Webliography

The topic that I have chosen is extremely personal to me.  I understand that I work with some of you, and know others of you personally.  I would like to ask that you refrain from discussing this outside of this class for another week or so.  I felt that this assignment would be therapuetic for me and we are working towards sharing our news with everyone.  I feel that we are all adults in this class and that as adults you can respect my wishes. 

 

Webliography

I am the 1 in 1:700 pregnancies.  I am the 1 in 1:12 risk we received from our doctor.    I am 1 of many women attempting to grasp this new diagnosis.  My husband and I will be 1 of 400,000 families raising a child similar to ours.  Our child will be 1 of the 6,000 born this year.  Our child will be 1 of the 400,000 people in the United States living with 1 extra chromosome.  After weeks of waiting my husband and I were informed that our growing son, Gabriel, has Trisomy 21. 

Trisomy 21 is commonly known as Down syndrome.  Unaffected individuals have 46 chromosomes, individuals with Down syndrome have 47.  An extra copy of chromosome 21 is shared from one of the parents at conception.  Every future cell developed contains one extra chromosome on the 21^st set.  While this condition is not considered incompatible with life it does produce children with some special needs.  Children affected are at a higher risk of heart defects, intestinal blockages, physical, mental and social delays.  While the life span of affected individuals can be as high as 60 years old, they are at higher risk of developing heart disease, Alzheimer’s and leukemia.

As 1 of the many individuals experiencing this diagnosis this year, I felt it was appropriate to combine my assignment with my desire to learn as much as I can about my baby before he arrives.  Below are educational sites relating to Down syndrome as well as support groups to connect with seasoned and new families with the same diagnosis.  I hope that even if you do not have a child with Down syndrome you take the time to look through these sites to further your knowledge about this diagnosis, which you may encounter in your career as a health care worker. 

NDSS

The NDSS is the National Down Syndrome Society which encourages the “acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome”.  They provide education, information, support to families and funding for important research opportunities. 

NDSC

The NDS is the National Down Syndrome Congress their mission is: “provide information, advocacy and support concerning all aspects of life for individuals with Down syndrome”.  They provide information and resources to families and individuals with this diagnosis.  They also act as advocates for individuals with Down syndrome to ensure that their rights are respected and upheld. 

Down Syndrome Group of the Ozarks

This site is available for families with children and individuals with Down syndrome.  It acts as a resource for families as well as promotes a sense of community and support for the individuals in the area.  This site provides opportunity to connect with other families and children within the area to offer and gain support. 

downsyndrome.com

This website is another tool to be used to gain knowledge and links to resources useful in raising a child with Down syndrome.  It not only offers to impart knowledge but gives a support system to families with new and exiting diagnosis of Down syndrome. 

Down syndrome in Pregnancy

This charitable organization offers honest and up to date information to expectant parents who’s growing child has been diagnosed with Down syndrome.  They offer free resources, online community involvement as well as personal follow-up with parents who seek one on one resource. 

Kelle Hampton

This amazing woman shares her personal experiences in her blog.  Reading her daughters birth story and their surprise diagnosis can be incredibly encouraging.  She offers links to additional resources as well as provides personal support to her followers.

Health Care Informatics

• A Brief Overview of Health Care Informatics

 Health Care Informatics is a way of combining multiple sciences to further health care. Nursing, computer and information sciences are blended together. This blending allows easier access for health care workers to access information and knowledge of others quicker and easier. It has allowed for faster, safer and more reliable nursing care. It allows for a connection for health care workers to research, advancements in medicine and updated studies. It integrates computer and computer systems into health care bringing connectivity between hospitals with computerized medical records. It is the future of health care, in my opinion.

• What I Learned My First Week of Health Care Informatics

 I am not tech savvy! That was my first lesson. I have the ability to Google most things; I can write a paper and create a power point. I have never had a blog, I have avoided twitter like the plague and other then listening to my podcast my husband has downloaded I don’t have much experience. I have an eBook reader that I love and have downloaded many books. My toddler can almost navigate my iPhone better then I can and if my computer crashes I have no idea where to even begin other then yelling or calling my brother. I can see that technology, not just computers, is playing a big role in health care. We have medicalized records; we have computerized orders, lab results at the click of a button and a medicalized medication administration record. Since the start of this class I have began to see the advances in our technology and how it affects health care. I can see the possibilities of future health care. There have been several studies that have been posted on the twitter site that discuss come of those advances and it amazes me that not only have there been enough advances to produce life saving techniques but the accessibility to the research and the studies related to those procedures is phenomenal.

 • Why Health Care Informatics is Important

 Technology is the future of health care. We are already seeing it now. Laser surgery, surgery performed with the assistance of robotics, interventional radiology and surgeries performed intra-utero are just a few examples. There is more in depth screening and testing capabilities to diagnose sooner and begin treatments that are new and cutting edge increasing the prognosis of once fatal diagnoses. Not only has technology grown and developed but also the ability to alert others in the health care field about new advances and studies that are being developed. It’s not just the development of new procedures and tools, but an advance on the way we do things in the hospital. We place an order directly in the computer for a medication or a procedure, it is sent directly to that department and the order is filled. There is documentation of prescribed medications in each patient’s chart, which can alert us to drug interactions or possible drug abuse. Past history is available for our patients; we can see which conditions may be pertinent to our plan of care. There is no confusion over what the physician has written in the notes, because it is all legible. There have been advances for patient safety, medications are automatically ran against the documented allergies and alerts are brought up if there is a concern. Patient safety alerts are brought up if the patients are deemed a fall risk, a skin breakdown risk or even a suicide risk. The opportunity to provide faster, safer and more thorough patient care is at our finger tips. By the time my children are adults who know what the medical technology may hold.

 • Informatics Competencies Self Reflection

 Word processing: I was informed that I am competent in this program, which I felt was reasonable. I do a lot of writing for class and outside of class. I use Word for the majority of my tasks. I create flyers, tables, reports, papers almost anything that I can possibly do in Word I choose to do.

Excel: I was informed that I need a little help in this program, which I agree with completely. I’m not as comfortable using Excel as Word. We use it on a daily basis at work to keep track of our deliveries. I have used it to look up a patient in questions days and weeks later, checked out our c-section rate, and determined the number of inductions for the month. I can add and sum using the buttons, but to type in an equation and get it to work is foreign. I would like to learn to use Excel a little more in the future.

Power Point: I was informed that I am competent in this program. I agree with this test as well. I have used power point since high school and have presented many presentations. I am able to navigate through the program quickly and efficiently and create slides using templates and from blank slate. I feel that there is always opportunity to learn more and would like to see my skills improve even further in this program.

Basic computer information: I received a 63% which I feel is adequate. If I was asked to find something within a computer, I most likely could not do so successfully. I often misplace my files when I save them and have to hunt for them. I understand how to start, shut down and restart my computer, I can open windows and start internet explorer, but understanding the basis of a computer and what makes it work and which folders and such do what is all Greek to me.

Web Assessment: I need work here too which was completely apparent even before I started the competency. I can achieve the basic requirements, I can search, bookmark a page, place it in favorites, download information and check my email, but understanding what all the jargon means in the little window at the top, I have no idea. I would like to learn more about the internet because I know that there are a lot of resources out there.

• Most Important Part

I feel that the most important part of Health Care Informatics isn’t really the computer skills or the knowledge of the internet. These are important but I feel that if one is to stay current on all of the new requirements and technology they have to be adaptable and willing to participate and learn new things. I think that if one maintains an open mind about new procedures using new technology and even attempts to maintain an eager attitude for learning then they will be successful when it comes to Health Care and it’s ever growing and changing technology.

Social Media Pod Cast

I’m just going to say that this was an adventure.  It has taken me several hours and I am not even sure that I have done this right.  I do not have a microphone and found a app for my phone that allowed me to upload a podcast that I recorded by talking into my phone.  I’m going to place a link to my pod cast below.  Please comment if you cannot access it or are having difficulties! 
Sherry 🙂

http://ipad.io/t9z