Final Blog

What did you like or dislike about taking an asynchronous online course?

Likes:

I can work at my own pace, even at 3 am (which is a good time for us night owls).

I can go on family trips and continue with my course.

No commute.

Dislikes:

I can work at my own pace. I hate having to make my own deadlines. I would much rather go by and instructor’s pace. My poor time management, pursuit of a full life balance and overflowing list of responsibilities make too often interfere in my studies. If I leave and go to campus for an interactive class I am a better student.

No face to face interaction. No group discussions. Minimal auditory stimulation (I’m an auditory learner who likes to talk through my learning with questions). I loved using the Wimba classroom in previous classes.

The reality that more and more of the classes/curriculum will become asynchronous online. I long for the true university experience. The powerpoint on information systems reviewed IT’s impact on teaching and posed, “as space and time boundaries become porous, faculty role changes to facilitator and guide rather than imparter of knowledge.” I miss the forum discussion feel that used to be nursing school.

I feel cheated of time and money. I believe tuition should pay for a live real-time learning experience.

What topic did you learn the most about and what was your favorite topic? What did you like least?

My most learned about topic was learning theories and instructional design. These were very hard for me to understand. At times I felt I was reading a different language, or at least reading a computer engineering book.

My favorite topic was telehealth. I am amazed to realize that as technology challenged as I am, I hope telehealth is in my future as a FNP. I wish we could have become more familiar with it, or have an opportunity to go to a lab or observation hour that is telehealth.

My least favorite was Excel. I am too new at Excel. I hope to take a class in the near future to better navigate and understand Excel. It is very hard, and I struggled with the Excel assignment.

Do you have any other comments for us?

For the most part this class was a challenging yet “doable” experience for my novice computer skills. The EHR assignment has thrown me for a loop---I am still hoping I can figure out how to log in with the same problems that other students have had per the discussion board. I have bookmarked many of the sites we have used in this class. Thanks for making computers and information systems more tangible for me. I have learned so much.

Why would a patient want to create a blog? What might they gain from this?

As I consider this question I am reminded that we are all patients or clients at some point. Each of us is a patient. So, I answer these questions personally.
Writing and journaling are thought provoking and insightful activities. They can be private affairs meant only for the writer to gain a sense of growth and an ability to reflect upon a journey or trial in his or her life. Blogging allows for that reflection, but is a non-private affair. Blogging allows an individual to create and write a thought and then throw it out to the world for viewing upon the internet. I consider blogging as a sort of public journaling.

Perhaps having a blog can put an individual under timeline/project pressure to complete such a writing and documenting accomplishment. I can guess or assume why a patient would want to create a blog, and then continue to blog. However, I am sure that there are millions of reasons for patients to blog; and perhaps there are many reasons for one individual patient to turn on their PC and open up for the world to read. My greatest reason to blog would be to document a journey and to allow those people I care about, and those who are interested, to watch my journey. I would also want to somehow make sure that my illness would not be in vain---and I believe blogging could help me share my human experience of illness with others. I am sure by doing this I would be able to gain a sense of peace, growth and accomplishment. I would also like to continue with my habit of educating those around me and sharing my life experiences with others. This would also give me and my coping with my illness a sense of purpose.

Why would a health care provider create a blog?

I think blogs can be very educational. Even I have used them in the past to get a better understanding of how individuals and families are able to cope with and experience certain illnesses and certain health care situations. The personal experiences of having two friends diagnosed with cancer at the ages of 36 and 38 this summer, having my brother diagnosed with DMII and HTN, and having witnessed my 72 year-old mother-in-law’s health deteriorate have made consider the benefit of blogs to patients and families. I think blogging regarding chronic illness, health care coverage, prevention and affordability of treatment would be very "relatable" to so many different individuals and families. A great sense of understanding by these patients that they are not alone in a struggle and that others have survived or prepared for a worse outcome could be derived from blogging. Much can be learned from the journaled and blogged experiences of others, especially insight into the unknown.

I have also found that when health care professionals experience illness and then share that experience with the public, then that illness is talked about more and better understanding can be achieved within a society. A health care provider could also consider using a blog to provide a discussion forum and to educate patients (Hebda & Czar, 2009, p. 110) . As a health care provider I would consider blogging about my own illness, or of an illness of a loved one. I think that this could be considered interesting and "relatable" to many people in need of information and comfort when faced with illness (either of themselves or of a loved one).


What are ethical considerations when blogging on a public website, such as we've used for this class?

There are many ethical considerations when blogging on a public website. My greatest concerns would be privacy and liability. I am an individual who enjoys what little privacy I have, thus needing to open up and share my thoughts and experiences with anyone in the public is frightening. What if my insurance company discovered I have a pre-existing condition via my blog. I always wonder if Big Brother is watching me or reading this.

I also would hate to inspire some individual to make a wrong decision. I am sure there would be such a risk for any health care provider who opened up and attempted to educate the public. An individual could forego an appointment for a physical exam and miss being diagnosed with some awful disease due to self-diagnosis via information from a blog written by a health care provider.

And what if my writing offended those around me? What if a patient assumed I was blogging about them, and felt their trust had been violated? What if someone took my work and then copied it and then used it for a project of which I would not want to be involved? What if someone stole my work and then took credit for it?
Thus, blogging makes me too nervous. I appreciate that blogs exist, and even follow a friend’s blog regularly. Yet, there are too many reasons for me not want to create and continue my own. Privacy, confidentiality, security, and liability are too many reasons to kill the blogger in me.


References
Hebda, T., Czar, P. (2009). Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.