Module 3 Question 1

The strengths that were highlighted in my multiple intelligent test were Intrapersonal and Spatial-Visual. These were tied for first place with musical, logical-mathematics coming in second. As far a my intrapersonal strength, I thought that my interpersonal scores would be higher, although they weren't too far behind. I do spent time reflecting and thinking. One of the reasons becoming a FNP is that I like the idea of having more autonomy and I do think about being self employed often. When I have time alone I feel it energizes me. I don't feel I am an extreme introvert, but I do have some of those qualities such as preferring small groups and having a few close friends. I am a private person and when I have conversations with others I try to get them to talk about themselves, rather than talk about myself.

As far as my visual-spatial skills I feel that this is something I come by quite honestly because their are many artists in my family. I love art and wish I could spent more time drawing. I love to read and I visualize what I am reading easily in my head, but I do love picture books. One of my favorite artists is James Joyce who has wonderful children's books. I love to go to art museums and try to understand the story behind the paintings or sculpture. One of the funnest trips I have ever been on was an art tour I went on with my sister to Washington, DC.

Technologies that might augment my personal learning style would be the use of the Internet to find visual images that wouldn't be available to me because of where I live. Being able to search online libraries is such invaluable tool to someone like me who lives so far away form any cultural centers. I am inserting a picture from one of my favorite artists-Gustav Klimt. It is called "The Kiss." For my intrapersonal learning style keeping an online journal might be worthwhile.

Module 2 Question #3

Electronic and guideline indexes are very useful when you take the time to learn the best way to perform a search. I learned to strengthen my searching abilities after reading "How to Search" on the National Guideline Clearinghouse sight and using other tutorials. Many terms such as Boolean, wildcard and truncation, use of double quotations, were not familiar in my information searching experience. I discovered how primitive my searching techniques really were. Becoming a proficient Internet user from an educative perspective takes time and perseverance. Using a web search engine, such as Google, has always been the way I do most of my Internet searches. It seems easier when compared to electronic and guideline indexes, but often it does not carry the quality of searches (peer reviewed and best practice). In the isolated area in which I live, the resources brought via the Internet are invaluable. I can see that I need to develop my ability to utilize them. There is a lot of information that is irrelevant and of questionable authority on the world wide web. Buy using heath care specific electronic indexes the access of quality information is more likely. One alternative strategy that would be helpful is to participate in online live lectures given on specific health care topics that are offered for CME hours by belonging to organizations such as the American Heart Association.

Module 2 Question #2

The software that I am using is EndNote. I'd never used or even heard of it before starting my classes. I was very impressed by what I heard it was capable of doing. EndNotes allows searches of bibliographic databases. It can retrieve selected references directly into EndNotes and can attach the full text to articles. When searching for specific articles you can build a "library" which helps to manage them into specific folders. In trying to import the citations I found in Pub Med into EndNotes, I had difficulties. In reading the EndNote instructions that we were given by the librarian, I discovered that importing from PubMed works best if you are not at your own computer which I was. I read that exporting is not available for PubMed, so I will have to remember this for future use. My favorite feature of EndNotes is that it helps with citations while you are writing a paper and can automatically put your references into the correct APA format. I have heard many praises of the EndNote software with the caveat of being patient in learning how to use it effectively. I hope that it will become the support it is said to be throughout my career.

Module 2 Question #1

Functional capacity testing and return to work was the clinical problem that I chose to search for. The electronic index that I used was PubMed which I accessed through the Eccles Library after taking the tutorial. I am not very confident with my knowledge in searching and Pub Med was the second index I tried. I first tried the Cochrane Library and felt like I was getting too much information all at once even thought I plan to return and try again. It was rather time consuming for me. When I tried Pub Med I watched two short videos: Simple Subject Search and Search by Author. I decided to jump in and first did a simple search that gave me too many citations (1331). By adding a "and operator" I was able to narrow my search to a much smaller, manageable citation collection. Yes, I felt that this process was time intensive, but I know that part of that is due to my learning curve. As for using this in a daily practice, I feel that barriers would be patient load and available time to search, sort, identify and make appropriate selections for application. Not all software is user friendly and many I noticed have subscriptions that must be purchased. I feel these are valuable resources and my goal is to become more savvy about them and understand which would be the most effective for my clinical setting.