Foundations Class Lecture: April 3


Today during Professor Flick's Lecture, we learned about the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and its “Triple Aim” initiative. This initiative includes goals to improve overall patient experience of care, improve health of populations, and reduce the per capita cost of health care.

We also discussed health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. We talked about various barriers to this including low reading levels when asked to fill out documentation, lack of transportation to appointments, and lack of education in understanding personal health management.  

The take home message for me was the reminder that our healthcare system needs a lot of improvement especially in developing a more holistic approach or model. I am thankful occupational therapy has that holistic view of a patient and hopefully overtime the system itself along with other disciplines will too.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lecture Reflection: Aging Adults and Sexual Health

When thinking about aging adults, it is not uncommon for society as a whole to assume that sex and sexuality is not an important part of an older adult’s day to day life. However, our guest lecturer today proved that assumption to be a myth. Based on statistics she shared, sex and sexual health is an important and integral part of an older adult’s life. Some key takeaway points include physical issues adults will face as they age and how it changes their sexual responses. This includes but is not limited to hardening of arteries and high blood pressure which affects blood flow. Also, cancer treatments along with other medications can cause fatigue, depression, and loss of libido. And finally, arthritis, weakened muscles, and limited range of motion can limit positioning. How and why would an occupational therapist address sexual health in the aging adult population? First, sex is an occupation that statistics show is very meaningful to older adults. There are many things occu
Read more

Reflection: Mock Interview

When preparing for the mock interview, I first reviewed my resume and refreshed my memory on my various experiences, achievements, and goals. From there I practiced answering common interview questions and choosing what questions I would ask post interview. Participating in the interview was helpful especially gaining practice in a low stakes setting and receiving constructive feedback. Something that I can improve on is making eye contact. The interviewer shared with me that initially I appeared to be looking “past her” but eventually began making eye contact as the interview progressed. Eye contact and body position is something I will continue to work on and stay more aware of. Although this wasn't mentioned, I also need to continue to stay aware of the rate of which I speak. I have a tendency to talk fast and have to work to slow down when I am answering interview questions.  According to the interviewer, my answers to her questions were “spot on”. That was really enc
Read more

Lecture Reflection: Aging Adults and Nutrition

      One thing that initially drew me to the field of occupational therapy is the holistic approach to patient care. I love how the practitioner considers the whole person and their needs to participate in the things they find most meaningful. Last week we had guest speaker lecture on the importance of nutrition for the aging adult population. One thing that stood out to me was the statistics presented about how many aging adults are living in poverty and as risk for being undernourishment. The speaker also lectured about the importance of nutrition for wound healing and overall recovery.      Occupational Therapy can support the work of nutritionists and help their clients in a variety of ways that promote nutritional intake. One such intervention includes working with clients to be independent with meal preparation. This could look like working  to improve their balance and strength for cooking tasks. You could also host a cooking class at a local community center for older adults
Read more