Teaching Experience - Essay Example

? Teaching Experience Part Summary of the Teaching Plan Proposal The teaching plan as proposed is one that seeks to bring about the issue of the primary prevention to a community that seems to be struggling with lifestyle diseases. The community has many people of different ages and they have a problem of diseases that are brought about by the lifestyle issues. The diseases are mainly diabetes, cancer and heartbreak. The proposal seeks to educate the people in the community living in Georgia on the importance of living healthy by eating the right foods and avoid abusing drugs. The plan proposes various measures that would promote good health in a wider sense. There are various strengths that are highlighted and areas where improvements need to be made and all these seeks to have a health promotion program that will become a success. The teaching program is to be initiated in a community where there are elderly people and individuals who are unable to take care of their health or those who have no health insurance. This teaching program would ensure that the members of the community are well endowed with the information they need in order to make them responsible for their own health. The project also addresses the kind of engagements that would lead to the actual learning process taking place and the very important tools that would be needed for this project to be a success. Key among the things outlined in the plan is the resources that would be needed for this kind of a venture just for the purpose of having a process that is above board. In conclusion, the plan addresses the objectives and aims of this teaching program and what would be achieved after such a noble course. Epidemiology Rationale for the Topic The problem of lifestyle diseases has been a major concern for the community in Georgia. Diabetes has been the leading illness in the lifestyle diseases with obesity being a key concern. Another serious challenge has been cancer that has tended to be a problem associated with the elderly. Pneumonia has been a disease that has caused the community a lot of pain in terms of losing loved ones. The pneumonia symptoms for most people affected within the community were difficulty in breathing with the pulse rate below the standards. As for the lifestyle diseases, the elderly had cancer as a big challenge to those aged 65 and above. Diabetes was found to be a serious challenge affecting everyone across the board; the old people to younger people. Obesity among the young people and smoking habits was a major cause of diabetes among the young people. For these urgent care had to be initiated to help those already affected and those who are likely to be affected. Statistics from the health superintendent of the Georgia center for disease control and prevention in the state of Georgia has provided very shocking results about people who are affected by the lifestyle diseases like diabetes (Stroup & Teutsch, 1998). The results showed that: 35% of the adults in old age had diabetes. 40% of the young adults had diabetes 33% of the teens were diabetic and had obesity with heart complications 40% of those above the age of 65 years had cancer disease 50% of those in old age around 75 years had heart disease Evaluation of Teaching Experience The experience of teaching in the community was an interesting affair that really opened my eyes to various possibilities. At first, I thought that the experience was going to be a tough one and I was very nervous at some point, as I did not know what was going to be about my teaching experience. My experience in the community and having to interact with different groups of people was one that remained painted in my mind for the longest time ever. The fear of the unknown once again caught up with me in an unprecedented manner as I prepared myself for the teaching exercise. The responsibilities which I was to teach the people on the benefits of primary prevention or health promotion, and I knew it was not going to be an easy task even though I belonged to that very community. The community was well known to me though I did not know everyone who came from the community. The fact that I did not know everyone was one of the things I had to deal with though I had an advantage of coming from that community and therefore, an understanding was going to be a bit easy from the side of the community. Dealing with a community required due diligence and an open mind, as their level of understanding varied and thus, it was important to have an approach that would not antagonize them (Diem & Moyer, 2005). Interpersonal relationship and constant reassurance were going to be key in this endeavor. As I did the teaching exercise, I did not want to be there for the sake of it, but I also wanted to learn from the community and have an experience that would help me in the future in building my career. Being new into the learning process as a nurse, there was no doubt my grip on the task was way below average. I needed to build on my confidence also as this was going to be a profession I would be in for the long whole. This was no doubt going to be an experience worth preserving not just within the profession, but one that would help in the day-to-day life. Generally, I thought the experience was a great one and an eye opener on how communities needed to be dealt with. I may in future need to improve on the methods of teaching and also improve my relationship with the community members. I would also need to do a lot of visits for the sake of knowing a majority of the community members as this would be very significant in achieving total success in this venture. Community Response to Teaching The members of the community were at first very reserved as they did not know the aim of the exercise and of what benefit it was going to be to the members of the community. Some even refused to participate at all because they argued that was just one of the many exercises that had been done in the community without any benefits whatsoever. Nevertheless, after a lot of engagements there was a positive response from the very people and because there was a need to have as many people as possible participate in the program, there was a need for more incentives (Burke, 2001). The few members who had agreed to the agenda of the program were the stepping-stones towards bringing the rest of the group on board. Through the help of the first group, a majority managed to come and participate in the program, and that was a great start towards the achieving the objectives in regard to the exercise. The teaching on primary prevention was a big well to a majority of the people. In fact, they gave accounts of how some diseases that could have been avoided and caused havoc in the community. This was a good starting point for the exercise. In reality the program for teaching was an eye opener to the members of the community and they wondered why such a noble program had not been employed in the society before. It was against this background and the topic of the discussion that the people paid more attention to the primary prevention class, and that left them very optimistic and thoughtful about the teachings. Strengths and Areas of Improvements One of the biggest strengths for this course was that the people were very receptive as long as the program was one that would help them deal with some things within their society. They had a bond and working together was very evident in the way they mobilized one another. In the teaching program, a major strength was that the ideas were very easy to understand and the people resonated with them so first. The ideas used for this exercise were more or less improvised to suit the setting, and this was a great plus. In addition, the teaching methods were very unique tailored made for this group and this was one way in which the program became a success (Stroup & Teutsch, 1998). On communication, it was very relaxing to find out that many of the people in the group had no communication challenges, and their understanding of the language used at that particular instance was very simple to them. In the real sense, the group was an average group of people and the level of understanding eased the teaching process. However, there is a need to improve on some aspects of the program in future. For instance, there needs to be people divided into different groups depending on their understanding so that the teaching can be more effective and more impactful. Another area that would need to be improved on is the age group aspect. The program needs to be for different groups; for example, having the teens on one side and the young adults on another side and lastly, having the adults put on another group. The teaching methods would need to be improvised and more included to suit the needs of the groups of the people being dealt with. The strengths of this program and the improvements that would be made for this exercise would make this project one of the best. The successes of the program could then be used in other communities in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the initiated set of issues (Diem & Moyer, 2005). Primary prevention and health promotion are key elements that help people to be more conscious of their health, and it is because of this background that many enlightenment programs need to be initiated in order to have a majority of individuals learn the benefits of such initiatives as primary prevention. Part 2 Primary Prevention Teaching Proposal Community Teaching Proposal The teaching plan basically gives an outline concerning how a primary prevention project would be initiated in a community to ensure that the members of the community have a primary prevention mechanism. This plan would ensure that they deal with the problem of diseases that has become an epidemic, which they focused on preventing. The primary prevention mechanism as proposed would be done in a particular season, especially during the periods when disease prevalence is exceptionally high. The initiative would be organizing a community to ensure that the members of the community in Georgia are careful on contracting diseases which could otherwise be dealt with before they kill individuals. This venture would be very critical for me in my practice because I would love to work with communities locally and abroad, and this would boost my career through the experience gained. Keeping the communities informed through a learning process would be very beneficial as it would be very useful in dealing with disease prevalence. There are diseases that can be dealt with even before they invade an individual’s body, but because the people are not aware of them, it would be imperative to initiate a learning process that would ensure primary prevention is vital. In so doing, I would increase the level of my competence in interacting with members of the community through the enlightenment process, and I would also be very enlightened when it comes to knowledge about primary prevention and health promotion. The community in which I will initiate this kind of a program is a community with many elderly people and others not very able to take care of their health or those who have no health insurance. Many of my family members are in this community and it is my considered opinion that the members of my community will be able to learn and understand the value of this kind of a project in a wider perspective. Being a volunteer in a local hospital, it will be a work made easier as I have had to interact with some members of this community and it will also be important because I am an insider and quite understand the direction that would be appropriate to take in this regard. Planning Before Teaching: Name and Credentials of Teacher: Estimated Time Teaching Will Last: 30 minutes Location of Teaching: community center Supplies, Material, Equipment Needed: Whiteboard, marker pens, projector, electronic pointers, laptop Estimated Cost: $100-$150 Community and Target Aggregate: The target groups are the teenagers, young adults and the elderly between the ages of 65-90 Topic: Prevention of lifestyle diseases among the young people and the elderly Rationale: Being a nursing student at the Grand Canyon University, my aim has always been to be of much help to the people at whatever instance, so that their health can remain stable. It is therefore true to say that my aim and passion is based on health promotion. Of concern, it is the primary prevention. Therefore, my level of competence been an undergraduate has been perfecting my knowledge through an initiation of self-driven projects. Being able to give a comprehensive detail about primary prevention or health promotion, I will have an increased level of competence. This will also be valuable in sharpening my skills and knowledge in an area that I have a lot of passion in. On one occasion, while doing community outreaches, there were several things that were of grave concern. People in the communities never seemed to be bothered by their health and the disease prevalence. This was a worrying trend to say the least. This gave me an urge to work with the communities on issues concerning health. The initiatives would be programs that would give them a wider perspective of the need to be very considerate when it came to matters concerning health. These programs would be very pertinent and very conversant with the primary health issues they were dealing with and also elaborate on the need for primary prevention. This project would not just be of help to the community, but also to me as an individual. It would give me an experience in disease prevalence in the communities and the primary prevention criteria, and this would be very critical in enhancing competence in my profession. This project is very fundamental in developing my skills in this profession for the long term. Working with communities is not an easy thing because of the barriers and different stereotyping that exists within the communities. In this regard therefore, my experience in the noble course would go a long way in helping me gain the necessary experience required in dealing with other communities in future. It would also help me learn the various primary prevention methods that would work for different groups in different set ups. Moreover, it would be also help in being a good planner, a negotiator, develop organizational skills and also learn how to deal with other people in different capacities. Nursing Diagnosis: Lifestyle diseases come as a result of poor diet and taking a lot of junk food, drug addiction and over indulgence in issues that directly affect the body. The people are certainly not aware of the dangers posed by this kind of a lifestyle. The problem of lifestyle diseases has been a major concern for the community in Georgia. Diabetes has been the leading in the lifestyle diseases with obesity being a key concern. Another serious challenge has been cancer that has tended to be a problem associated with the elderly. Heart complication has been a disease that has caused the community a lot of pain in terms of losing loved ones. The heart disease symptoms for most people affected within the community had the difficulty in breathing with the pulse rate below the standards. As for the lifestyle diseases, the elderly had cancer as a big challenge to those aged 65 and above being affected most. Diabetes was found to be a serious challenge affecting everyone across the board from the old people to younger people. Obesity among the young people and smoking habits was a major cause of diabetes among the young people, for this urgent care had to be initiated to help those already affected and those who are likely to be affected. Readiness for Learning The members of the community will be prepared for the learning process by use of cognitivist learning method. This reason for employing this kind of theory is that it would be important to have the people understand the reasons for the program and have them perform personal analysis of the benefits of the process or initiative and then have them think through the process. This would be important because there would be no need for prompting, but it would be a process that has been properly understood by the people themselves. This learning method will be initiated to have it acceptable across the board by letting the community members own the process and make it a part of them. Goals This project has got an aim of enlightening the people about the need for primary prevention and living well. This would make the people to be more aware of their health conditions and make them more conscious. It is important to have the achievements because it is one of the aims of the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) objective plan. A Health society is a wealthy society, and the community would appreciate the project because it aims to make them healthy people by effectively being connected to their health. This project would also be beneficial because it would be possible for the health care providers to be exceptionally proactive and have ease in serving the community when it comes to their health matters. Access to health care is a fundamental aim of the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) objective and being replicated in this community would give an encouragement of a system that would go a long way in being of help to the people. Behavioral Objectives (Including Domains), Content, and Strategies/Methods: Behavioral Objective and Domain The members of the community will identify health care issues that are fundamentally of concern to them (Cognitive Domain). Content The health issues have categories and they would include the issues that community members perceive preventable would require warrant medical attention. Strategies/Methods Interactive poster presentation of the healthcare issues. After an explanation of the poster and each healthcare issue addressed, allow students to give their own account of their experience to the health care issues and how they tried to deal with the issue. The students would also give an input on how best they think they would prevent the diseases from invading their health 1. Diabetes 1. 1. 2. Cancer 2. 2. 3. Heart disease 3. 3. Creativity Being a community where different groups are represented, using the best techniques to capture the understanding of the people would be a priority. One creative method that I would seek to employ would be to use stories in explaining concepts and things that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend. Another way of having creativity would be to have them interact with one another and feel free to talk about the issues that affect them personally. Also important will be to use presentations that will make the follow whatever thing is going on and be able to enthrall their attention. Planned Evaluation of Objectives 1. The impact of the project: this would be significant because for the project to achieve the goals for the initiated project, it would then be very important to have the project checked against the effectiveness and what it has done to improve the health of the people. The impact of the projected will be measured based on the number of people who would have followed the ideas brought out from the project and how they will have made them effective in their health care. 2. The benefits that would have been gotten from those projected would be indicative of the usefulness of the project. This would then be measured based on the responses that would have been received in this respect to ensure that the project achieved the purpose for which it was set. 3. Another important factor to check would be the learning experience and what the people would have learnt through this initiative. A learning process is important because the knowledge learnt would rest with the people. To check whether learning would have taken place, it would be necessary to make a follow up on what continues to be done after the learning process and if the people stick to the lessons learnt or still glued to the old habits. When the people are learned, it would be easy to transfer the knowledge to the other people and teach others who may not have been through the learning process. 4. The engagement or the reaction of the community leaders and other interest groups would be so important. Their reaction would depend on either the success of the project or the failure of the project. It is therefore imperative to find out what they would think about the project either for or against. A response from the interest groups would open doors for the rolling of the project in other communities and how it would be made even bigger for the sake of benefitting the community. Planned Evaluation of Goal The teaching would have to be reevaluated to check whether it did what it was supposed to do. This would mean that the project would be checked against the impact and see where improvements could be made. In this regard, the project would be reviewed after one month. This would come after finding out from the community how the project was helpful and if they liked the projected. The feedback from the communities would then be used to make the necessary improvements in the project. Planned Evaluation of Lesson and Teacher The lesson and the effectiveness would be important to review. How this would be done is by checking the viability of the lesson plan and if it would be appropriate for such a group. In this regard it would also be important to check the personality of the teacher and the effectiveness of the teacher in delivering the message of knowledge to the students and find out whether the students would be happy with the teacher and the mode of teaching. Barriers This project is a noble project that would be very beneficial to the members of the community. However, there are barriers that are bound to occur. The people may not like the idea of primary prevention they would still stick to the old method of wait and observe the kind of attitude. Another potential problem would be that other individuals in the community would be under the health insurance, and this may not be privy to any kind of engagements pertaining the health care promotion. Stereotyping could also be another problem as the people would not be very willing to take part in the exercise as there are certain things associated with some people and that could be a barrier. The only sure way that these potential issues can be handled is by having the people to be part of the process as much as possible and make the community possess the project. Communication The presentation would be started through a short story and then a discussion among the members of the community will ensure that the presentation begins through the use of the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The use of symbols would be very important for this course as it would be easier for those who do not understand some concepts that are easy to understand. After all is said and done, a short graphical representation would be given to show what a healthy community looks like. References: Burke, M. A., Picus, L., & Fenton Avenue Charter School (Lake View Terrace, Calif.) (2001). Developing community-empowered schools. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press. Diem, E., & Moyer, A. (2005). Community health nursing projects: Making a difference. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Stroup, D. F., & Teutsch, S. M. (1998). Statistics in public health: Qualitative approaches to public health problems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More