Letter to my Students

Dear Students,

After reading my letter, I hope that you as a class are excited to start your new endeavor and for the new knowledge and skills you will develop after this class.  I have created this blog as an assignment for my nursing informatics course required to complete my masters degree in Nursing Education.  It is through this class that I have been able to learn and complete many new assignments using tools that I never knew existed.  My instructor, D. T, assigned weekly technology based assignments to facilitate learning through tools we were not familiar with.

I have always tried to avoid new technology and usually stuck with things I was familiar with.  I was comfortably with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Powerpoint.  And thats pretty much it.  I have completed many class presentations while using Powerpoint.  I have tried to use interesting slides making the material enjoyable to my students, but always felt that there was something missing.  The class was just not engaged in the material as they could be. UNTIL I TOOK THIS CLASS.  From here on out, I will use many different techniques learned in order to facilitate learning for my students.  I will incorporate technology based learning into my curriculums to make sure the students are responsible for their own learning.

We were required to learn and use JINGS, Glogster, Blogs, Vokis, Skype and much more.  After the class, I have found myself using these tools in my personal life as well.

I hope that as you complete this class you are just as excited as I am with all the information you will learn.


See you for class soon,
Stephanie

Atrial Fibrillation

WHAT IS ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (A-FIB)??

          *It is the most common type of arrhythmia.

          *This type of arrhythmia occurs if rapid disorganized electrical signals cause the hearts upper chambers (atrium) to fibrillate.

*Fibrillate means to contract very fast and irregularly. 

*During this type of heart rhythm, blood stays pooled in the atria and isn't completely pumped into the ventricles because the two chambers are not working together like they should. 

                                        Which patients are at Risk??

Patients who have high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart failure, rheumatic heart disease, mitral valve prolapse, pericarditis, congenital heart defects, or those with recent heart attacks.

Signs/Symptoms

Palpitations

Shortness of Breath

Weakness/Trouble Exercising

Chest Pain

Dizziness/Fainting

Fatigue

Confusion

Diagnosis

This can be diagnosed based on your medical and family history, physical exam, and through tests and procedures.  An electrocardiogram can be done to test for A-Fib because sometimes you don't have any signs or symptoms.  When diagnosed with A-Fib it is important to start seeing a cardiologist to receive care specialized in this area.

Treatment

*Blood thinning medications are prescribed to reduce the risk for a clot forming and preventing a stroke.

*Medication such as metoprolol, diltiazem, or digoxin are prescribed to control the rate at which your heart is beating.

*Cardioversion- this treatment is used to try and shock the patient out of the arrhythmia and back to their normal heart rhythm. 

THIS IS WHAT CARDIOVERSION LOOKS LIKE...CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Two Major Complications of A-Fib

Stroke-The blood is not being accurately pumped through the body it starts to pool in the atria.  That blood begins to clot because it is not moving.  Once the clots have formed, the heart may accidentally pump that clot throughout the body which could cause it to lodge in the brain, causing a stroke.

Heart Failure-This occurs because the body is not able to pump enough blood to meets the body's needs.  The ventricles are beating so fast they are not able to properly fill with enough blood to pump it to the lungs and body.