What's sticking out of my arm?

Well so much for the bonus posts given I was in the trial... Turns out the internet is a hard thing to get a hold of in there when there's a bunch of people with nothing else to do. The good news is there's at least a few good stories from the event.


This is my arm. The thing sticking out? A cannula. The red stuff? My blood. I was participating in a Clinical trial. If you're not reading the link, it's the method by which developed drugs are tested on humans for research and developmental reasons, which play an important role that often gets overlooked by the public unless something goes horribly wrong. Which, fortunately, it usually doesn't. Which is not to say the drug is always a success - or even successful at what it was originally supposed to do, yet certain 'side effects' were noticed that allow for a continuation of trials (thus Viagra was born).

I volunteered to participate in a Stage One clinical trial for a new anti-arrhythmia drug - fortunately the initial screens had been done with no side effects and the study operators were just wanting to know the kinetics of the compound (how long the drug stays in your system for after taking it). Many people (my poor mother included) would hate a loved one being involved in such a potentially dangerous scenario, however it does offer the participant a rather large sum of 'financial reimbursement for their time' which equates basically to quick, easy cash. Those who are aware of the risks might even use such an event to fund a move to Sydney, for example.

The thing that frustrates me more than having to spend 3 days in bed with no chocolate, coffee, tea or other happiness inducing substances is that although the trial runs for a total of fifteen days distributed over two months, it pays me more than my PhD stipend would working full time (and then some) for three months.

Can anyone else say 'Highly educated people working as slave labor'?

Well not anymore for me, at least. I finish in the labs at the end of this week.