Assignment 6: Instructional Methods and Materials

The lesson level objective I chose from Assignment 5 is: obtain health care records from current health care provider.

This lesson can be given in the following methods: lecture, group discussion, role playing, or one on one instruction. Each method has advantages and disadvantages.

Lecture: A lecture would be presented in PowerPoint format, and has the instructor speaking the information to the students. Typically a lecture begins with an overview of objectives, moves to specific information in the body of the lecture,then ends with a summary. For our specific objective, the teacher would prepare a PowerPoint on how to obtain health records and present it to a group of adolescent students.

    Advantages: Effective for educating large groups of people at the same time
    Disadvantages: Does not afford for differences in student learning styles or cognitive levels

Group Discussion: Students and teacher gather together to discuss predetermined objectives. The teacher leads the discussion to a certain degree, but the group responses also direct the focus of the discussion. For our example, the teacher would gather a group of students to discuss how to obtain records from health providers. It is possible some students have had experience with the subject, and facilitate learning by sharing their experiences.

    Advantages: Promotes peer support, which is important to the adolescent population. 
    Disadvantages: Shy learners can get pushed aside, and may need extra encouragement to become involved. This is especially important to note with self-conscious adolescents.

Role Playing: Students play characters in a predetermined scenario. This helps students understand the roles they should play. This can be used to help students practice calling or going to a doctors office to request their health care records.

    Advantages: Helps adolescents practice these new types of interactions.
    Disadvantages: Adolescents may feel self-conscious about acting in front of their peers.

One to One instruction: This method tailors to the specific needs of the individual. This could be helpful in teaching a youth with a special health care need or learning disability to obtain their health care records.

    Advantages: Paced to meet the exact needs of the student.
    Disadvantages: Student is isolated from peers, and peer group is very important to adolescents.


Bastable, S. (2008). Nurse as educator: principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers

Module 5: Decisions, decisions...

I have never heard the word "heuristics" before. I'm still not really sure how to pronounce it, and I even looked it up on wikipedia! Wikipedia shows the pronunciation, but I have no idea. It is interesting that there is a technical term for an educated guess, and a whole philosophy surrounding the concept!

I don't work with clinical decision software in my current position, but I found the Brokel reading in the class assignments very interesting. I didn't realize there were different types of decision making programs. I think this will make me more aware of the depth of the programs I will use. It is important to understand how and why computer programs make their decisions in order to trust outcomes and evaluate the validity of the proposed decision.

Module 6: I should be done now, however...

I apparently skipped Module 5 in my excitement to be working on assignments early. Sooo.... I guess now I get to work on Module 5. Then I will have finished my coursework for this class! Woohoo!!

I am supposed to identify one thing I learned or refreshed from this course. I learned so much more than one thing. I learned that Informatics in Nursing means more than just working with computers. I learned how to make a blog (and hopefully how to make a presentable blog). This class has been really enjoyable, and I feel my future nursing education will be enhanced by learning about information searches, security, and teaching techniques.
 
Thank you to all involved in my current and future education as an advanced practice nurse!!

Module 4: Are we supposed to be teaching now?

My job does not include hands on patient care. I do case management, so a lot of my work is information entry. I also provide health education to foster parents, biological parents, social workers, and foster children. Most of the education I provide is over the telephone. I discuss symptoms with the caller, and help them determine the best cause of action in regards to their situation. I was taught in undergrad nursing school that my nursing advice should always end with "but if you are concerned, you should check with your doctor." My nursing professor told us this was the best way to avoid legal liability from your suggestions. I have tried to use this saying as needed. I once had a parent call, terrified that her child was going to die of lead poisoning because she stepped on a pencil. I spent a long time on the phone with her, explaining that pencils are not made of lead anymore (they are made of graphite), and discussing the difference between a gaping wound and a small cut.

I have spent time trying to think of nurses who do not teach. Initially I thought of research nurses. Research nurses may not directly educate patients, but they do contribute to education and teaching, so I do not know if that counts. I have noticed that I use my nursing education to teach all the time, not just in my professional life. I explain procedures to family and friends, discuss symptoms, and provide suggestions on home care. My phone often rings or receives text messages asking what to do with an ill child, or an injured spouse. I am happy to help, and glad I am able to provide educated information.

Check out this site for information on mobile applications!
NURS 6400 Mobile Devices and Applications for Nurses

Module 3: Searching for....

I have never been great at searching for reference articles. It is one of my least favorite things to do, next to writing scholarly papers (haha). I searched PubMed, Google, and the National Guideline Clearinghouse for information pertaining to tympanostomy tube after care, infection prevention, and water precautions.

PubMed had the most relevant information to my search. There were only 3 articles found relating to water precautions, and 33 relating to infection prevention. I had to weed through the abstracts in the 33 infection articles, because some of them had nothing to do with the topic I searched. I even got a few relating to cochlear implants in my search results.

National Guideline Clearinghouse did not have any information relating to water precautions. I did find 5 articles relating to infection prevention, but they were mostly directed at care of otitis media and otitis externa, not tympanostomy tubes.

Google returned about 36,200 results. The first result was a link to the Mayo Clinic page on ear tube care. I always find the Mayo Clinic website to have great information and handouts. I have printed many handouts from the Mayo Clinic for patients. Many of the search results from Google were patient specific, and opinions from lay people.

Google Scholar found about 842 results of articles since 2007. The articles returned regarding water precautions for ear tubes were mostly from the 1990s and early 2000s. This makes me wonder if my topic is even relevant.

PubMed and Google Scholar were the easiest for me to use, mostly because I was familiar with the technology. PubMed seemed to provide the most specific results. I was unable to find any relevant information to my topic of choice on the NGC website. I will stick with PubMed for researching articles, because I can import the references into EndNote. This step eliminates a lot of work when I write papers.

Module 2: What Can I Do?

What can I do to help develop an information system in my workplace? I work for the State of Utah, so nothing changes with technology without the consent of bureaucrats. My department has a specific person in charge of software management and trouble shooting, but she can't change anything in the software without wsriting a proposal to the department head. The only thing I have found so far is to keep a log of software malfunctions and issues. I call and email my issues to the software management person, and usually my issues are easily resolved.

Recently, I had an issue with a form in our software program. The form is a patient specific auto-filled form. I choose the patient, and choose a link to create the form for the patient. The form is supposed to generate with the patient information on top and my contact information on the bottom. I actually have many forms that are generated patient specific, but I only have a problem with this particular form. The form does not auto-fill my contact information, and does not let me manually enter my contact information. I emailed our software management person, and she did not respond. Two weeks later, I called her about it. I again explained the problem, and she said she would look into it. That was a month ago, and I still have not heard any resolution. The form still does not print my information.

I know it is hard to grasp the situation without seeing the program or the form, sorry. I am not really a good story teller. My plan is to continue to document and report computer issues, both to the software manager and my department manager. I hope my information helps improve the State of Utah software system. Unfortunately, I imagine by the time any repair is approved by department heads, the issue will be a moot point. Fatalistic, I know, but if you have worked in government before, you may understand.

Module 1: Hello!

My gorgeous son

Hello! I am Erin. I am starting my 3rd semester of the distance BS-DNP/FNP program. I live in Santa Clara, right outside St. George. Currently, I do case management for children in foster care. I have also worked in a pediatrician's office and county jail. I have a beautiful son who will be 2 this month.

My program uses a computer system to enter all health data. Medical and dental providers print or type information on a health visit report form when a child is seen. That form is forwarded to me via mail, email or fax. I manually enter the information into our computer system. The system allows me to track visits, referrals, immunizations, allergies, and medical history. It is in the works for us to get access to CHI and CHARM. I'm not exactly sure what that means to me, but I believe CHARM is Children's Healthcare Access Records Management. I could be wrong. CHI also has something to do with electronic medical records.

I enjoy working with computers. I hope to learn ways computers can enhance my nurse practice.