Internet a Medium For Healthcare

Describe how you feel about patients using the internet as a medium for healthcare. Are there any groups that you feel suffer because of internet access issues or do you think patients blindly listen to their providers about medications and supplements?

As far as how I feel about patients using the internet as a medium for healthcare; I would say that researching product on the internet is able to provide. Then again, the web has many ups and downs that it would be important to make sure to know what websites are considered safe resources before labeling their information accurate or trustworthy. There are times when I turn to the internet to research certain drugs, but I usually have an idea of what the action of the medication (basically the internet is my 2nd resource).

I believe that the age group that suffers the most in this case is the younger and older adults. The younger adults because some of the population lack researching skills which might turn them to use any type of site as a resource; instead of taking a second look at what other sites have to offer. The older adults because they are not usually up to date with technology which kind of holds them back from gaining more information about various things. To tell you the truth I always used to have a problem knowing what websits to trust as references until I took my first research class; so I can only imagine how the rest of the world feels about this particular problem.

I strongly believe that many patients take their Physician's word for just about everything when it comes to their health. If their doctor told them that a specific medication is use to turn your urine green for fun, then that is exactly what they expect to happen no matter what other resources may say. My point is that since the world keeps all of pretty busy we hardly have enough time to research anything when it comes to health problems/medications, so we count on our heathcare providers to provide us with the necessary information about our health. We as patient should start to take responsibility in our own health by taking time to find resources that would be useful to have a better understand of our diagnosis/medication/illness (whatever the case maybe). My advise would be to read the information that is provided to you by your healthcare provider and if that doesn't make sense ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS and if that doesn't work you always have other resources such as your pharmacist, internet (but first finding what site are safe to use), books, nurses, and so on...

OB Rotation

1. Write a blog about an experience you had in either peds or Women's health rotation that you felt strongly about.

I can remember is when I was placed in L & D unit which I had two patients tat I was watching over for that day. Their labor progress was slow and I thought that would not have the opportunity to watch a birth, but boy was I wrong. That day I watched two natural births, which was very exciting and to add to my emotions I was in the presence o first time mothers. Now, back to my point, I was very impressed with how involved the nurse's were with these births and the amount of confidence they demonstrated while completing their nursing duties. I have seen only one birth before this experience and I never knew how scary the whole process of labor could be and all the different problems that may come along with delivering a baby. Luckily, the nurse that I was with asked me questions, helped me expand my knowledge about what a nurse does in this particular department and also gave me a quick overview of how to read the fetal heart monitors strips and labor board (which helped me see how far along the labor process was both labor). Overall, my experience was unforgettable and I am extremely thankful for the entire nursing staff on the OB unit for helping us through our clinical:)

2. Did the situation change your views about nursing, about people, about anything?

Yes, my experience helped me appreciate nurses in the OB field more because of how much they help these mothers through one of their most joyful moment of their lifetime (although it may not seem that way at first). I could never handle this type of unit because babies scare the daylights out of me and I just wouldn't know what to do if something went wrong. Although, I loved the feeling of seeing first time mother's with their babies which is the most amazing feeling in world because these were actual mothers who appreciated God's little blessing. Many people don't actually think about how lucky they are to be able to have babies, but the truth is that babies are miracles that not everyone gets the opportunity to experience.

3. If you could change something (within reason) about the situation, what would you change? If I could have changed something it would be to add more days to our OB rotation because three days was not enough to consume all the OB unit had to offer, but that is the only thing I could think of off the top of my head.

4. What type of nursing do you think you want to do when you are done?

I have never really sat down to think of the endless career opportunities a nurse has out in the medical field and now that I am on my way of becoming a nurse (I am just not sure). I love the idea of having different options in my future career path and knowing that I will never be bored. I have always wanted to go into the Oncology field because their are so many different areas in this field in which research is still being completed on (that the exposure would be unforgetable). I want to be side by side with the patient knowing that I am helping them through one of their toughest obstacles that they will experience in their lifetime. Having close family put into that situation has guided my decision on becoming specialized in this area of nursing. All I can remember about the experience is how hopeless my family and I felt, but how much we counted on the nurses to take great care of my family member. BUT I also want to expose myself to everything the nursing field has to offer, until I have had enough:)