Module 3- Multiple Intelligence Test

What strengths were highlighted in the results of your multiple intelligence test?  

The results of my multiple intelligence test showed that my top three strengths were interpersonal, logical-mathematical, and intrapersonal. My highest score was in interpersonal and then my scores for logical-mathematical and intrapersonal were the same. The rest of the results are as follows from greatest to least score, after logical-mathematical/intraperson: linguistic, musical, spatial-visual, and bodily-kinesthetic. 

How do you interpret these results?

I'm not surprised by the strengths that were highlighted by the results of my multiple intelligence test. In reflecting on my educational experiences I can think of many examples that reiterate these results. I interpret these results to mean that I learn best when I can communicate and interact with others, utilize numbers and logical, as well as allow for personal reflection and self-discovery. Throughout my educational experiences I enjoyed working in groups and teams rather than individually. I've always studied better with a partner or in a group, all which is related to my strength or interpersonal learning. This preference to work in groups may also be related to then generation cohort to which I belong. As a Millennial I am accustom to belonging to a team (Richardson, 2005). I do prefer concrete facts and number to abstract theory and tend to retain that information more readily. I also like to think about how what I am learning relates to myself and my relationship to the world around me.  

 

What technologies might you incorporate to augment your personal learning based on these results? 

Technologies that allow for human contact, communication, and team work would most benefit me, because they relate to my interpersonal learning strength. Hebda and Czar (2009) discuss such technologies including:

• Social networking applications
• Blogs
• Teleconferencing
• Listservs and RSS
• Support groups
• Chats and IM
• Wikis

Other technologies that could augment my personal learning may relate to my logical-mathematical learning strength and could include:

• Online databases and literature searches
• Webcasts
• Podcasts

The some of the same technologies that could aid in connecting with others, 

could also enhance learning through my intrapersonal learning strength. Blogs,

social networking site, chats, support groups, ect. could all act as tools in self-

reflection and self-discovery.

Module 2 (Comparing Search Methods)

You used an electronic index, a guideline index, and a web search engine to retrieve information relevant to your clinical problem.  Compare and contrast your results. Which resources were useful/ not useful for your information retrieval task, and why? Identify some alternative strategies for retrieving relevant information - would context relevant information retrieval be useful?

Of the three search methods, I felt that the electronic index was the most helpful, then the web search engine, and finally the guideline index. The electronic index provided methods of refining my search that were invaluable and the search results were the most reliable. The web engine provided copious amounts of results, but not all were reliable or even relevant. There was not the capability, with the web engine, to refine my search as there was with the electronic index. I did not find the guideline index helpful in answering my clinical problem, because the index did not contain any guidelines related to my clinical problem. I could see that the site would be beneficial it there were guidelines related to a clinical problem of interest. The ability to compare related guidelines in a matrix format could be extremely helpful in evaluating guidelines.

      Other strategies for finding relevant information would be other electronic indexes, like CHINAL, the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge and the Cochrane database. These electronic indexes would act as another means of answering clinical questions or solving clinical problems. The use of electronic indexes in a means of utilizing evidence to promote best practices. Professional associates and disease-based organizations my also have website that would provide relevant information. 

Module 2 (Using Reference Management Software)

What features in your chosen reference management software can be used to sort, classify, and otherwise organize references? Describe software functionality that allows you to better organize and share information for efficient retrieval and use.

I chose EndNote as my reference management software which allowed my to sort references by the type of article, the date it was published, the author, and the journal. I felt that the ability to create groups and organize references into the groups I created would be helpful in the future into retrieving references. The ability to save the full article as a pfd file would be helpful in organizing references in ways that allow for easy access to information. In the past it has taken my too much effort and time to re-find the full text of articles from pervious searches. This software would eliminate that problem. 

Module 2 (Using an Electronic Index)

Describe your clinical problem and choice of electronic index. How did the index facilitate (or impede) your ability to construct an efficient search? How time consuming was your search? Would there be barriers to using the index in daily practice?

The clinical problem I choose to search was related to caring for patients with cystic fibrosis during pulmonary exacerbations.  I wanted to know if hospitalization of patient with cystic fibrosis during pulmonary exacerbations for intravenous antibiotics improved patient outcomes compared to home care. I utilized the PubMed as an electronic index to search for articles related to this topic. I felt that PubMed was easy to use and allowed me to refine my search in ways that saved time. The use of both Boolean operators and limits to the search allowed for more efficient use of time. I think that with more practice the time it would take me to conduct a search would decrease. I think the biggest barrier to using electronic indexes in daily practice is the time it takes to learn to use an index effectively. I now feel comfortable using PubMed as an electronic index, but I don't feel the same level of comfort with other indexes. The Eccles Library website was helpful in becoming more comfortable with PubMed and I could use this as a resource in learning more about other electronic indexes.   

Module 1- Introduction

Introduce yourself to the group:

I'm a RN at Primary Children's Medical Center on the Medical Unit and I've been there for about 3 years. I'm a charge nurse and have a speciality role on my unit as the Cystic Fibrosis Expanded Role. I love my job, but working with children means that I'm exposed to a lot. I'm currently stuck at home awaiting the results of a VRP to see if I caught H1N1 from a patient last week. 

I'm almost done with my first year of the Pediatric DNP program. My husband is also in grad school, so right now I live my life in semesters. When I'm not studying I enjoy reading, photography, camping, and hiking.  

Why do you as a graduate level nurse need to know about information management?

As an advance practice nurse you are surround by vast amounts of information and it is part of your role to be able to manage this information in an effective manner in order to provide excellent care to patients. Nursing informatics provides the tools necessary to manage this information. From a public policy perspective healthcare informatics has come to the forefront and as graduate prepared nurses we need to be able to understand and utilize new technologies related to healthcare information.

Describe what is happening related to IT in your clinical or practice setting:

• Switch from paper MARs to EMARs and bar code scanning of medications
• Vocera devices for communication
• Changed from paper discharge paperwork to electronic discharge summaries 
• Joined a email list-serve for nursing in the U.S. caring for patients with Cystic Fibrosis
• Use of a hospital wide computer program called "Patient Tracker" to communicate with other disciplines

What structured documentation, standards, and/or coded terminologies do you see within your practice setting? 

We use structured documentation with coded terminologies for the majority of our charting. Currently we use paper charting that also includes an unstructured narrative in which there is great variation between nurses on what is documented and how it is documented. There is a plan to move us to an electronic charting system that structured. We use coded terminologies to document the teaching we done on structured documentation teaching checklists.

How are structure/coded clinical data useful in promoting quality patient care? 

Structure/coded clinical data reduces variability which would make it easier to process data, compile information, and make clinical decisions. The reduction in variability would also make the QI process easier, in that patterns could be assessed more readily, interventions implemented and progress tracked more easily. Less variability also improves communication between care providers and hopefully reduces errors caused by miscommunication.