational professionalism never before seen at this school. Dr. Kenneth L. Schwab has accepted the position of interim President. He comes to MTSA from Centenary College in Shreveport, LA. He “hails originally from Indiana where he received his bachelor's degree from Purdue University in 1969. He then earned his master's in guidance and counseling from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 1972 and his doctorate in higher education administration at Indiana University in 1978. He came to Centenary after serving in varied administrative posts at Guilford College and the University of South Carolina.

1969	B.S., Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, Outstanding Senior
1970	Special Education Teacher, Defiance City Schools
1970-74	Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Operations, Guilford College
1972	M.S., Education, Guidance and Counseling, University of North Carolina
1974-80	Dean of Students, Guilford College
1978	Ph.D., Education, Indiana University
1980-86	Assistant to the President for Institutional Planning and Community Relations, Guilford College
1986-88	Executive Assistant to the President for Institutional Planning, University of South Carolina
1988-91	Executive Vice President for Administration, University of South Carolina
1991-2009	President, Centenary College of Louisiana

Dr. Schwab, is firmly established as an excellent educator and administrator with 30 years of service. During his distinguished career at Centenary, Dr. Schwab was a tenured professor in the Department of Education and held many administrative positions at Centenary and other institutions. He continued to pursue his own scholarship via publishing a book as well as numerous articles and several institutional planning documents regarding presidential leadership and transformational change. Indeed, Dr. Schwab’s keen interest in leadership and strategic planning helped Centenary’s comprehensive campaign raise over $100 million for the college. This amount exceeded the initial goal by over $30 million, enabling Centenary to build two new music facilities as well as renovate residence halls and a fitness center.

Dr. Schwab actively involved himself with Centenary students throughout his tenure there. He team-taught Centenary’s First-Year Experience program with the college’s Chair of Liberal Arts one semester. He traveled with various Centenary groups, like the college choir and was an avid supporter of their athletic program. In fact, he and the Centenary Gent mascot led the campus as they unveiled the new fitness center. Active on-campus and off, Dr. Schwab participated in the Salzburg Seminar sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, served as a European Community Visitor to the Commission of European Communities, and continued his scholarly work at Oxford, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard Universities. He also represented Centenary on a number of community and academic boards, including the Associated Colleges of the South Board of Directors. Dr. Schwab is named among the strongest and most outstanding Presidents in Centenary’s history and enormously helped to enhance the college’s reputation.

He has at least one hobby – woodworking. He is always on the hunt for antiques and he’s an avid refinisher. “I like to find old furniture that’s been painted.” He says, “It’s rewarding to liberate the beautiful wood that lies under the surface.” He has three sons (Kempten, Carlton, and Christopher).

The staff, students, and faculty of MTSA are so very fortunate to have such a distinguished educator gracing its halls. Welcome Dr. Schwab! I feel certain MTSA will be a better place for your having been there. I encourage readers to extend your well wishes to him via a visit, a call, card, or email (his email address is coming soon).

More Bad News

While it is very exciting to have someone such as Dr. Schwab becoming a part of 69^th ranked MTSA, his involvement there is only temporary. A new permanent President is being sought. It is unlikely that his replacement will have even half of his credentials. And, to reiterate, the religious fanatic that currently serves as dean will be doing everything in her power to make certain that a new lapdog gets foisted into that position.

Stay tuned! More to come!

Go Sell Crazy Somewhere Else. We're All Stocked Up Here!

It happens all the time. More than we realize. People lie everyday, everywhere. Patients do it everyday – “Did you eat anything after midnight”? “No”, comes the response – only to later find that they ate a full breakfast! Experts say that often people lie to make themselves appear better in the eyes of others or to boost their self-esteem. According to one expert, people lie “not so much to impress other people but to maintain a view of [them]selves that is consistent with the way [others] would like us to be”. The truth is that there are as many reasons for lying as there are people. And then there is lying on a different level altogether. Probably everyone has encountered that person who lies about everything – compulsive liars. “A compulsive liar is defined as someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. Compulsive liars bend the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable while lying feels right. Compulsive lying is usually thought to develop in early childhood, due to being placed in an environment where lying was necessary. For the most part, compulsive liars are not overly manipulative and cunning rather they simply lie out of habit - an automatic response which is hard to break and one that takes its toll on a relationship”.

And then within the classification of liars there are the best of the best - pathological liars. These people can do nothing but lie. And they are so extremely cunning and manipulative that others easily fall prey to their equivocation and prevarication. Lying is a part of their reality. Lying gets them where they want to be. “A pathological liar is usually defined as someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others. Pathological lying is often viewed as a coping mechanism developed in early childhood and it is often associated with some other type of mental health disorder. A pathological liar is often goal-oriented (i.e., lying is focused - it is done to get one's way). Pathological liars have little regard or respect for the rights and feelings of others. A pathological liar often comes across as being manipulative, cunning and self-centered”

Perhaps one of the best publicized individuals that might fit this description is Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. He is highlighted in the Steven Spielberg movie, Catch Me If You Can, the real-life story of this gifted forger and confidence man who attempted to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice. Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., had a natural talent for making subterfuge work to his personal advantage. While at school one day, Frank successfully passed himself off as a substitute teacher. His small-scale success gave him some ideas, and he soon discovered bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as Pan-Am airline pilot, a pediatrician, and an assistant attorney general. Frank was such a good forger that he managed to pass more than $4,000,000 in fraudulent checks!

We might be tempted to think that these sorts of liars are not very prevalent. A quick look reveals that this is not the case. We are surrounded by people like this:

James Frey: After his autobiography A Million Little Pieces became a bestseller thanks to Oprah Winfrey selecting it for her book club, it was discovered that important parts of the book had been fabricated.

Stephen Glass: While working as a reporter in the late 1990s for The New Republic, it was discovered that Glass had been making up facts in his stories. Glass had gone so far as to create fake websites and sources.

Jayson Blair: In 2003, the New York Times reporter was caught plagiarizing and making up parts of his stories. He resigned and published a book in 2004 called Burning Down My Masters' House: My Life at the New York Times. In the book, he blames his behavior on a past battle with bipolar disorder and drug problems.

Janet Cooke: Washington Post journalist Cooke won a Pulitzer Prize for a story called 'Jimmy's World," about an 8-year-old heroin addict. The only trouble was that she had created the entire story out of thin air. Once it was discovered, Cooke resigned and returned the Pulitzer. She has since sold the movie rights to her story.

Like Glass and Blair, Cooke lied about her schooling and previous experience in order to get the job. She falsely claimed to have a degree from Vassar College and to have studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Jack Kelley: In 2004, it was exposed that USA Today correspondent and Pulitzer Prize nominee Jack Kelley had been fabricating stories and sources. He denied the charges and resigned.

Bill Clinton: The 42nd President of the United States. Lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and subsequently, in 1998, became the second president in U.S. history (the first was Andrew Johnson) to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

Richard Nixon: The 37th President of the United States. After it came to light that he had been involved in illegal activities, including wiretapping and harassment of political opponents in the Watergate scandal, Nixon lied and tried to cover up the misdeeds. The truth eventually came to light and he resigned before he could be impeached.

Baron Münchhausen : A German baron who served in the military and returned home with tall tales about his adventures. He reportedly told people that he'd travelled to the Moon, ridden cannonballs, and escaped from a swamp by pulling himself out by his own hair.

And let’s not forget Bernie Madoff: the former Chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange and the admitted operator of the Ponzi scheme that might be "the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history". In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felonies and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of almost $65 billion. Apparently it came naturally to him. "Bernie showed his con-man colors as early as high school, when he held an English class enthralled with an oral book report -- one that he made up on the spot out of whole cloth". He also robbed Uncle Sam out of two years of Vietnam War-era Army Reserve active duty by developing a case of nerves."

Thinking about the acts of these people forces us to ask questions: How can a person lie about everything and still seem so believable? How is it that a person could do these sorts of things? How is it that a poseur could be so successful? How can a person portray themselves as godly, say to your face in the most convincing manner that they care about your well-being, pray for you, shake your hand, hug you, pat you on the back and then seek to destroy your reputation via calumny if and when they find you in the way of their goals and desires? The answer may lie (no pun intended) within science. Recent evidence suggests that “pathological liars may have more capacity to lie and fewer moral restraints”. It seems that pathological liars have “the equipment to lie and they don't have the disinhibition that the rest of us have in telling the big whoppers.” Though in a different league and on a totally different scale, to be sure, the administration of MTSA would easily fit into the above list - like a hand in a glove. However good the administration of MTSA may look externally, they are as phony and bogus as one of Frank Abagnale’s checks. Both Frank Abagnale and Bernie Madoff are great examples of how far pathological liars may propel themselves despite, and possibly because of, their prominence. Based on some of the careers of these pathological liars, it appears that the lies of these individuals took them very far indeed. The administration and the school look somewhat like every other anesthesia school in the nation. Part of the subterfuge includes claims that they reflect the highest godly standards and that they are “a leader” within the academia of anesthesia education. However they may portray themselves -- it’s all a deception.

As has already been dealt with in this blog, the insularity of MTSA is part and parcel to what makes their delusion operate. It’s unlikely they’d be able to get away with their mode and manner of conduct were it not for that. They tout the fact that they are the only free-standing anesthesia school in the nation as something grandiose and wonderful. I’m sorry. I’ll call this one as I see it – it’s a load of crap! “Whooo hooo! Yippee! No one else is like us!” Why is that supposed to be such a big freaking deal!? Is that something to be proud of? Let’s take a quick look at how different #69 is when compared to the top schools in the nation. Recently The Blogger did some research. The top 20 schools were contacted and asked a variety of questions; one of which regarded class size. Interestingly, when compared to these schools #69, MTSA, was shown to have a class size between 2 and 6 times larger than the top 20 schools. Some sources say that the administrators would like to see a class size of 100! Now, this begs the question, What in the world is going on over there? Why would a school in the bottom 3rd of the national rankings have a class size bigger than all the top schools? Indeed, the class size of MTSA is bigger than the class size of the top 3 schools combined!!!! Despite the complaints of instructors, alumni, and others, MTSA has opted for quantity above quality. They are attempting to educate 2-6 times more students than any of the other top schools all the while having, comparatively speaking, very little educational resources. And they actually have the audacity to portray themselves as leaders in anesthesia education despite the fact that these top schools have leaders that are the best of the best in nurse anesthesia. The credentials of these administrators are very, very impressive. They have scores of publications, textbooks, research, and degrees to their credit all of which serve to enhance their credibility and define them as leaders and educators within these top-ranked schools. True to the fashion of Madoff and Abagnale, the administrators of MTSA come up short in this department. When juxtaposing their credentials and degrees alongside those of John Nagelhout, director of the program at Kaiser Permanente, whose textbook is used across the country, or of any of the others listed in the top 20 we find the administration of MTSA to be sorely lacking. Between the President and Dean of MTSA: a few degrees (none from any top-ranked schools), no known affiliations or memberships with professional organizations or entities, no cited research, and no known publications. So here’s the picture: MTSA is not affiliated with any entity or University; the administrators of the school have, when compared to the top schools, very little in the way of credentials, not even close when compared to the top 20 schools; they have contributed nothing significant to the profession of nurse anesthesia in the way of research, the President is not a CRNA, they are working only 4 days a week, graduate 2-6 times more students than any top school, thumb their nose at the Board, the alumni, and all CRNAs in Nashville, AND yet maintain they are a leader in anesthesia education all the while reflecting Christ. I would really like to believe that the President and Dean have taken that phrase “Do more with less” to new and lofty heights. However, for me, it is very difficult to believe that the administrators of a 69th ranked school with few credentials between the lot of them are able to achieve what the best schools in the country cannot or will not. When looked at critically we simply find that something is terribly amiss at MTSA. Are they crazy? Can they just not help what they do because of some pathologic disorder? Well . . . I can answer the first question affirmatively! However, other questions need to be answered: Why is the class size so large? Is it for the money? Why would they choose to be so out of step with every other school of anesthesia? Since we already know that teaching anesthesia is secondary to the primary goal of sharing the doctrines of their church, maybe it’s so they can expose more people to their religion. There is nothing straightforward about MTSA and for that reason alone the answers to these questions are likely to be something really goofy. A quote from one of my favorite movies seems appropriate here: “Go sell crazy somewhere else. We’re all stocked up here!”