Learning Experience 1
Program outcome number 3 states that a graduate will demonstrate writing and communication skills and I feel that my paper and project titled HS 317 sexual health is a good example of this. I truly enjoyed taking this course because it gave me insight to a very important portion of our population that is often under represented. Maternal health is so important to our society as a whole that I was surprised to learn that little had changed in regard to women in our society and in public health. When I was researching this project, I became so invested in learning everything I could about the differences between the United States and Bulgaria when it came to the use of long acting reversible contraception. I found that many of the roadblocks that women face are based in misunderstanding and inaccurate information. I began to see how policies that are based in religious ideology filtered down through politics into public health decision-making. Researching this topic in two different countries taught me that this was not just a problem here in America but around the world. In the end, I enjoyed writing this paper, and I hope that someday I can take this topic and do more research.
Learning Experience 2
Another learning experience I had in the Allied Health Program was during my HS 410 course. This was a difficult course but very rewarding, because, I learned so much about the inner workings of our health service administration. I also learned how the health services function at different levels of government both locally and abroad. I think that this would be a great course for all students at NAU to help them understand the barriers that many people face to health services. I gained a great deal of knowledge in this course by learning how many of the world’s health systems are run and managed compared to our own.
This paper is a good example of program outcome three because is involved working in a team and engaging in constant communication to achieve a common goal. It gave a side-by-side comparison of the United States and Saudi Arabia, showed strengths and weakness in both healthcare systems and described the possibilities if change did not happen. The paper was written by myself and two other classmates and was an example of various writing styles that blended very nicely to articulate an important topic. In the end, this paper and this course gave me amazing insight and perspective into our healthcare system.
Learning Experience 3
For program outcome number three, I have chosen a paper written by myself in HHS 300W. This course pushed me to think more critically and in a way I had not done before. I was unsure how philosophical arguments were going to mesh with science and health care. You will often find people in healthcare who claim something is right or wrong, seeing the world in black and white, but rarely can they articulate why. As providers of health, understanding our patients’ points of view, and their values can help us to address their needs in the present. Understanding the beliefs and ideology of our society can help us to communicate and advocate for our patients health in other areas such as government and law.
The paper I have written covers the topic of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders from its beginnings in 1976 to the present. The DNR has questioned futility in medicine and forced us to look at autonomy of patients. I enjoyed writing this paper because I learned so much about the history and the various perspectives of the DNR. At the end of this paper, I finish with some philosophical points concerning the values judgments. Since I work in the area of physical therapy, I am not likely to encounter DNR issues but I feel that the debate is important that everyone should try to understand.
Joshua Macey 