Rnlife’s Webliography

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that has so many unknown aspects to it that are being avidly researched today.  What exactly causes this disease process of Multiple Sclerosis?  Is there a possible cure for this debilitating disease?  What I do know from my experience is the horrific effects this disease can have on your life.  My personal experience consists of watching my aunt of 56 years of age go from being an average person with no physical limitations, to someone who requires a walker and motorized cart to move her from place to place within a span of a few years.  The effects this disease can have on people can be absolutely devastating.

It is obvious that I have great personal interest in this topic because of my aunt and what she has gone through, which is why I chose to write my webliography about multiple sclerosis.  This disease is also known to be hereditary in nature, which puts me and my siblings at risk for this disease as well.  For these reasons, I have always been very interested in researching information pertaining to Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that can be mild in nature or can have debilitating physical effects.  Progression of this disease can be rapid in nature, but can also go into remission, which means there is no progression of the disease process within a span of time.  There are many treatment options for multiple sclerosis now, but there is still no cure.  Tremendous amounts of research is being done today in order to hopefully find a cure for this disease someday.

The following list of websites and databases are valid and reliable resources that are useful for people who are looking for information pertaining to multiple sclerosis and topics related to this disease.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

This is the official website for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  This organization helps aid in research, support, and community outreach for people living with multiple sclerosis.

Medline Plus:  A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multiplesclerosis.html

This site provides information about the pathology of Multiple Sclerosis, clinical signs and symptoms, as well as treatment options that are available to people with Multiple Sclerosis.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (National Institutes of Health)

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/multiple_sclerosis/multiple_sclerosis.htm

This site provides information about a variety of neurological disorders.  Specifically regarding Multiple Sclerosis, this site discusses research that is being done through the National Institutes of Health that is looking for better treatments and therapies for Multiple Sclerosis.  This site also discusses prognosis, treatment, and the pathology of Multiple Sclerosis.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/

This site provides reliable health information about various disease states.  Specifically, this site provides reports about research that has been conducted related to Multiple Sclerosis.

CINAHL:  Research Database

Interferon Beta for Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2010)

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,url,cookie,uid&db=rzh&AN=2010231101&loginpage=custlogin.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site

A journal article retrieved from CINAHL research database that is found in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2010) that discusses treatment of Multiple Sclerosis with Interferon Beta.

EBSCOhost:  Research Database

Motor and cognitive slowing in multiple sclerosis:  An attentional deficit?

Clinical Neurology & Neurosurgery Journal (April 2010)

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,url,cookie,uid&db=aph&AN=48404917&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site

A journal article retrieved from EBSCOhost research database that is found in the Clinical Neurology & Neurosurgery Journal (April 2010) that discusses a study performed to evaluate action slowing in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

RNlife’s First Blog

As it is going into every new BSN online course, I did not know what to expect from this class.  I had no idea what health care informatics even was or what it would teach me that would further my nursing career.  There is always a little bit of anxiety that comes with starting a new course because you don’t know how difficult the class will be, especially when you are unsure of what the class will even be teaching you.  I learned very quickly what exactly health care informatics is about, and that I knew more about this topic than I thought I did.  I realized that by just simply working in a hospital setting that uses an electronic health record (EHR), I knew something about health care informatics already!

So what is health care informatics? What I know so far about health care informatics is that this topic is a combination of things.  First and foremost, health care informatics deals with a person’s health and medical information.  Next, this information is combined with computer technology to build what is called an electronic health record (EHR) as I discussed earlier.  This EHR allows health care providers to get the most up to date information about their patient’s conditions, history, treatments, etc.  This type of system also allows for safety features that help prevent charting errors in the patient’s EHR.  All in all, this type of documentation and information system in health care is faster, safer, and more efficient than the past use of paper charting.

What have I learned my first week of health care informatics? Besides all of the information about what this class is actually about, I have learned how to be more technologically and computer savvy!  For me this is a big step due to the fact that beyond emailing people and making my way through online classes, I have little knowledge about computers and all the different avenues they have to offer.  I am officially on twitter now, which by the way, I have never had a facebook, myspace, or twitter account before, so this was a tremendous change for me!  I am really enjoying having the twitter account and find that I am learning a great deal about health care topics and issues just from what people post on this site.  I also have this new wordpress account which is my first blogging site.  I am still trying to figure this out as well, but I find that I am enjoying this new piece of technology also!

I am very excited about what this class has to offer me and hope to learn much more than I already have just in our first week of class.  This topic of health care informatics is so versatile and applicable to so many people, and I am excited about the opportunities this class will bring to us and to nursing.  I hope you enjoyed my first blog and look forward to writing to you all again!