This was the first time I had an entire semester of strictly online courses and one of the things I thought was great about it was the fact that you could be anywhere in the world and still have access to the content and work of the course. Also, I really liked how you could schedule things around vacation times. I also really appreciated how quickly you receive feedback from professors and T.A's in general in asynchronous online courses. I also really liked the fact that you could work on assignments anytime of the day or night, so it really worked well into a busy schedule.
The main downside was not being able to meet any of my classmates face to face. I really enjoy "in person" interaction with others. Although, the discussion board and blog features of this course at least helped us all to be able to share our opinions. One other thing that was kind of hard was that sometimes it's helpful for me to receive feedback in person if there's a concept I'm not quite understanding, and this can't be done in an online course. The only other thing I can think of is that you have to be a very disciplined student in online courses and not procrastinate getting your work turned in, which is something I still need to improve on.
I really knew hardly anything about informatics and information technology until this course and although I still only have a very basic knowledge of things, it has helped me realize the importance of understanding how to use technology in healthcare. One of the most important things I learned about was learning more about different clinical decision support systems so that I can utilize them to help improve my care of patients as an APRN. This class also taught me to not be so afraid of technology. Although I still have a long way to go as far as getting comfortable with using certain types of data software in helping advance my skills as an APRN (i.e., electronic health records for example).
Will we utilize some of the data software programs we learned about in this class in our practicums in order to further develop our technical skills in providing better care for our patients? I also wanted to say thanks to Sue and Kathy for all of their help throughout the semester. I especially learned a lot more about Endnote that I plan to utilize in future writing.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Module 5 Blog
Quite frankly, I had a hard time thinking that a patient would want to create a blog being as that so many patients feel that their own personal health information should remain private and confidential. Although, after reading a couple other classmates postings, I realized there may be other reasons patients desire to create a blog. Also, since advances in technology are changing the relationship between doctors and patients (Rehm, 2008), I decided I needed to have an open mind in regards to my relationship with my patients in the future.
Thus, I think a patient might want to create a blog in order to "vent" their frustrations in regards to a certain illness or disease process they are experiencing. As already suggested by some of my classmates, they also may also like to keep family members and friends up to date on their most recent status of their health condition, rather than have to answer lots of phone calls. By receiving feedback from others, patients may feel they are not alone in the process. They also may receive suggestions on other treatment options available to them that someone they know has tried and liked for the specific disease.
I think the main reason why a health care provider (HCP) might create a blog would be to share general health information on a list of diseases/disease processes related to his/her area of expertise for his/her patients. In order to refrain from patient confidentiality issues, an HCP should not discuss specific problems to a certain condition an individual patient may have. This would be more appropriate with person e-mail communication.
Ethical considerations to keep in mind when blogging on a public website would be to never use a patient's real/full name. Never discuss specifics with a patient over a blog, keep things on a general level. I also think you need to have a good understanding of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's laws regarding patient confidentiality before blogging.
Rehm, D. (Producer). (2008, December 2). Ehealth on the Diane Rehm show [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2008-12-02
Thus, I think a patient might want to create a blog in order to "vent" their frustrations in regards to a certain illness or disease process they are experiencing. As already suggested by some of my classmates, they also may also like to keep family members and friends up to date on their most recent status of their health condition, rather than have to answer lots of phone calls. By receiving feedback from others, patients may feel they are not alone in the process. They also may receive suggestions on other treatment options available to them that someone they know has tried and liked for the specific disease.
I think the main reason why a health care provider (HCP) might create a blog would be to share general health information on a list of diseases/disease processes related to his/her area of expertise for his/her patients. In order to refrain from patient confidentiality issues, an HCP should not discuss specific problems to a certain condition an individual patient may have. This would be more appropriate with person e-mail communication.
Ethical considerations to keep in mind when blogging on a public website would be to never use a patient's real/full name. Never discuss specifics with a patient over a blog, keep things on a general level. I also think you need to have a good understanding of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's laws regarding patient confidentiality before blogging.
Rehm, D. (Producer). (2008, December 2). Ehealth on the Diane Rehm show [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2008-12-02
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Module 4
How did the readings influence your perception of your own clinical decision-making?
I really learned a lot from the readings and the You Tube video from this Module. I didn't know anything about clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) before. I think they are really important to help enhance the knowledge and diagnostic capabilities of a provider. This is because they intermesh patient characteristics with a computer knowledge base and allow the provider to hone in a more specific diagnosis. CDSSs also link information to a clinical knowledge base that is dervied from and continually reflects the most up-to-date evidenced-based sources. Therefore, as an FNP, I plan on investing in some sort of PDA in order to help improve my clinical decision making processes.
I also learned a lot from Dr. Kahneman's speech regarding the two modes of thinking: intuition and reasoning. I realized I use a lot of reasoning in making clinical decisions, but intuition comes into play in regards to my past experiences and the biases I have formed because of them. Thus, we need to be aware of our biases and try to balance them with the knowledge we acquire based on reasoning in order to make the best clinical decision possible.
I really learned a lot from the readings and the You Tube video from this Module. I didn't know anything about clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) before. I think they are really important to help enhance the knowledge and diagnostic capabilities of a provider. This is because they intermesh patient characteristics with a computer knowledge base and allow the provider to hone in a more specific diagnosis. CDSSs also link information to a clinical knowledge base that is dervied from and continually reflects the most up-to-date evidenced-based sources. Therefore, as an FNP, I plan on investing in some sort of PDA in order to help improve my clinical decision making processes.
I also learned a lot from Dr. Kahneman's speech regarding the two modes of thinking: intuition and reasoning. I realized I use a lot of reasoning in making clinical decisions, but intuition comes into play in regards to my past experiences and the biases I have formed because of them. Thus, we need to be aware of our biases and try to balance them with the knowledge we acquire based on reasoning in order to make the best clinical decision possible.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Module 3
What sort of teaching is done in your nursing role? Is there any nursing role that does not involve teaching in some manner?
When I was working at the private GI office in Boise, ID before starting school, I helped start Hepatitis C treatment and would teach the patients all about how to administer the medication and what signs and symptoms then needed to watch for. I also helped in teaching of any new drug therapy the patients were to be started on. I also did a lot of phone triage and had to assess what was going on with the patient and then get doctor involvement when necessary. The biggest difference between working in a clinic versus hospital setting is that in a clinic, you learn to utilize your assessment skills over the phone most times and in a hospital, the patient is there physically for you to assess.
From all the 5 years I have been a nurse and all the projects and clinicals I did in nursing school, I really don't thing there is any nursing role that doesn't involved teaching of some sort. To me, nursing is teaching and vice versa. They go hand in hand. You can't be a nurse if you are not a teacher also.
When I was working at the private GI office in Boise, ID before starting school, I helped start Hepatitis C treatment and would teach the patients all about how to administer the medication and what signs and symptoms then needed to watch for. I also helped in teaching of any new drug therapy the patients were to be started on. I also did a lot of phone triage and had to assess what was going on with the patient and then get doctor involvement when necessary. The biggest difference between working in a clinic versus hospital setting is that in a clinic, you learn to utilize your assessment skills over the phone most times and in a hospital, the patient is there physically for you to assess.
From all the 5 years I have been a nurse and all the projects and clinicals I did in nursing school, I really don't thing there is any nursing role that doesn't involved teaching of some sort. To me, nursing is teaching and vice versa. They go hand in hand. You can't be a nurse if you are not a teacher also.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Module 2
You used an electronic index, a guideline index, and a web search engine to retrieve information relevant to your clinical problem. Compare and contrast your results. Which resources were useful/ not useful for your information retrieval task, and why? Identify some alternative strategies for retrieving relevant information - would context relevant information retrieval be useful? (You must be detailed enough here, so that your blog entry evidences your use of both NGC and Google).
The electronic index came from UofU Eccles Health Science library (i.e., CINAHL or PubMed), the guideline index was Endnote, and the web search was google. I find that an electronic index or a guideline index are probably the easiest ways to tell if your sources are legitimate. A web search engine requires more judgment on the part of the researcher of the source because anyone can write almost anything on the internet and the websites may not necessarily be reviewed on a regular basis by professionals, which is the case with electronic indices.
I still really have a hard time with endnote and hope I can learn how to use it better in the future, it is not user-friendly for me and I tend to have more problems that helps with it.
The main thing I can say about retrieving relevant information is that you need to pay attention as to whether or not the site is updated on a regular basis, and by whom. You need to look at information from and about the author, to see if it's legitimate. You need to see if the sources comes from a trusted and legitimate website (i.e., a legitimate company or University). In other words, whenever using the internet, you need to be asking questions constantly as to the legitimacy of the information.
The electronic index came from UofU Eccles Health Science library (i.e., CINAHL or PubMed), the guideline index was Endnote, and the web search was google. I find that an electronic index or a guideline index are probably the easiest ways to tell if your sources are legitimate. A web search engine requires more judgment on the part of the researcher of the source because anyone can write almost anything on the internet and the websites may not necessarily be reviewed on a regular basis by professionals, which is the case with electronic indices.
I still really have a hard time with endnote and hope I can learn how to use it better in the future, it is not user-friendly for me and I tend to have more problems that helps with it.
The main thing I can say about retrieving relevant information is that you need to pay attention as to whether or not the site is updated on a regular basis, and by whom. You need to look at information from and about the author, to see if it's legitimate. You need to see if the sources comes from a trusted and legitimate website (i.e., a legitimate company or University). In other words, whenever using the internet, you need to be asking questions constantly as to the legitimacy of the information.
Introduction
1. Introduce yourself to the group. Include your graduate area (e.g., teaching, acute care NP, etc.).
Hi everybody, my name is Rachelle Ormond and I am currently in the DNP FNP track. I just started my third semester and hope to graduate in May 2012. I am originally from Boise, Idaho and have lived here most of my life, but I did live in Omaha, Nebraska and worked at an ENT surgery center there for a year. I really enjoyed all the trees and how green everything is out in the Midwest. The people are really friendly too. I also had a chance to be a mission nurse in Ecuador for about a year and since that time I have worked at a GI clinic and outpatient endoscopy up and until last summer (2009) when I started the program at the UofU. I really enjoy SLC and the people there so far. I love the mountains and so couldn't be living in a better place.
2. Why do you as a graduate level nurse need to know about information management?
As a graduate level nursing, information management is very important to all aspects of nursing care and education. From the readings and powerpoints so far, I have just begun to learn how important it is for us to have a working knowledge regarding information technology and nursing informatics. This is important because we will be able utilize evidence-based practice in our specialty areas and therefore, be able to better care for our patients. It is also important to have a working knowledge of nursing informatics theories in order to understand how nursing informatics really works in the world today.
3. Describe what is happening related to IT in your clinical or practice setting.
I actually barely left my GI clinic (last Summer) when they were in the process of making the change from paper charting to computer charting, so I don't personally have a lot of experience in this realm. I can say that the clinical supervisor was just beginning to research charting software as I was preparing to leave, but I know they had a plan to be up on running with computer charting systems by Jan. 2010.
We were already using some IT via the hospital we were affiliated with to get lab, radiology, pathology, emergency room reports, etc. Since we were affiliated with a hospital, if there were certain tests performed at the hospital, we had the access and login to the hospital computer system and print off or review reports from te computer.
I also did some computer charting at one of the hospitals I worked at years ago. I personally think private clinics are probably a little slower at moving to computer charting mainly because of the expense involved as just a few providers have to pay for it all, but I do think it will be of great benefit in the technology age for all medical systems to go electronic. And I am really glad that my old place of employment is doing their best to keep up on the waves of the future.
Hi everybody, my name is Rachelle Ormond and I am currently in the DNP FNP track. I just started my third semester and hope to graduate in May 2012. I am originally from Boise, Idaho and have lived here most of my life, but I did live in Omaha, Nebraska and worked at an ENT surgery center there for a year. I really enjoyed all the trees and how green everything is out in the Midwest. The people are really friendly too. I also had a chance to be a mission nurse in Ecuador for about a year and since that time I have worked at a GI clinic and outpatient endoscopy up and until last summer (2009) when I started the program at the UofU. I really enjoy SLC and the people there so far. I love the mountains and so couldn't be living in a better place.
2. Why do you as a graduate level nurse need to know about information management?
As a graduate level nursing, information management is very important to all aspects of nursing care and education. From the readings and powerpoints so far, I have just begun to learn how important it is for us to have a working knowledge regarding information technology and nursing informatics. This is important because we will be able utilize evidence-based practice in our specialty areas and therefore, be able to better care for our patients. It is also important to have a working knowledge of nursing informatics theories in order to understand how nursing informatics really works in the world today.
3. Describe what is happening related to IT in your clinical or practice setting.
I actually barely left my GI clinic (last Summer) when they were in the process of making the change from paper charting to computer charting, so I don't personally have a lot of experience in this realm. I can say that the clinical supervisor was just beginning to research charting software as I was preparing to leave, but I know they had a plan to be up on running with computer charting systems by Jan. 2010.
We were already using some IT via the hospital we were affiliated with to get lab, radiology, pathology, emergency room reports, etc. Since we were affiliated with a hospital, if there were certain tests performed at the hospital, we had the access and login to the hospital computer system and print off or review reports from te computer.
I also did some computer charting at one of the hospitals I worked at years ago. I personally think private clinics are probably a little slower at moving to computer charting mainly because of the expense involved as just a few providers have to pay for it all, but I do think it will be of great benefit in the technology age for all medical systems to go electronic. And I am really glad that my old place of employment is doing their best to keep up on the waves of the future.
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