banned at

[vark]

based on a phone call right now, it seems they have me on a do not recruit list. no explanation.

has been the main place i've been going for the past couple of years, so this is going to cut into my income substantially.

[travelingrat]

that is awful news. is there anyone you know there whom you can contact to learn the reason .... or maybe contact the IRB? i wonder if this was some sort of computer error; it really sounds weird.

[vark]

i just got off the phone with j__, who is not the decision maker but who deals with this stuff. apparently it has to do with my experiences in the tube study i did in december. (i will find a link to that post.) it's in this thread:
jalr.proboards.com/thread/598/update-new-changes-worse

they are upset with me because,and this is tricky and i need to try to explain it correctly - that i didnt say enough negative things at the time, but made my remarks in the exit questionnaire and in my post here. the decision is mostly coming from the study doctor. (i'm blanking on his name right now but the guy with the turban.)

i have told them that i want to appeal this decision. they don't have a formal process, but informally it's on.
i have asked to have the doctor call me. i will take it up with the irb if i need to.

their perspective is that i didnt give enough feedback right away. and that's kind of a he said she said sort of deal; there's no record and because of confidentiality i can't contact the other patients who were witnesses. i think i was clear at the time that it had been very unpleasant; they disagree.

but my perspective is that what i'm really being punished for is that later, when i was less in shock, that i was articulate in my feedback, first in my written comments on their exit questionnaire,and then in my post here, which they've read. that if i had just shut up and took it, like most other lab rats do, i wouldn't be in this situation of having my income get cut in half by getting banned from the place i go the most. they wouldn't have known if i'd just kept my head down and tried not to be noticed, like the majority of subjects do.

although they don't understand what they are doing to be censorship and retaliation for my having been truthful, that's what is actually happening. and i find it ethically troubling.

i am going to try to work this out, but i'm not especially hopeful.

first update: a little bird has told me that i'm not the only person to have been banned as a result of leaving feedback on a comment card; if you go to for your own safety it might be better not to leave written feedback, or do so in a way that can't be traced back to you. it's unfortunate to have to give this kind of advice, but that seems to be the situation.

does anyone have any expeience with 's IRB? I have found that most IRBs are rubber stamps, but there may be some with backbone.

[hairyscarylarry]

The only way I ever leave feedback at any clinic is if I can do so anonymously. And if I have to write it out, I always write in all caps to disguise my handwriting. I want to tell the truth and give my honest feedback, but I don't want them to know who I am, for obvious reasons.

If your experience was especially bad, I can understand a state of shock at first. I had a traumatizing experience with staff at years ago. I wasn't able to articulate myself until I got home and that was when I wrote an anonymous letter to the CEO.

What they need to understand is that if a person complains too much WHEN THEY ARE STILL THERE, they may be treated differently (even worse) by the staff involved in the issue. Do I want the person DOING MY BLOOD DRAWS or the guy who's already a bit mean to have soing against me? I thinketh not!

I won't go back there because of how I was treated and talked down to. Fortunately, there are other clinics near me. But for you, you might want to consider a move to Madison.

[idoitforthepong]

That sucks Vark...really sucks. I'm a bit saddened that would stoop to such levels (if everything played out as you say) especially since it's one of my favorite clinics. Feedback sheets are there to let us state our opinions anonymously (or not)...not to be used against us. That's like a good buddy of years telling you " your secretes safe with me bro" to later find it blown up on facebook the next day...thats some elementary school **** right there...not soing i'd expect from a professional clinic.

I wish you luck in your grievances with them...i have heard of "bans" being lifted so stick with it.