Author: Shaye' Gurrera

Program outcome 4: We will demonstrate the importance of leadership and interprofessional teamwork.

This program outcome was taught at all levels in this process of completing this degree. You did not notice that it was being taught and when you look back after completing the capstone class that specifically teaches leadership, you can see where in the various classes that being a leader was taught. I chose this activity as my first example of this outcome because it is my favorite activity of all the others I completed. This is a paper where I had to work together with a few other students to complete a paper about healthcare systems in the United States and Switzerland. We had a bit of a glitch during this activity as one of the students for whatever reason was really not able to do her part. Myself and another student took the lead for completing this paper. Communication was a challenge and we eventually spoke on the phone to facilitate our communication. It really was very frustrating and invigorating to work with such different personalities in this way. I work with people of a different generation at work, but it does not seem to impact communication the way that this project did. This paper truly highlights good leadership and interprofessional teamwork to achieve a common goal. To view the paper that goes with this activity, Please click here. Activity 4.1

Program outcome 3: Demonstrate writing and communication skills required for effective health professionals.

This is a short writing assignment that is an example of most of the technical writing that I completed in the class discussion boards. The class discussion boards were the primary way to communicate with the instructors and fellow students. With this health sciences degree being completed only on line, the only way for a student to effectively communicate, is in the written form. An added bonus i found for myself is that while using the  discussion boards, is that you have to communicate well and clearly with a huge variety of people, mostly from the health care fields. I do not think I encountered another Occupational Therapist in my journey for this degree. This assignment demonstrates clear thought, and convincing argument for the subject matter. The post is about organ donors and if they should receive financial benefit for giving up of their body parts. I argued that people should be compensated for the donation of their body parts. One of my ideas for bringing some real life activity to the communication boards for some classes would be for students to hold live lectures or video their communication on a given subject matter. I am participating in more voice and video conference calls to bring my ideas to the table or receive needed information for my employment. This would fuse both the writing and verbal communication that is so critical for management in health care. To view the paper that goes with this activity, Please click here. Activity 3.3

Program outcome 3: Demonstrate writing and communication skills required for effective health professionals.

This assignment is about the end of life experience and expectations, and how i have perceived them. This is a very complicated subject and requires considerable thought and planning to just begin, to express any information on this subject. This was one of the more complicated writing projects to attempt for me, to fully express myself. Writing continues to be a major challenge of mine and I am proud to say that this is most likely the single, longest, paper I have ever written by myself. I feel a strong sense of accomplishment that I was able to receive a passing grade with this paper. I feel that this paper significantly demonstrates that I have met the program outcome number 3. When I re-read this paper several years (it was written in 2012) after I completed the class, it still is very relevant to real life applications. I have actually sited the information in this paper to justify some therapy for people who were at the end of life. This was and is one of the more important assignments that I have completed for this Health Sciences degree for the reasons listed. To view the paper that goes with this activity, Please click here. Activity 3.2

Program outcome 3: Demonstrate writing and communication skills required for effective health professionals.

When I looked back at all the papers that I wrote for this degree, I noticed that my writing style had changed. In the beginning, it was not that cohesive at times. In the papers written later in my course work and with the feedback of instructors and fellow students, my papers started to make much more sense. I choose this paper about neuroplasticity because it will demonstrate my progression in professional written communication. This activity and the other like it were very important to me, to develop my written communication for other audiences than Medicare reviewers. I have struggled with the writing aspect of all the coursework, as I want to write in short objective blurps. I have begun to writ in full sentences at work because of the influence of this program.  This paper demonstrates the use of references to help support ideas that are presented. It also demonstrates how I communicate in my own voice, and if you follow the other papers I selected for this outcome you will see how my voice has matured.  It is for that reason that this paper demonstrates how I have achieved this program outcome. To view the paper that goes with this activity, Please click here.  Activity 3.1