When I first learned that I had to take Intro to Health Care I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like. I wasn’t sure how it would relate to me and Occupational Therapy. When the course started I was really nervous about my ability to tackle an online course. I was frustrated at first but I seemed to fall into it at no time at all. My typing skills have improved. I really enjoyed the research. I love exploring things and this teaching style really was enjoyable to me.

I have come across a lot of new terms in this course that I actually had never heard of before. I had only ever heard of an epidemic. Pandemic and endemic were totally new to me. It’s funny because after learning about pandemics I ran across the term at least a dozen times in the past six weeks. On the news, in a magazine article, in my research on the FLU, it's really cool to understand that and be able to apply it in different situations.

I think my favorite unit in this course was the culture unit. It was fascinating to see how much of our culture really influences our healthcare decisions. As an Occupational therapist everyday I will come in contact with a diverse population of people that have different needs, beliefs and different ideas. This course has really opened up my mind to allow for a better awareness and understanding. This I think will be invaluable to me. Knowing about different cultures will allow me to provide more effective, quality care. This will allow me to connect better with patients, allow me to gain their trust, respect and confidence. I never thought about personal distances or proper greetings related to a persons title. These concepts were so informative.

I found the history of medicine to be really fun. I went into this course already knowing quite a bit on this topic from my bachelors degree in health, aging and population studies ( part of my sociology major). However I had never realized how much of our medicine was and is influenced by natural components. Sure, it makes sense, I just had never thought about it before. I never realized how much superstitions influenced the formation of healthcare. It’s amazing how our beliefs can sometimes be more important than the actual truth.. It amazes me to really look at the progression we have made in medicine over the years. The knowledge we have gained is incredible. Knowledge from very complex to very simple has changed and saved so many lives, it's incredible. Complex, like surgeries and vaccines. Simple, such as, cleanliness, and hygiene. Washing our hands and keeping medical and personal areas clean have saved millions of lives.

I never realized how many government agencies existed. I was surprised to learn that there were government agencies that worked on stroke research. I thought only non-profit or for profit agencies would work on smaller issues such as that. This information has sparked an interest to research more about other agencies that could provide help to patients families that I may work with in my career.

One of my biggest concerns has always been learning how to be professional. I’ve never felt that I know exactly how to do that. I been learning some over the years, but when I graduated from college in 1995 I certainly didn’t feel like a professional. Looking at our unit on legal, ethical and safety issues has made me feel like I have more tools to shape my behavior into a more professional standard. I have always been a pretty neutral person when it comes to debate topics. Forcing me to take a side really opened my eyes and gave me opinions and in the process gave me knowledge as well. Looking at issues such as the Ashley treatment and animal testing forced me to look at all sides not just my own. I read both sides and really gained an understanding of both views. It made a better presentation of what I really believe and it was more factually sound as well.

Looking as everybody’s health occupations was really interesting. I never realized how many specialties nurses could choose, nor did I realize the difference between LPN, RN and Nurse Practitioners. I’m very excited to start my career an Occupational therapist, I know it will be a great journey. Having taken intro to health care will broaden my career because it has open my mind up to more possibilities and allowed me to understand more about what I will be working with and how to function more effectively in my job. I look forward to working with each type of occupation and hopefully our paths will cross in each of our careers.