Karen Talachy

[karentalachyeng1120]

A little about myself

Hey guys! My name is Karen Talachy I am 19 years old. I am currently a Freshman at the University of New Mexico. I am majoring in nursing and minoring in psychology. I have always wanted to be a nurse for as long I could remember. I am a really caring person and enjoy helping people in anyway I can. In the future I am hoping to become Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN), which means my patients would be between 1-18 years old.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected not only my own life, but everyone else life as well. No one asked for this, but we have been forced to adjust accordingly to this disease. For me personally, I ended up getting a job at a nearby Walgreens during spring break and was set to have an interview set two weeks later to begin volunteering at a Presbyterian Hospital. During Spring break, it was announced that we had to leave campus and were forced to move back home. This pushed all of my plans back and definitely put them on halt. Going back home meant I wouldn’t be able to go to school anymore, no longer had a job and couldn’t volunteer anymore in Albuquerque, or back home since my volunteer work would be in a medical setting. Going back home also forced me to take on many more responsibilities and to transition to be a full-time student online. I personally, find this transition to be a lot more difficult rather than being in a classroom setting. However, I was still able to learn a variety of ways to strengthen my writing and by the end of English 1120 I became an even stronger writer.

CHECK OUT MY STEVEN UNIVERSE MEDIA REVIEW ON YOUTUBE! vv

https://youtu.be/oQWkSbN0eoY

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student learning outcome A

Rhetorical Situation and Genre

This semester we analyzed a variety of genres such as movie scences, invitations, how to’s and even genres related to our future careers. In small writing assignment (SWA) 1, I analyzed a Ray Bradbury’s “The Vedlt”, and explored the horror story and science-fiction genre conventions. My second SWA deviated quite a bit from the first one.  In SWA 2 I got to analyze genres that are within my field of interest, nursing.  I analyzed a nursing blog, the FLACC pain assessment and the PQRST assessment. The reason I chose to review these genres is because these genres are commonly used by nurses to help them with their duties as a nurse. In nursing most of the genres in my field of interest are used to share helpful information to nurses and doctors. My favorite genre to analyze was the FLACC pain assessment. I enjoyed analyzing this assessment because I got to learn how nurses evaluate patients the pain of children between 2 months to 8 years of age or up to 18 years of age for children with cognitive impairment and/or developmental impairment that prevent them from communicating their pain.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student learning outcome B

Writing as a Social Act

To me writing as a social act means to write in a way the is best suited when it comes to informing or persuading your audience. When writing it is important to keep in mind what your main objective is and know what genre conventions are important to follow and break when it comes to your achieving your main purpose. Compared to last semester, I noticed that my audience went from an informal audience to a formal audience. When it come to writting for a professonal audience I made sure my writting was well organized, included vocabulary that my audience would know and maintained a nice flow This is important within my future career as a nurse because as a nurse you need to be able to provide information to doctors in an organized, professional manner to help doctors determine how to treat and diagnose their patients. As a nurse it is very important to know which genres are needed when determing what information you need to provide.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student learning outcome C

Writing as a process

          Completing small writing assignment, one allowed me to gain a better understanding of the science fiction genre. I analyzed the ways Ray Bradbury broke and met genre conventions of both science fiction and horror genres within his short story, “The Vedlt”. Small writing assignment two was an assignment I had never done before. I created a field guide to share some genre conventions that are common in the nursing field. The genres I analyzed were blogs, a general pain assessment such as the FLACC Pain assessment, and a more specific assessment like the PQRST assessment. The small writing assignment two helped prepare me when it came time for me to compose my major writing assignment one.  For my major writing assignment one I chose to analyze the PQRST pain assessment from my SWA 2. The brain storming stage is the easiest stage for me. I am able to brainstorm many topics to write about, which allows me to chose which topics will best inform my audience about the PQRST pain assessment. Peer review helped when it came to gaining insight for another person’s perspective. This was helpful when it came to the revising stage of my MWA because the peer review helped me identify the areas, I am strong in my writing and the areas I am weak in as well. This allowed me to focus on revising allowed me to focus on improving my weak areas to strengthen my writing.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student learning outcome D

Grammar and Usage

    Looking back at both my small writing assignments and major writing assignment two I noticed that I had made a few grammar mistakes that weakened my writing. Peer review helped me to identify my problems and allowed me to focus on those mistakes. Once I revised these mistakes it helped me improve my writing by being more cognizant of my past mistakes when it came to my writing my majoring writing assignment one. After completing my major witting assignment one I noticed that my vocabulary had increased, and I found myself using more medical terminology. I also noticed that my writing was able to me my purpose informing my audience about the PQRST pain assessment. My MWA one had a nice flow and was well organized, which made it strong. Because of this, I found my major writing assignment one to be my favorite out of three assignments.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome E. (Grammar and Usage)

 analyze and describe the value of incorporating various languages, dialects and registers in your own and others’ texts 

Yes, I did dive into other styles of language when exploring genres that were in my field of interest. Within SWA #1, I had read a horror story by Ray Bradbury, “The Veldt”. I was able to analyze the conventions of horror genre. I wrote about how Bradbury met some of the genre conventions of horror and also how he broke them within his story.

When it came to my MWA #2 I was able to explore terminology that is very common when it come to the field of nursing. Whenever I am explaining the language to people who are outside of the field, I usually like to explain to them was certain words mean or let them know what certain phrases mean in health care. I noticed that within my area of nursing the terminology that is used varies. I learned that abbreviations are common within nurses to provide information to other people in the medical field. This is a good skill to have because it helped me improve my communication skills. I was able to learn the terminology and gain a grasp on the language by re reading the articles and using context clues to figure out some of the terms.

When it came to Major Writing Assignment 2 I wrote in a formal tone. I wrote this way because I wanted to make a claim. I also wanted to sound credible and persuasive as well.I wrote in a lower register when creating my field guide for SWA #2. I decided to do that because my field guide was intended for people who did not know much about medical terminology. I preferred to write in a low register because it is not so formal which means it doesn’t need to have such strong vocabulary and dictation.  I also prefer this register because it doesn’t have to meet certain standards.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome F- (reflection)

 Evaluate your development as a writer over the course of the semester and describe how composing in multiple genres and mediums using various technologies can be applied in other contexts to advance your goals 

Yes, writing I different genres has helped me to become a stronger writter. Looking back, I found Small Writing Assignment 2 extremely helpful. SWA 2 helped to understand the different genres conventions in the Nursing field and explain how these sources broke genre conventions within certain genres. When it came to write in a persuasive tone, I had to make sure I sounded credible by providing sources that broke genre conventions in my field.

An understanding of different genres in my field will be extremely helpful in my future careers because throughout a nursing career there will be times when you will need to know how to use a variety of genres to communicate different topics.

 With the aid of an experienced librarian, I was able to learn how to use UNM’S library website to find articles that related to nursing and were credible sources. These papers helped me explore my principles deeper in a multi-perspective way when it came to researching information about my counterarguments claim. This skill will help definitely help me find credible information in the future. Especially when it comes to writing more papers.

English 1120 has helped me in other classes as well. For two of my other classes (Growth & Development and Public Speaking) , I was able to use skills I learned from Composition II and apply them to my class. When it came time for me to find scholarly articles that helped me support my argument, I was able to find credible sources using the libraries website. I am glad I learned how to use this tool and I expect to use it often throughout my years in college and in the nursing field.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome G (Research)

For me personally, technology played a tremendous role when it came to my research for my Major Writing Assignment 2 (MWA 2). Technology helped me to discover various articles that helped me both support my claim and address my counter argument. My process of finding articles came from both my personal laptop and even Zimmerman Library computers. With the aid of an experienced librarian, I was taught how to use the libraries data base to find articled that related to my topic. These articles helped me further investigate my values in a multi-perspective sense. Technology also allowed me to get reviews from my peers about what they agreed with ways that they thought I could improve my MWA 2. By listening to my audience, I was able to better explain my argument to readers.

Investigating and acknowledging my counterargument not only got me thinking differently about my subject from a different perspective, but it also strengthened my belief.  I took the counter argument into consideration while framing my own statements, when I discovered claims that countered my argumentative stance. I thought about these counter arguments in depth while forming my own claims. The counter arguments helped me improve and strengthen my writing when it came to support my original claim.    

While I was researching my counterargument claim I learned more about how much schooling a doctor has to go through compared to a nurse. I found out that is the reason nurses get paid the salary they get. By further investigating what a doctor’s typical duties and comparing them to the duties of a nurse, I found out that while doctors do see more patients than a nurse, they do not spend enough time with patients to develop personal attachments like nurses do. This was something new I learned, and it helped me support my claim even more.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome H (Research)

I cited sources that best supported my argument using the MLA format. Giving credit to original sources is an important element of an argument because it shows that you are credible and that the claims are accurate and come from reliable sources. I learned the MLA style was developed as a means of utilizing a structured method for researchers, undergraduates, and literature scholars to structure their papers and evaluations. A systematic method of writing helps readers to comprehend the composition easier. MLA style is important be causes it avoids plagiarism and gives credit to writers from those original sources of which you received the information, it’s done out of respect for the author.  

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome I (Research)

I used a combination of The University of New Mexico Libraries and google to help me search my sources. The database of UNM'S libraries helped me search through credible scholarly outlets. I also searched for suitable sources via Google.

I made sure that I sifted through the text in its entirety, and then selected concrete facts that validated my argument. I used different medias such as: 1) research articles, 2) publications 3)a book that supported my paper and justified my arguments. I made sure that I sifted through the text in its entirety, and then selected concrete facts that validated my argument. I checked the individual's background to determine whether they were credible people.

Yes, there were actually quite a bit of sources that I decided to not include in my final draft. While some of articles were interesting to read, a few were not written by credible people or were not relevant to my main argument.

[karentalachyeng1120]

Student Learning Outcome J (Research)

Some genres that are common in my field are Care plans, medical histories and charting. A simple approach to interact with nurses and other healthcare professionals is abbreviations. This is a genre convention of patient notes and charting, this can be helpful in the future became nurses typically use abbreviations whenever to quickly communicate the patient’s information to the doctor.

Most of my research materials I engaged with for Nursing research were websites like the online data base for the Zimmerman Library. I also used one physical book I had. When it comes to my area of interest research is important and typical when it comes to the nursing field to gather information both in books and online. I learned about several research conventions that are found in nursing. I learned that in the nursing field there are many genre conventions that are use within that field of interest. By looking at various texts in my career that broke traditional genre conventions, it allowed me to recognize the versatility within genres; this gave me more confidence in my writing knowing genres are flexible.

[knifenymph]

change does not come from a place of comfort

[karentalachyeng1120]

At this point in my life, now especially, I have had more time to self reflect and acutally realize how much I have changed in these past years. I relate to this quote because I have had my fair share of “un-comfortable” situations, all of which have changed me for the better. I never took the time to appreciate how these situations helpled me to become stronger and wiser. 

[timewillfly]

New nurses, student nurses

I need you to know these things.

This job is hard. It’s hard as a student, learning things most people will never understand. It’s hard as a brand new nurse; no patient or seasoned nurse truly has faith in you.

You want to learn. You want to know things. You want to get to the point in your job where you are comfortable in your skills, the patients trust you, and the doctors start to know your name and believe in your abilities.

It takes time. The first year of nursing will be the hardest year of your life and you will find yourself truly doubting your intelligence and intellect for the first time ever. You will make mistakes, second guess yourself, cry after work, cry during work, cry before work. You will triumph, and you will fail miserably.

But with literally every single moment of every single day, you will learn so much more than you’ve ever learned in your entire life combined. You will learn about human suffering, joy, love, sorrow, insanity, and pain. You will experience moments that will haunt you forever. Moments you will bury down deep inside because the people closest to you could never understand.

Student nurses, stay with it. You aren’t there yet. School is hard. It does get harder. But it also gets better.

I was a student. Nursing school was the hardest thing I had ever done up to that point. I will not downplay that. Ever. It is so hard.

But then I was a new nurse. And it was harder. I experienced things that will haunt me to the grave. I was bullied by patients, doctors, and nurses.

I’m still learning. I’m still a baby nurse. But I’ve got a bit of time and a little experience under my belt now. I’ve been a nurse in the burn ICU, a med-surg nurse, and now a bone marrow transplant/oncology nurse. I’ve dealt with nurse bullies, bully doctors, and abusive patients and families. I’ve seen all kinds of sickness, I’ve welcomed new life, and I’ve held countless hands as their pulses faded away.

I’m here to tell you, student nurses, new nurses, that this job is hard. It is cruel and unforgiving at times.

But it is so worth it. It may get harder, but it will get easier as time goes on. The bonds you form with patients, doctors, and fellow nurses will bring you through it.

You knew it would be difficult when you chose such a selfless profession. This job takes heart. It takes a special kind of person that was meant to heal this harsh world.

Stay with it. It gets so much better. It is rewarding. We are here and we want you to succeed. Forget the nurse bullies, forget the bad. You are a guardian angel and you chose this noble path.

Thank you student nurses, thank you new nurses. I was there, not long ago. If I could go back and do it again, I would in a heartbeat. Because I am right where I want to be.

[biomedicool]

Coronavirus - gender gap in immunology

Emerging statistics suggest that men are at least 60% more likely to die from COVID-19 than women - but why?

An analysis of coronavirus cases released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention puts the death rate among men at 2.8%, compared with 1.7% among women.  

Italian health authorities also reported (x) that men accounted for 58% of all cases and 72% of deaths. Hospitalised men with COVID-19 were 75% more likely to die than hospitalised women.

Why?

Smoking - In China in particular, more than 50% of men smoke, compared to around 2% of women. 

However - even in young patients and children, who are less likely to have smoked for long enough to cause damage, the death rate is still higher for males.

Gender differences in immunology

“For years, immunologists only studied male mammals because the complexity of female hormones muddied their findings” (quote)

The female immune system is stronger than the male in terms of fighting off infection

However, this makes females more susceptible to autoimmune disorders such as IBS.

There is also evidence to suggest the strength of attack launched by the female immune system is what causes so much damage in conditions like emphysema and lung cancer.

When activated by stress or allergens, female mast cells release more inflammatory substances, which can provoke a more aggressive immune response such as anaphylaxis

Mast cells isolated from females also make and store more inflammatory substances – histamine, serotonin and proteases – than mast cells from males. 

The immune system is also important for regulating the growth of cancer cells, which may be a major reason why men have higher rates of death from cancer. 

[pathcend]

Do you REALLY need that facemask?

Illustrations by Wei Man Kow [Instagram]

[biomedicool]