I found an article published in January that reported on a study linking psychosocial well-being to cardiovascular health: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287802.php
The study looked at the cardiovascular health of a large group of people. There was an initial study done when the group was in their childhood, and another 27 years later. The first study assessed their psychosocial situation at home and school, while the second assessed their cardiovascular health and lifestyle factors when they were grown up. Remarkably, children with stressful and unstable childhoods were more likely to have cardiovascular problems when they were grown up.
I think findings like this are important because it helps medical professionals to remember the importance of developmental factors and how it may impact future health. As a student nurse, I’ve learned a lot about the education provided to adolescents and adults when it comes to cardiovascular health, but I’ve not seen anything like this. Technology and medicine aimed at improving cardiovascular health are common here in America, but it’s important to remember that the best prevention and care can really begin at home in a stable environment. While this study is not indicative of ALL children and their psychosocial development, providing a good upbringing and a less stressful lifestyle for your kids will not only improve their psychosocial development, but will ultimately benefit their future health too.
https://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpg00Anna Bieszczadhttps://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpgAnna Bieszczad2015-02-10 15:59:352015-02-10 15:59:35Free for students: Professional developer tools from JetBrains
I am an introvert. I prefer to spend time by myself, with my family, or with a few close friends. When I was younger my introversion was interpreted by others as shyness. I internalized that narrative. I avoided speaking to groups, and discussing the picayune details of my life. Those things made me uncomfortable.
Much of what I do as a college professor I do by myself, or with a close colleague. Being a professor allows me to indulge my introversion. Except when it does not. Much of what I do involves interaction with others. Teaching classes, presenting papers, contributing in meetings, describing my research–they are all parts of the job. They all require me to be someone other than my introverted self.
On a daily basis–in front of a class, in meeting, at a conference–I find myself in uncomfortable situations, situations that challenge my tendency toward introversion. If your first exposure to me was in a classroom you would swear that I was an extrovert, a comedian.
I am a performer. I am an actor.
According to sociologist Erving Goffman, we are all actors. In presenting ourselves to others we adopt verbal and nonverbal means of communication that shape how others understand us. Goffman calls this the “presentation of self.” He uses the metaphor of theater to understand how the actor and the audience interact to create understanding.
Presentation of self depends on the individual and the audience. My presentation in a classroom involves a combination of humor, informality, curiosity, and professional rigor. In a meeting, a mixture of authority, humor, and purposeful ignorance. The common thread in my presentation of self is humor, which I consider indispensable for a variety of purposes, especially relieving class or group tensions. I am reasonably funny. It works for me. Especially to the degree that my authority is already established.
This week the Interdisciplinary Learning Community focused on the presentation of self. Lindsey O’Connor (Sociology) discussed nonverbal behaviors and how they influence others’ impressions of us. Her main focus was Deborah Gruenfeld’s distinction between high and low status behaviors.
Behaviors associated with “playing high” include being open, and relaxed; keeping one’s head still, speaking in complete sentences, and holding eye contact. “Playing low” includes behaviors like keeping one’s body close and tight, minimizing one’s footprint, shrink, incomplete sentences, fleeting and jerky movements, glancing and looking away, smiling, trying to make others feel better. All of these behaviors indicate that you know and understand your position.
Effectively presenting oneself involves a combination of playing high and playing low. Playing high promotes confidence in one’s self and thus in others. Playing low improves others’ sense that one is approachable. To help students better understand these two sets of behaviors they were asked to do two 30-second “elevator talks” –one adopting behaviors associated with playing high, and one demonstrating behaviors of playing low.
There is no perfect recipe for presenting oneself. At least I do not think there is. One has to understand one’s self and one’s audience. What is comfortable and may work for me may not work for another person. And my presentation of self does not work for every audience. Some will find my humor or informality (e.g., my willingness to employ profanity, wearing jeans and t-shirts to work) off-putting, or unprofessional. Yet, simultaneously, my willingness to use humor and occasional profanity may paradoxically communicate a higher sense of status.
Each of us has to find a level of comfort with our presentational style. We need to adapt to changes in our audience. We need to become shrewd students of our own behavior, how our behavior affects others, and how others’ use their behaviors to influence our impressions of them.
https://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpg00Sean Kellyhttps://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpgSean Kelly2015-02-08 20:16:002015-02-08 20:16:00Day 2: The Presentation of Self
“Heart in a box” is a portable heart perfusion system. It is still being tested through clinical trials in the US but is already being used in parts of Europe and Australia (Suchetka, 2011). Instead of putting the heart to be transplanted on ice and in a cooler for transport, the heart is put in the chamber pictured above. This system pumps warm oxygenated blood while still beating and still allows for tests to be done on the heart before it is put into the recipient. Typically, the donor heart can remain on ice in a cooler for about four hours before complications can occur but with heart in a box, the heart can survive for up to twelve hours (Suchetka, 2011).
I think this is an amazing invention and may change how heart transplantation is performed in the future in America. I also took a look at the company who creates this technology, Transmedics, and it also looks like they are creating similar transplant technology for lungs and livers as well (“TransMedics,” 2015). This type of technology could possibly decrease post operative complications because the heart was monitored throughout the entire transplant process (Suchetka, 2011). Meaning, less complications for critical care nurses when taking care of post-operative heart transplant patients. I think some questions arise from this type of technology as well. Do patients who have this type of transplant live longer? Is there really a chance of less complication in the long run? I am excited to see what the results of the clinical trials being done at the eight hospitals in the US have in store for the future.
Transmedics. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.transmedics.com/wt/page/index
https://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpg00Jaime Hannanshttps://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpgJaime Hannans2015-02-08 01:39:532015-02-08 01:39:53Heart in a box
Health Science, Volume 6, Issue 4 (October-December 2012) article entitled Delirium: a distressing and disturbing clinical event in a Intensive Care Unit was both informative and compelling.
Delirium, from the Latin word was defined as to “be out of your furrow.” Current day definition is, an “agitated and confused person.” Prior to reading the article, the idea of a patient being agitated and confused while in the ICU appeared normal and acceptable. The patient is in a new surrounding, possibly medically sedated and quite literally connected to machines, monitors, etc. Being a patient and losing complete control of themselves would understandingly provoke agitation and confusion.
The article described delirium not only as agitation and confusion, but as an “acute brain dysfunction.” This was quite an eye opening description. In addition, it discussed the detrimental effects and links between delirium and a high morbidity and mortality rates. Research showed that 30,000 – 40,000 ICU patients in the United States suffer from delirium and with every day spent in this state, it increased the risk of death and negative cognitive function by 10%. It was also noted that patient who suffer with this were twice as likely to die within 6 months than their non-delirious counterparts. With this current information, the article compels nurses to be diligent in understanding the causes and being able to assess their patients for delirium.
Several causes of delirium are: mechanical ventilation, use of benzodiazepines, opiates and other psychoactive drugs, immobilization, unfamiliar surroundings, excessive noises, sensory monotony and absence of dirunal light variation. As nurses, there are assessments and interventions that should be implemented to reduce as many factors as possible.
Assessment screenings must be completed to assess delirium. These include eight features: alerted level of consciousness, inattention, disorientation, hallucinations, psychomotor, agitation/retardation, inappropriate mood/speech, sleep/wake cycle disturbance and symptom fluctuation. In addition preventative strategies are also necessary. These include: frequent orientation to person, place and time, providing patient with their hearing aids, and glasses during wakeful periods, completing personal care activities during daytime hours and minimizing nighttime interruptions.
Understanding the costly repercussions, to both the health of the patient and to their future, it is imperative that all medical professionals view delirium as a “medical emergency” and do everything to minimize the negative effects to the patients that are entrusting themselves to them. Marcella Van Driessche
References:
“ABCDEFs of Prevention and Safety.” ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Study Group. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. .
Maniou, M. (2012). Delirium: A distressing and disturbing clinical event in a Intensive Care Unit. Health Science Journal, 6(4), 587-597.
Amber Kramer grew up in Northern Indiana. Earned an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts, in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Finishing Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from California State University Channel Islands, in Camarillo, California. Currently involved in undergraduate research determining the mercury content in fish. Will pursue a Doctoral Degree in Atmospheric Chemistry after undergraduate degree is finished in May of 2015. Desire to research ways of removing harmful chemicals which are anthropogenically being deposited into the atmosphere. Works in Chemistry prep-room as a student assistant prepping laboratory experiments, and tutoring STEM students on campus.
I took the VIA-IS self assessment test. My top five results were kindness, fairness, spiritually, teamwork, and curiosity. I learned that I know much more about my self than I think I do. I would tell myself I was this type of person, but didn’t believe it with in myself. I have to trust my instincts about myself. I agree with the results, I think they are very much like me. I’m a simple going girl and I think these traits mirror that. However, I thought curiosity would be higher up between 1 &2.
Today I decided to take the VIA-IS self assessment test in order to figure out my strengths and things I needed to improve on. My top 5 strengths ended up being; fairness, kindness, humor, forgiveness, and bravery. I learned that most of my top traits wound up being those that I would attribute to that of a caring person, something I’ve always considered myself to be. For the most part my top traits ended up being things I’ve always considered myself to be, but bravery wasn’t an expected result. Though I would never considered myself a brave person I suppose that my bravery comes from the fact that I enjoy being risking and entertain new ideas.
https://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpg00Christian Jordanhttps://cikeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CI-Formal-Logo_2A-flat-300x50-1.jpgChristian Jordan2015-02-06 07:20:492015-02-06 07:20:49A Self Reflection On Leadership