My name is Courtney and I am 22 years old. I am a hard worker with two jobs, and I am currently a full time student. This semester I am taking Calculus and Chemistry II at Valencia along with our online class. I live in a two bedroom two bath condo by myself; therefore, money is really tight for me right now. My overall goal for my career is to finish medical school and continue on to become a Radiologist. I am in love with the medical field, so I am sure I will succeed in my goal.
Besides working and school, I love to go to the beach and hang out with my friends. I have been with my boyfriend for seven years, but I told him I did not want to get married until after medical school. I also have a white American bulldog that has literally become my first child. I speak to him like a baby, and he even throws tantrums if he does not get his way!!
I am a very open and honest person, so I hope to gain as much information from my group as I am willing to offer to you.
This is the first class I have ever taken at UCF, and so far it has not been an easy transition for me. First of all, I am extremely nervous about taking an online class. A problem that I have come across thus far is that I have not taken an English class in three years. It is difficult for me to remember how to write properly, and I even had to pull out an old English book!! I enjoy the discussions and learning about everyone in the class. In order to be prepared for this class, I had to print out everything that was on the website and highlight important facts. We were provided so much information on the first day that I almost dropped the course. HIV is a very important topic that everyone should take the time to learn about. This semester I hope to learn from those that have HIV, and my goal is to spread the knowledge to my friends and family.
The thrush assignment was a huge eye opener for me. I feel bad that people have to go through that because of the medications that they are on. I was not even able to stick the first cotton ball in my mouth without gagging, so I can only image how it would be to go through that every time i ate. I am looking forward to learning through our assignments, and reading everyone's opinions on how they were able to get through the thrush and PCP.
Did You Know?!
Before I enrolled in this class, I thought that there was still a serious concern of HIV spreading because of hospital flaws. Did you know that the risk of getting HIV from a blood transfusion is very small. How often do hospital workers prick themselves with an HIV infected needle? To my surprise, the answer is not often. Even if an employee was to get pricked, there are medications that can be taken immediately after the incident that prevent the HIV from reaching the bloodstream. According to the Better Health Channel, there are several hospital policies that protect you from HIV such as
- Syringes and needles are used once only.
- Instruments are cleaned and sterilized after every use.
- Many items are disposed of after single use.
- Health care workers wear protective gowns, gloves and eye-wear when carrying out procedures involving blood and body fluids.
- Spilt blood and body fluids are cleaned up according to strict procedures.
- Laundry is cleaned according to strict infection control procedures.
I am still not convinced that every employee in every hospital follows these rules. After visiting my grandfather in the hospital, I noticed that the nurse left his bloody gauze out on the counter. When she came back hours later she threw it away without cleaning the counter. If she did not notice to throw the used gauze away immediately, it just makes me think of what other careless mistakes are made on a daily basis.
This semester I am going to research the careless mistakes that have been made by hospitals in the past that caused HIV to spread to patients. My goal is to convince you to take the hospital setting seriously when you start your career.
