References:
Lander, M., & Daniel, A. (n.d.). The journey to the electronic health record. Software Selection & System Implementation: RFP Sample. Retrieved April 07, 2012, from http://www.infotivity.com/dynamic.htm
Thede, L. Q., & Sewell, J. P. (2010). Informatics and nursing: Competencies & applications. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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References:
Lander, M., & Daniel, A. (n.d.). The journey to the electronic health record. Software Selection & System Implementation: RFP Sample. Retrieved April 07, 2012, from http://www.infotivity.com/dynamic.htm
Thede, L. Q., & Sewell, J. P. (2010). Informatics and nursing: Competencies & applications. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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Autism is referred to as a complex development disorder that affects the normal brain function. Generally individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder will have deficits in learning, communication, and social functions. Onset and discovery of disorder is present in the first three years of life.
Autism is a unique disorder that has a wide variety of problems and outcomes based on the severity of the disorder and the time and appropriate interventions taken throughout the developing years and onward. I choose to write about this topic mainly for my own knowledge and education. I was caring for an autistic client a few weeks back and learned a lot from the experience. I began to question many things about autism spectrum disorder, treatments and outcomes and figured this would be a great opportunity for myself to advance my own knowledge base and information.
Some of the questions I began to ask myself when caring for a client that was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder were, Is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) a real disorder or a overused excuse? Do ASD clients deserve or need special education and individualized interventions? Could better patient outcomes and quality of life be achieved with structured education, time, and exposure? Should there be government mandates like No Child Left Behind for clients with ASD and required specialized and individualized education goals and teaching to meet minimum requirements?
I began asking these questions because of a friend of mine who is an educator in the public school system and specializes in special education. He has stated to me on occasions that Autism has to much money, time and energy spent for not a real purpose. Everyone seems to have some deficits in communication, learning, and social relationships and subsequently many individuals are being diagnosed, assessed and treated for a mental health diagnosis that has no real relevance or depth to the disorder. I never really probed or dived further into discussion but after seeing the Autistic client in the healthcare setting, I decided I needed to learn and pay more attention to those with special learning and developmental disabilities. I hope this webliography will provide you with a plethora of resources to learn, grow, and increase your knowledge and competence for clients with ASD as it has for me.
I plan to close this post with a couple of articles I ran across when diving through the topic that is showing current research, outcomes, and interventions for clients with ASD.
Some inclusion criteria I use for validity and criteria to pick qualities sites for reference, education, and knowledge follows an acronym called ADEP
A – Author and Audience
Who is the author of the specific site. Who was the site intended for? Educators, common individual and/or health care providers?
D – Date
What is the date it was published? How current is the research or information? I believe that all websites used as a reference for current data, research, and information should be no longer than 5-7 years old simply because health care is constantly changing, evolving, and becoming more and more complex. Research, knowledge and information that is longer than 7 years old could mean that the information is no longer relevant.
E – Experience and Expertise
What experience does the author or publisher have? How much of the experience is correlated to the topic or idea being discussed? If the author has primary experience in business and accounting and is publishing an article on relevant treatments and interventions for individuals with complex congenital abnormalities, is the information relevant? Is it reliable? I do not believe so therefore, I try to include sites or references that have authors with relevant experience and expertise to the topic being discussed.
P – Publicity and Publication
Is the topic found on a credible site that actively publishing articles, research and information in known journals, sites, and papers. Is the website a .gov, .edu, .org website. Generally these websites are going to be more reliable than the traditional .com website. There is so much out there on the world wide web therefore anyone can post just about anything about anything. Therefore, I try to stay to websites that are group, organization, or government sites with multiple authors and editors to ensure more accuracy of the information.
I hope this acronym helps you in your inclusion criteria for articles, websites, references and information. It is something that I thought of when looking over criteria and what I valued in websites and figured it can help you as well.
PubMed – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/
PubMed is a great research database apart of the National Library of Medicine. I really enjoy this website because of the depth of information provided for manifestations and signs/symptoms of ASD. The information is easy to read and understand and is great for the individual with little medical knowledge. It breaks the signs/symptoms and physical manifestations by categories such as communication, social interaction, responses to sensory information, play and behavior deficits/problems. Check it out if you are curious about ASD or may suspect someone of being autistic, it can provide you a clear picture of what the ASD diagnosis criteria involves.
CDC – http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html
CDC is a great research database for a wide variety of diseases. It is great reference for statistical data information such as disease prevalence, correlations between the disease state, location, and IQ tests. It also provides a great link to current research and who is currently working to gather and research ASD to better understand the disorder.
Mayo Clinic – http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/DS00348
Mayo Clinic is great research reference for a broad spectrum of diseases, diagnoses, drugs, and treatments. I really referenced Mayo Clinic for the information provided on alternative therapies and prevention. You need to check it out for yourself. I agree 100% with Mayo Clinic and there advocacy on prevention of Autism. I will not spoil it, check it for yourself. It also is easy to understand and read and provides a brief overview of information and on ASD and its treatments and what to expect with provided care and love for those with ASD.
Autism Research Institute – http://www.autism.com/
ARI is a great website for individuals of a variety of backgrounds to gather information on Autism. It is a great site for families, educators, healthcare providers and individuals with ASD. It provides links to podcasts, education, information, and resources for all individuals to learn and grow. The Families section of the website gives information on autism and helping encourage, motivate, and provide hope for families of those with ASD to help them cope and accompany them in support. It is a great networking site from ASD individual and families to health care providers.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes – http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
This is a great research/reference site dedicated to the research of neurological and stroke disorders. It has a overview of the diagnosis of Autism, current presentation and signs/symptoms of the disorder, diagnostic criteria, and treatment/interventions for those diagnosed with Autism. If you are curious as to what ASD is, then give this site a few moments of your time. It can help you understand the disorder and the diagnosis and the possible and current treatment regimens for those with Autism.
Autism Speaks – http://www.autismspeaks.org/
Autism Speaks is a phenmonial website that has information about ASD, treatments, ways to be involved, how to raise awareness. The website is jam packed with news highlights, science research, bloggs, and information to to provide advocacy for clients and families who experience ASD at its fullest. If you are wanting to see how Autism is being talking about, discussed, and advocated for in the media then please give this site a few moments of your time.
Medical News Today – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/autism/
I love this website because it is like the hyperlink of hyperlinks. You can click on this link to get the whats new about autism across the last few months and years. It provides links for those with limited knowledge to educate on what Autism is and its pertaining presentation of those with ASD. The main reason I referenced this link for you is the abundance of news articles pertaining to autism across the last few weeks, months, and years. If you are looking for information and articles on autism news then please check out this website.
I can say that these are simply references and resources to better gather information about ASD and help many individuals of a variety of disciplines and backgrounds to learn and grow about ASD.
I will conclude this blog post and Autism Webliography with some current research and information circulating the news/media about Autism in the Spring of 2012.
Kansas City Star News Paper
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/29/3523382/new-numbers-show-autism-rates.html
This article is talking a lot about the prevalence of Autism and the climbing rates of occurrence.
Great Book on Treatments and Interventions for Parents and Professionals
I appreciate your time reading my webliography. I hope you enjoyed the posted references and resources. Please feel free to comment and discuss the posted information here.
Last question for discussion:
Is Autism a real Mental Health Diagnosis or simple an Overused Excuse? Thoughts? Concerns? Comments?
Have a great Day
Chuck
Check out my First Podcast!
What I believe about Social Media and Healthcare Informatics
See my Opinions on Social Media, How they have changed since beginning Nursing Informatics, How I can use Social Media in my Profession and 3 Tips/Advice to new individuals wanting to embark into the world of telecommunication and social media!
Comment & Reply!
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Health Care Informatics
What is Informatics? Informatics is the use of information technology in healthcare is known as informatics, and its focus is information management, not computers (Thede & Sewell, 2010). The transition to using more and more technology to collect, interpret, and use information in healthcare is growing. Although health care may be one of America’s leading industries in terms of size and scope, it’s been among the slowest to embrace advances in communications and information technology (Hawn, 2009). Informatics is more than checking your e-mail, playing on Facebook, or Googling information for your next assignment, it is the managing of information. With the use of social media as a modality of information technology and broadcasting the collection, sharing, and use information comes with a very sharp duel bladed sword. Allowing healthcare to continue to grow in the social media realm is allowing for an open forum for sharing and exchange of information. The immediate availability and gratification to handing stress and momentary lapses in judgement can lead to very wide spread audience in seconds. However, the use of social media and immediate availability of broadcasting and seeking information can revolutionize electronic healthcare. “Hello Health” is a growing Brooklyn-based primary care practice that is fast becoming an emblem of modern medicine. It is a paperless, concierge practice that eschews the limitations of insurance-based medicine, Hello Health is popular and successful, largely because of the powerful and cost-effective communication tools it employs: Web-based social media (Hawn, 2009). As for me, I am not sure where I stand on the spectrum of social media and the fast growing convergence with healthcare. I can say that I participate in social media every day of my life between Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and the occasional blog. It is hard for me to envision the mixing of entertainment, information, and healthcare practice into one. I see many benefits of social media on gathering and using information to revolutionize your practice in the hospital and clinical side of healthcare however, I am hard pressed to give up the personal interaction with the exchanging of words through the internet as a modality to practice medicine. I am not sure if I am comfortable with the way the transferring of information is quickly becoming electronic and the less need for in person interaction to provide needs of individuals. I believe that informatics and the processing of information can be very powerful to increase the sample size of information gathering, fast track the spread of new and upcoming research, and provide open forums for discussion of new research and information. Even though this one side of the sword is very sharp and beneficial, I have to still look at the other have of the sword that can be jaded and edgy. I believe that as the transition to use more and more technology and media to gather and spread information so will the use of the information in negative and counter productive ways that can harm the use of social media all together.
What I have Learned thus Far
I can say that I believe I am very aware of the various modalities of information technology and social media however, I am learning more and more each day. I use web-based social media to survive the day. I know that as I begin to process and embark through this course in the coming short 5 weeks that I will probably become more and more uncomfortable with the use of social media to share and exhibit information. The more I read, the more I process, the more I publish makes me uncomfortable to lower that filter and share information.
Highlights of the past two weeks. Voki is an awesome use of my time. I love making interactive videos to display introductions and information with my fellow classmates. If you have not checked out Voki before, visit their website at www.voki.com.
I am trying to read and learn what Healthcare informatics, social media, and how I can be apart. I have also had to perform a Competencies self reflection which I will discuss later of different applications useful in the gathering, importing, processing, and sharing of information.
I have started to blog again, which has not happened in almost one entire year. I use to love posting, blogging, and sharing on the new and recurring things in my life. I have also nervously linked my blog to my Linkedin profile, as well as with Twitter and Facebook which will allow the publishing and sharing of information throughout this course more wide spread. This makes me nervous. It also makes me nervous that any healthcare professional that runs across my electronic resume now as access to my personal blog.
I believe that is all of the highlights on the past couple weeks. I hope everyone continues to stay tuned in the coming weeks as my posts become more and more frequent and probably just as wordy.
Informatics Competencies Self Reflection
Word Processing
I use word processing as part of my everyday life for the past 12 years between high school and college. I feel that I am very comfortable with the basic knowledge and how to use the application based programs to compose and finalize word documents, publications, and assignments. I feel that I know fairly well the intricacies of word processing. I believe my main setback or hang up is my own lack of knowledge of grammar and linguistics that plays a very large role in word processing.
Excel
I have not used Excel for a couple years. It will definitely be great to brush up on those skills in the coming weeks. I have had three classes previously in my time in high school and college that has taught me how to use Excel and the Ins and Outs of the program. I remember from statistics that Excel can make some of those analysis’s very streamlined and easy to interpret the results. I am excited about the project through Excel that is due in the coming week, should be a blast.
Power Point
I feel that I can use Power Point to make presentations use it frequently when dealing with the many presentations for classroom content over the past five years of college. I feel that I am not as proficient as I should be in terms of making the presentations above and beyond the basic words on a Slide with clip art and the occasional graph. Hopefully as I dive through this course and use the application program, that I can improve and increase my usability of Power Point.
Basic Computer Skills
I feel I am very well versed in Basic Computer skills. I have spent time programming and building my own personal PC and in the last couple of years spent time using and becoming familiar with the Mac software. There are intricate details that I might miss from time to time however, I do feel that I keep up on my basic computer skills and am able to use a variety of computers with fairly little hang up.
World Wide Web
I use the World Wide Web probably more than I should, especially for assignments and gathering of information. I do believe that I can use the World Wide Web and Web based applications and programs with little to no problems at all. The only major problems I run into is the variance from Mac to Windows and how some web pages and social media forums are not compatible with the Mac software however, that is mostly out of my control.
Well everyone, thanks for tuning in! Look forward to communicating with you again in coming weeks. If you run across this blog and want to please comment so I can follow and read other healthcare professionals blogs. That would be superb! Have a wonderful day!
References
Greysen, S. R., Kind, T., & Chretien, K. C. (2010). Online professionalism and the mirror of social media. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(11), 1227-1229. doi: 10.1007/s11606-010-1447-1
Hawn, C. (2009). Take two aspirin and tweet me in the morning: How twitter, facebook, and other social media are reshaping health care. Health Affairs, 28(2), 361-368. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.2.361
Thede, L. Q., & Sewell, J. P. (2010). Informatics and nursing: Competencies & applications (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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Hello Everyone. I will be back to the blogging world once again. I know it has been one crazy ride since the last post! I refuse to try and catch up on life from the last post, way to much has happened, not enough time or space to share. Brief synopsis:
1. I graduate Nursing school in May 2012.
2. I will hopefully finish my BSN in December 2012.
3. I work on Pediatrics as a PCA
4. I am actively seeking RN jobs all around the Midwest!
Over the next 5-6 weeks I will begin blogging and tweeting about the ups and downs of Healthcare and Professional Practice. I will share my high’s and low’s during a healthcare informatics course I am taking for my current BSN program. I hope you stay tuned for the ride. Throughout the course I hope to learn more and more about professional development and diplomatic writing as I investigate and read about current healthcare issues and growing concerns. Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoy the next 5 weeks!
Chuck
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I am returning from Spring break to finish out the last half of my semester!
I can say that my break and time away. I traveled to Cairo, MO to spend some time with my Youth Pastor and his Wife. The week was mainly filled with nothingness and sleeping and then the week came to a close with a trip to STL with Cairo Baptist to Dare 2 Share. The weekend was great and even as a Leader, I was challenged to consider the cost of Following Christ. I just wanted to post these song lyrics that made a huge impact on my life!
You made a way when there was no way
You covered heaviness with garments of praise
You wrote a song and You’re singing it over me
I feel a dead heart beating now
This revelation makes me want to shout
that Jesus has been sent
and everything is different.
I have realized that there are many relationships, actions, disciplines, and passions that need to be different in my life. I have ran from the Lord, I have neglected to spend time with Him, and I became Frustrated at the Living God. I felt that I had some kind of Power over the Lord and had a Right to be Mad!
I have treated many people badly, acted out in anger, stated the inappropriate jokes, and not been an advocate for the Lord in my life and yet he has provided for me! He has blessed my road here in Springfield.
My prayer is that my Dead Heart will begin beating now! That I will have the discipline to seek first the Lord and His Righteousness over EVERYTHING else in my life. That I can begin to stand up for My Faith and My Desire to serve Him!
And Everything Is Different
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