Module 5, question #2

How does nursing data quality relate to decision support?
I am excited to have decision support for nursing. I know that there have been times when I could have given better nursing care if I had known of other possibilities. I have trust in my judgement as a nurse and I am confident that I give the best care that I know how to give. I also know that there are many new and better ways to give nursing care and I want to learn those ways so that I can give even better care. I want to be able to have options that I might not have considered and then use my personal judgement to choose the best options for my patients individual needs.

Module 5 Question #1

How did the readings influence your perception of your own clinical decision-making? How do we reconcile the value of nursing experience with known heuristics and biases used in human decsion making?
I recognize that in the past I have often based my nursing decisions on examples from nurses who have taught me. I have learned that 'best practice' is something that has to have proof. In the operating room we have a book of standards of evidence based practice that outlines 'best practice'. I am certain that there are exceptions to the standards outlined, but they are rare. I am confident that experience is what gives good nurses that intuition that helps them to be excellent practioners. For the most part the knowledge base that excellent practioners use is the evidence based practice.
There is not a way to completely eliminate bias in nursing. Our experiences as nurses create bias in us. Knowing that I have bias as a nurse helps me to open my thoughts to other possibilities in care modalities. This reading has helped to encourage me to be more open-minded about nursing in its many facets.

Module #4, Question #2

The value of learning theories and learning styles for me is to be a more visionary instructor. As a teacher it is important to understand that the only constant thing is change... change in technology, types of communication and ways of presenting information. It is important for me to recognize and understand student modalities of learning so that I can provide the most successful learning environment for my students. I recognize that my own learning style is different from many of the students that I will encounter as an instructor. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to encourage life-long learning in my students, which requires a greater understanding of the best way that they learn to make learning challenging and enticing. I recognize that technology will continue to play a great part in education and that learning how to apply technology for learning styles is critical to my success as an instructor.

Module 4, question 1

To help me with my weakness in spacial-visual mode of learning, it would be good for me to learn to use a Global Positioning device. This would help to overcome this lack of natural ability.
One technology that I have enjoyed to help me with the linguistic mode of learning is microsoft word. I use microsoft word to help me write papers and make sure that my sentence structure is understandable.

Module 4, question 1

I scored the highest in the areas of logical/mathematical, musical and interpersonal. My weakest areas were linguistic and spatial-visual. Some of the things that I do to improve in spatial-visual orientation is to use a map to get to a location (something that is really hard for me). Another thing that I have tried is to watch a basketball game and predict fouls and shots that would score.
To improve in the area of logical/mathematical I enjoy number puzzles and I enjoy mysteries that I can try to put together the clues to solve the mystery. I love music and I have often thought that if a lecture was put to music, I would remember it better.
I have made an effort to be a better listener and to become more aware of body language. I try to be very aware of my own body language and what a powerful tool it is.
This was a great exercise for me and I enjoyed learning more about my learning styles.