Final Post

What did you like or dislike about taking an asynchronous online course?

The material in this course was suited to online learning. I enjoyed the pace of the course, and the freedom to complete activities at my own rate. I have taken other online courses that are not set up as well and did not enjoy those experiences.

What topic did you learn the most about and what was your favorite topic? What did you like least?

Module 3- teaching with technology and learning theories was my favorite topic. I also learned the most. It was fun to take the multiple intelligences test.  I was surprised by some of my results and reflecting on them helped me to see how I can be a more successful learner/teacher. I also feel like my generation is on the cusp in terms of technology usage.  Most of my educational life  did not involve some of the technology that is currently around. As the Dylan song goes- "the times they are changing" It is necessary to embrace technology in our learning and work environments.  I did not have a least favorite topic though I do find the ethics and policies behind information systems a bit dry.

Do you have any other comments for us?

I would say keep this course as it is! It was a great learning experience.

Module 5

-Why would a patient want to create a blog? What might they gain from this?
-Why would a health care provider create a blog?
-What are ethical considerations when blogging on a public website, such as we've used for this class?

I think patients and their families like to create blogs because it is an easy way to share information with everyone.  It limits the amount of time one would spend on the phone answering questions and relaying what has been going on in terms of care and treatment.  Another benefit is that readers can post comments to the blog.  It is a good form of mass communication.  Also some patients may find it therapeutic to share thoughts and feelings publicly.
A healthcare provider may want to provide a blog as a form of advertisement.  It is a way for them to convey their practice mission and values of care.  A provider might also write a blog in order to get the word out on their methods.  This could be useful to other providers.
There are many ethical considerations when blogging.  A patient who is blogging might want to keep the full names of providers/care takers private.  You should always check with someone before you post information about them.  Providers who blog should follow HIPAA standards. Patient names and conditions should not be used.  Public blogs can be viewed by anyone and this should always be kept in mind when blogging.

Module 4

How did the readings influence your perception of your own clinical decision-making?
The reading in this module made me examine how I make clinical decisions. I have worked in the resource pool for the past few years and so there are often times when I am in unfamiliar territory. I always share my "hunches" about patients with a colleague since I might not be so familiar with what is "normal".  Part of the good thing about being a seasoned nurse is having lots of experience under your belt. I would never wholly rely on experience though as there are too many individual factors which play a part in patient care. 
I was unaware of clinical decision support systems prior to this module.  I learned a lot of interesting information from choosing a CDSS to critique.  The more evidence based they are the more useful they can be. Especially when it comes to point of care practice!

Module 3 post

What sort of teaching is done in your nursing role? Is there any nursing role that does not involve teaching in some manner?
I do not think there is any nursing role that does not involve teaching in some form or another.  In fact I do not think there are any roles in life that do not involve teaching.  Teaching and learning from others helps to keep us alive. Literally I feel that being able to learn and process is a survival of the fittest thing.  And as I have mentioned before (though maybe in another class) teaching and learning go hand in hand.
As a good old fashioned bedside med/surg nurse I have the opportunity to do all sorts of teaching.(And I document all of it!) I educate patients on medications, procedures, diet and activity restrictions, new diagnoses, discharge instructions etc. I enjoy the teaching aspect of my job because it always provides and opportunity for learning.

Module 2 post

I used PubMed, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, and Google to search for information regarding neutropenic patients and low microbial diets. Patients who are neutropenic are susceptible to infection because of their low white blood cell count. In my past clinical experience, this patient population has been ordered low microbial diets in efforts to reduce infection risk. Often time these patients have poor nutrition and getting them to eat well can be a challenge. In practice I have found policies and guidelines regarding diet orders to vary according to institution. My searches posed the question: Is there evidence to support low microbial diets reduce the risk of infection in neutropenic patients?

My search in PubMed produced three results fairly quickly. Having an understanding of the best way to search a database is helpful. Through PubMed I did not find any randomized clinical trials which had been published. I spent a longer time searching the National Guideline Clearinghouse. My first search using neutropenia AND infection control did not produce any results. I then searched the term low microbial diet and 6 results were produced. They were more general diet guidelines for cancer patients as “diet” was the term most picked up on. My Google search produced the most results. I searched the terms neutropenia AND low microbial diet. I then limited my search using Google Scholar and the timeframe since 2004. The three articles from my PubMed search resulted in the Google search. Google also retrieved many more articles on the subject. The first result was a randomized control trial done in the Netherlands. I was able to access the PDF version for free. A lot of the Google results would only provide an abstract for the article. I found Google Scholar and PubMed to be the most resourceful databases. Google is very quick and your search terms do not have to be so specific. I think the user and type of information needed dictates what is the best strategy for retrieval. For future searches I would start with Google then use PubMed or CINAHL to narrow down results and gain access to full articles. I would advise patients to use Google but would give them guidelines and tips for evaluating websites. If a patient wanted more detailed and scholarly publications then I might direct them to their local library for workshops or demonstrations on information retrieval.

Module 1 post

My name is Mary Steinbach and I am in the DNP/FNP program. I have been working as an RN for the past 5 years. My favorite area is oncology though currently I work in the float pool. I feel like there is a lot for me to learn about information management. As a graduate level nurse I need to know how to best manage information in order to turn it into knowledge. As many of our reading pointed out there is A LOT of information out there- especially in health care and the hospital setting. Knowing how to best utilize systems for management will make us better practitioners. I have had the pleasure to work for a couple of hospital organizations who were very technically savvy. Currently I do all my charting on the computer, access labs, orders and read other clinicians notes on the computer. A lot of my continuing education is done through online modules and testing. At the U, nurses uses Mosby's, an online database of nursing procedures, as a learning and teaching resource.