Critical Thinking Exercises

Critical Thinking Exercises

Evaluation of the website

A website should depict transparency and honesty. There should be transparency of the information provider, and purpose of the website. The target audience should be identified. The website, which is subject to evaluation, has defined its target audience, who are the nurses. It has also defined its objective, which is to highlight ten ways through which nurses can avoid low back pains. The website also depicts authority while delivering information. The author uses clear statements and owns the content. He addresses the audience with authority, catching their attention. For instance, he states, “watch your weight” rather than “one should watch their weight.” The statement addresses the audience in a way that captures their attention. The author does not support his information with any credible sources.

How I would revise my 10-minute lecture

My 10-minute lecture is a presentation, which requires the presenter and the audience to be in the same room; it’s a one on one presentation. However, if I would be delivering the information over a distance, I would use a website. The website will help me address a larger audience at different times. I would first ensure that my website is easily accessible, and my heading contains keywords that allow fast searching. A good title is essential because of one an internet user searches related content. My document will have a likeliness to pop up first.  I will also ensure that my website loads fast enough, not to bore the user. I would ensure to put visuals alongside the information to get the audience’s attention. Visuals will allow my audience to understand my content even more. To promote audience interaction, I will implement a live chat feature, where my audience and I can have a live conversation, and they can ask questions or give their views. Also, I will ensure to create a comment box on the website where the audience can ask questions on the website, and discussions can be held by a group, unlike the live chat, which would only allow for private conversations.

My evaluation methods would definitely change, as there is limited physical interaction with my audience. To evaluate my website method, I will rely heavily on feedback. Thus, I will request my audience to rate the website in general and the quality of content offered. I will also request them to leave comments or any questions they have. These will determine if they actually understood what I was trying to convey. The number of page revisits will also show that my audience actually likes my content and found it important.

The information age

The information age refers to the computation age. It has affected health education due to the adequacy of information technology. Nowadays, many people own at least a smartphone and rely on the internet for information. With the availability of the internet, data sources are more accessible, making information available for all people. This means that a researcher or trainer can offer information to a vast number of people in the comfort of his home/office. In return, people can ask questions through the internet, which the information provider will clarify.

Technology has also made learning in school quite easily. A teacher can easily provide lectures over the internet for students to watch in their free time. Students also hold discussions online and are able to teach each other. Research on medication has also become easy, and students can learn new methods of providing quality care for their patients.

Nursing intervention delivered through telehealth

In the chosen article, the telehealth nursing intervention involved was the use of a messaging device, which was a viterion 100 telehealth monitor. The monitor could measure blood pressure on a daily basis. Also, it was programmed to ask patients questions on their dietary, lifestyle habits such as smoking or alcohol intake. If they exercised or not, personal care,  etc.  according to the findings, the nurses found that many patients rarely practiced self-care, which was the cause of the different lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Nurses also realized that the provision of information on patient’s health, diet, exercising, etc., through the messaging device was showing improvement in self-care. The messaging device encouraged patients to be open about their health practices and seek professional advice from the nurses.

This type of device can be used in addressing various health issues in the chronic setting. For instance, the device can be used to tackle depression, where patients are counseled on the various ways to treat depression and practices to indulge in while in the state of depression that will not make the situation worse. The intervention can also be used to tackle the condition of substance use, where they could also be counseled on how to avoid drug use and the foods that can help them to recover from the adverse effect of drug abuse.

Professional development

1. Were you able to find the information you needed? If not, what was missing?

The condition that I chose is osteomalacia. I got the majority of the information that is needed. I was able to understand what the disease entailed and the root cause of it. I was also able to retrieve the information on the symptoms and signs of the disease. Information on how to test and diagnose the disease was provided and what to do to avoid contracting the disease. Also, it does not provide information on the foods that may deplete the calcium from the body and accelerate the disease.

What conflicting information did you find?

The author stated that people with dark skin and especially those living in cool areas, are likely to develop this kind of condition. The melanin protects the skin from burns but could also cause the skin to absorb minimal sunlight. The author then contrasts himself by stating that people from Asia who live in cool places could acquire this disease as their skins are not able to absorb vitamin D. these two statements are contradicting because if a dark skin can have difficulty in absorbing enough sunlight, then it is expected that a light skin will be able to absorb a lot of sunlight. On the contrary, the author states that’s even light skin, and Asian skin can fail to absorb enough sunlight. Here, I think the author should have taken a stand on which skin is weak in absorbing sunlight because they can be both black and white.

Did you find any information that was upsetting or distressing?

The information I found quite upsetting is where the author states that religion can also factor in as a trigger for this condition. He states that the women who dress in clothes that cover all their body parts. I feel that the author is quite biased because even men from Iraq or Dubai, for instance, cover their bodies. Most of the women do not cover their hands or faces too. Thus, I think the author gave this information based on assumptions and not necessarily research. Another upsetting information was that there is no cure for the condition, but taking calcium and foods containing vitamin D would help in protecting one from acquiring the condition. This quite discouraged me.

Were you able to find online support groups or other interactive resources?

I was able to find one website which goes by the name RoalOsteoporosissociety.com. This website links many support groups for people suffering from osteomalacia worldwide. Some of these groups included Brighton &Hove, Bromley & District, Bristol & District, etc. the website allows one to find a subgroup that is near their location. These support groups allow one to meet people who are going through the same issues of osteoporosis and fragility. They offer information that helps osteomalacia patients to lead a healthy life as well as their families to be able to prevent themselves from acquiring the disease and also rendering care to their affected family members. The website also has a helpline where people can ask for clarifications where need be.

Having found this information, what kinds of questions or expectations would you have for the nurse at your next visit?

I would require my nurse to clarify a couple of questions. Since the disease can only be prevented and not cured, did it mean that my condition was now irreversible and taking foods with vitamin D and calcium would be just a waste of time? Will my condition deteriorate even if I continued to use intake calcium and vitamin D? Also, since covering one’s skin would reduce the intake of vitamin D, does it mean that people who cover their skinless are less probably to acquire the disease? Is my family in danger of contracting the condition now that we are all white?

References

Stang, D. (2019). What do you want to know about osteoporosis? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/osteoporosis

Royal Osteoporosis Society. (n.d). Find a Local Group. Retrieved from https://theros.org.uk/information-and-support/support-in-your-area/find-your-local-support-group/

Versus Arthritis. (n.d). What is Osteomalacia?  Retrieved from https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteomalacia/

Wakefield, B. J. Scherubeim, M., Ray, A. & Holman, J. (2013). Nursing Interventions in s Telemonitoring Program. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health. 19(3): 160-165.

Pakhomov, L. (n.d). Authentic Learning in the Digital Age. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/115009/chapters/Education-for-the-Information-Age.aspx

Mendenhall, N. (2016). Four ways to capture and keep your target audience’s attention retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/4-ways-capture-and-keep-your-target-audiences-attention

Commission of the European Communities. (2002). Quality Criteria for Health-Related websites. Retrieved from https://www.hon.ch/HONcode/HON_CCE_en.htm

NurseBuff. (2015). 10 ways nurses can prevent and manage low back pain. Retrieved from https://www.nursebuff.com/how-to-prevent-lower-back-pain/