TIL: Career Research

TIL: Career Research

11/19/2014

The career I chose was pediatric surgery. I hope to one day spend the rest of my life in this career. Medicine is something I am very passionate about, and I love working with children. Surgery is hardcore, it requires the best precision and snap decision making. It will keep my on my toes every second. 

Pediatric surgeons do a lot of different things. They perform surgery on children, in many different ways. Pediatric surgeons care for children both during and after surgery. Children are a little different to work with, and, in a way, easier. They won't lie about their medical history, they will tell you when it hurts and where with no discretion. They know what is going on with them on an elementary level, and they will share. This is unlike adults because as we grow up we become ashamed of some of our life choices. So we hide them. Children don't do that. 

The schooling required for any type of surgeon includes an undergraduate degree of some kind, then medical school, then residency, then fellowship, and then they can practice on their own. Residency is spent working with surgeons in general, then toward the end of residency and through fellowship they begin to specialize. 

Since there is so much schooling involved, it gets pricey. All that tuition adds up. At Creighton University, for example, the cost of one year is about $46,000. 

The job outlook is good. People will always get sick and need surgery. Even with more machines helping out, there will always be a need for a human surgeon. Surgeons are paid in the top 1% of the population. 

TIL: National Patient Safety Goals

TIL: National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG)

November 5th, 2014

Today I learned that the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) are a set of goals and regulations set forth by the Joint Commission. They were first developed in 2002 but not enacted until 2003. All accredited institutions are required to comply with these goals, however, they are only required to comply with the goals that apply to that specific institution. The Joint Commission reviews the goals annually based on data given to them by the accredited institutions complying with the goals. All of these accredited institutions are required to report mistakes, patients, etc to the Joint Commission each year to help improve the goals. These goals were designed to prevent hospital mistakes that never should have happened originally. NPSGs are "goals" published by the Commission that targets specific areas where goals are needed to improve patient care. 

Culturally Competent Care Unit Reflection

Culturally Competent Care Unit Reflection

10/29/14

Active, responsible citizens are well-informed and apply knowledge and skills to improve the quality of their lives and communities.

As a group, as well as students, we all obtained this skill throughout this project. The entire objective of the unit was to understand that every culture has different customs that go along with it. As health professionals and as people we must respect these things in order to provide the best care possible. 

We demonstrated this skill in many ways. Primarily, we used this skill in researching our assigned cultures to learn more about them and be more informed about their customs. However, we also used this skill in communicating with each other. In my group for one, Jadin, Hayley, and I all have different styles of doing things. Hayley prefers to do things slow and the best she can. She did her voice comments several times over until she got them exactly right. I was not so nit-picky with my voice comments, however my research was precise and current so no wires were crossed with anyone viewing it. Jadin prefers to take things slower and make triple sure she has everything right before she began her voice comments. We had to learn to be patient with each other and realize that we all did things differently. 

Another culture I learned about was El Salvador. They are very family-oriented. They are much more open and friendly with the people around them than we are as a culture. Their food isn't much different but it is much more organic-based.

Finally, I also viewed a Voicethread on Italian culture. Their culture is very similar to ours, but they are also more open and friendly. Large families, large gatherings, tight-knit communities, everything is about having people close in the Italian culture. That is something I admire and I wish happened more in our culture. 

I really enjoyed this project and hope we get to do things like this again in the future. :)

      

TIL: Culturally Competent Care

TIL: Culturally Competent Care

There are many ways a person's cultural background can create a barrier in their plan of care. One example is language. There are thousands of languages spoken all around the world. No two languages are the same. One must be competent of the differences in definitions of words across languages. Another possible barrier would be the beliefs of the cultural group. For instance, a tribe of Native Americans believe that transplants of blood, organs, tissue, etc is defiling the body and do not believe in it. A third barrier that could obstruct the intended plan of care is body language. Gestures, eye contact, physical contact, and other types of body language all mean different things in different cultures. 

The most important thing in this document is do try to understand people's values, since they will influence their behavior. Understanding beliefs is the most important part of culturally competent care. Without understanding the beliefs it is extremely difficult to incorporate them into the patient's plan of care. Many of the other points in this document start with "don't judge". I think that in itself is the second most important part of culturally competent care. Judging in general makes the patient wary of their physician or direct treating health professional. 

The most important element of the "10 tips for improving patient-provider rerlationship" is don't assume. We all know what happens when you assume......The second most important is allow the patient to be completely open and honest. If the patient cannot be honest about their beliefs in relevance to their plan of care or treatment, they will not be willing to comply. One would not know how to incorporate their beliefs into their treatment if the patient does not feel comfortable sharing them.

Today I Learned: HIPAA

Today I Learned: HIPAA

9/17/14

Today I learned the specifics of what all the HIPAA legislation entails. I am very glad we went over this, there are some special rules I did not know before. 

These laws are extremely important. Patients have rights to their information and its privacy. If one's patients don't feel comfortable with their physician they either will change doctors or not disclose the necessary information to their current healthcare professional. 

HIPAA has a lot of different regulations, and all of them are completely necessary. They will be extremely helpful to me in my medical career to allow patients to trust me, as well as to protect myself against fines and jail time. 

My parents are both healthcare professionals, so I have heard the basics of this legislation before. I did not know previously how in depth they protected patients. So much information passed through the healthcare system is extremely sensitive. People make decisions they're not necessarily proud of and don't want people to know. That's their right to keep that information to themselves. This legislation is extremely useful in doing that for them.

Gloria the HIPAA!

Today I Learned 9/3/2014

 Today I Learned

9/3/14

I learned a lot today. One thing I learned the most about was the use of the web resource called bubbl.us. It was a very creative way to organize thoughts. I remember using paper versions of these several times throughout elementary school and junior high as a way to get my thoughts in order before I began my paper. It has been very helpful to me in the past with various essays and research papers as a way to keep from inadvertently omitting information or repeating myself. 

One other thing I learned came from the research for a different assignment today. I learned how important the different characteristics of the perfect health professional really do affect patient care and their health. Some things, like communication, that never really crossed my mind as important came up a lot today in discussion. It made me realize how important they were in healthcare. 

One characteristic that is important to me is responsibility. Your patients, supervisors, co-workers, families of your patients, and every one else have to be able to trust you in order to do your job. Owning up to your actions and being confident in your abilities, even when  mistakes are made, is extremely important in the healthcare field. 

The three characteristics that I hold myself to every day are excellence, responsibility, and honesty. 

Alegent's Commitments

Alegent's Commitments

Alegent's Commitments are:

- Teamwork

- Integrity

-Compassion

-Respect

-Excellence

Or, how I remember it: Tigers eat rabbits in cages

Without teamwork a patient's plan of care would not be achieved. It takes many different medical professionals all working together. Integrity is important in everything one does. It includes honesty and just being true to yourself. Honesty is important for obvious reasons.Being true to yourself is vital in medical professions. Trying to be someone else gets in the way of patient care, and it causes a lack of patient trust. Compassion allows the patient to feel at ease with the professional. Picturing oneself in their shoes demonstrates empathy that puts the patient's uncertainties to rest. Having respect for everyone is one of the most important things. If you respect others, others will respect you in return. It's that simple. Excellence is absolutely key in every facet of life. People don't want a doctor that just does what's expected. They want an excellent doctor. Striving for excellence is something I make a goal for myself every day throughout every part of my day. 

These commitments affect every one. Patients, other health professionals, visitors, other hospital workers, everyone deserves to be treated with these commitments in mind. On the other hand, it should be expected from everyone as well. The most important to me is excellence. Excellence is something to be worked toward every day. It reflects your character, work ethic, personality, and many other things. It determines job, school, and other kinds of opportunities. 

A little about myself

A Little About Myself

9/3/14

As a person, I am very easy going. I don't enjoy strict schedules, but I love being busy. A schedule with no down-time is what I usually go with. I am an extremely driven student, and am willing to try anything once. I learn hands-on. If I can't study that way I use flashcards. Music is my life. A life without a melody is dead and dull. I play guitar and a little piano, I sing in the upper level choir at my home high school (go monarchs!) and am a part of the exclusive extracurricular choir. In previous years I have competed in the show choirs, but this year I am playing in the band that accompanies them. I make sure music plays an important role in my life every day.

It is my dream to become a doctor. Helping people makes me happy. After graduation I hope to attend Texas Christian University on a tuition scholarship like my parents, majoring in either pre-med or nursing with MD intentions. My fall-back school is South Dakota State University on the same major path. I am thinking of minoring in either Spanish or Faith Studies. God is a big part of my life and I would love for Him to be a part of my career as well. 

I have big plans, and I do whatever I can to see them through.