My Story

.

Tiffany McLeod

My Story

In the heart of a young woman who loves sharing a good laugh and smile with others rests compassion and respect two qualities that would later become the driving force to her destiny.  My name is Tiffany P. McLeod and like so many others life handed out its share of ups and downs in the ever evolving world that we know it.  What was a painful and harsh reality for me, being laid off of a job at the beginning stages of my independence became the stepping stone to my pathway of realizing my purpose in society.  While I had pledged to never return to college because of the difficulty in not only being able to afford it but the common sense factor that I sill needed employment to support myself in society.  I obtained my CNA license though a program that specialized in giving chances to people that were still hungry for success, this began the peeling process to the many layers of Tiffany stepping out of contentment. Initially I was somewhat unwilling to “get my hands dirty” but now I view this line of work as a very special position that allows you to work with people when they are at their most vulnerable moments was something that moved my heart.  Working with people everyday allowed me to feel a sense of pride knowing that I am able to demonstrate love and compassion while hearing stories that I would never have embarked upon in my daily life.  

The purposeful consideration of compassionate health is the root of my interest in obtaining my degree in Health Care Administration. Providing purposeful compassionate health to me means going beyond just “getting the job done” it’s having a determination to show compassion to that individual even if you can’t change the situation they are faced with. Being in a position where I would have a voice in addressing the many issues, ideas and practices that play a valuable part in how successful health care is demonstrated.  My job as a CNA has allowed me to relate my work habits towards academic goals by increasing my knowledge about health care disparities in several different areas.  I have developed priceless skills which I believe will allow me to be successful in my goal by contributing to health research that supports the people that need help with wide-ranged actions and solutions that will match with policies set forth.  I have seen first-hand a culture where many health problems exist due to many issues other than the physical body that include suppression of culture, lack of jobs, poverty and geographic segregation.  I now consider my position as a Certified Nursing Assistant to be a lucky one that will allow me to be a well rounded individual that will catapult to a position that will display the values I hold true to.  As a student at College Unbound I have been fortunate to meet special and influential mentors who have taken the time to invest in my vision of demonstrating compassion from the bedside and intertwining it to make a healthy working culture.

Self Evaluation

Tiffany P. McLeod
Fall Semester Self Evaluation & Reflection Narrative





This year at College Unbound has been quite different from last years experiences invoving new task and challenges that have highlighted both strengths and weaknesses in the type of learner I am presently and where i desire to be.  Being an intern at Rhode Island Hospital has by far been one of the best experiences I've encountered thus far.  I have had the pleasure of meeting some very influuential people who have shown deep interest in me as a continuing student and the woman I desire to be in society. From this internship  and being the face of what hard work determination look like, has allowed me to treat this experience as just such an experience and not just an internship, I was given the chance to be an employee at the Hospital. 


As a CNA II at Rhode Island Hospital, I have learned so much that has allowed me to be better at the service I provide my patients and in turn has given me a new outlook on the intricacies and what it takes to be an effective Administrator  and be able to communicate the laws that are set in place in a common lanuage to employees.  The project that I am working on this semester is a continuing project, as Medicare laws are changing in a direction that will take a drastic toll on healthcare as we know it.


This semester many things have been changed and improved in the College Unbound process and it has higlighted both areas that I am quite stong in as well as areas that need improvement.  In the beginning of the semester we had taken the

Big Ten Learning Goal Note Cards

Critical Thinking -  During this semester I must say that the art of critical thinking has not only been learned but applied in my schooling as well as personal life.  As I progress though this college experience, I am leaning to trust my ideas even when they don’t line up with the “normal order” of things because it will give space to new innovative ideas to form.

Reflection (Slide) - I have come to realize that not only is it important to reflect on your work and your college experience, but it is vitally important to allow time and space to do self-reflection.  Evaluating one’s self doesn’t have to be negative, but in turn can be quite therapeutic.  During this semester I had the opportunity to work on a play, something I had never done before.  Near the end of this journey I realized that what I had embarked upon brought light and self confidence to a lot of areas I hadn’t dealt with. 

  

Accountability and Problem Solving – This year I have had to be held accountable for quite a bit all at the same time.  I have learned that for the times where you just don’t feel like doing something, you must hold accountable for not only the thing you missed and catch up but challenging yourself to reach beyond because there is no greater feeling that being ahead of the game.  Mid way through the semester I came to the realization that I needed to come up with a new system to be not only held accountable but to allow myself to chart and plan ahead even though my blog shows I am working the calendar needs to show different.  So in turn Problem Solving has been more than what I’ve expected it to be.  It has been quite a useful tool and how I have conquered this problem was actually something I witnessed from one of my classmates.  And that was making a huge obnoxious calendar and placed it in a very visible place that I visit often in my house, the kitchen sink.  I made realistic goals for my days and felt exceptional when I would complete and surpass my own expectations. 

The Power of Vulnerability

Tiffany McLeod

Ted Talk

Brene’ Brown

The Power of Vulnerability

Ted Talk

Brene’ Brown

The Power of Vulnerability

Brene’ Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston and has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, empathy, authenticity and shame.  She has posed the question about learning to embrace our very own vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of worthiness.  

Connection is a very important piece to people stepping outside of themselves and being able to relate to others.  Many individuals scream for that sense of belonging and in many ways it is disguised and hidden behind shame and fear of allowing others to hear and see never mind sharing. And many don’t want to allow themselves to be seen in the eyes of someone else.  Many crave a sense of worthiness and struggle with the question of: Am I good enough?  

·         Courage- It takes courage to realize one’s own imperfections.

·         Compassion- Being kind to yourself and then to others.  Because you can’t display compassion if you’re not treating yourself with that same love and compassion first.

·         Connection- Willing to let go of who you think you should be versus who you really are.  And has to come with embracing full and total vulnerability.   

o   Debt

o   Obesity

o   Alcoholics

o   Drug Abuse

Society has almost taught us to numb these feelings that so many face regardless of stature because it affects so many within many different social classes.  There is no more conversation just blame in such a strife for perfection.

How Do we heal Medicine?

Ted Talk

By: Atul Gawande:

How do we heal Medicine?

Atul Gawande is an general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston Massachuttes.  Atul also is a staff writer for "The New Yorker" and has a faciniation as to how doctors can improve their practices in medicine by using something as simple as a checklist. Atul approaches medicine with a personal outlook, and really makes it a point to approach medicine from a personal perspective regarding, intention, reliability while urging doctors to make small changes to improve performance. 

According to Atul " Better is Possible.  It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity, it takes ingenuity and above all, it takes a willigness to try. "

How do we get good at what we do?  It’s hard enough to gain the skills, material but then how to master that skill is a different task.  As a medical professional there are many things one tends to think about such as how to sew, how to cut, what proper tools to use and what candidates they choose to operate on. In the midst of all this pressure comes a new concept of how to care for patients due to many that are concerned about “fixing/ healing” the patient.  It has been identified that many don’t realize or take into account the actual cost of healthcare, which has many countries asking if they can really afford what doctors do.  The political fight has questioned if it’s the government that is the problem or the insurance companies.  Lewis Thomas was a physician writer who wrote about what it was like to be an intern in the pre penicillin era at the Boston City Hospital in 1937.  Medicine was cheap and very ineffective; being in a hospital was only good because it provided you with warmth, food, shelter and the caring attention of healthcare workers.  Thus began the core structure of medicine was created defining what it meant to be good at what one did. And where we are seems to be a completely different world, but they can make it possible to treat much more medical illness and conduct even more medical procedures. Doctors have realized that they can’t do it all; many people play a part in complete patient care. 

4 thousand medical and surgical procedures and over 6 thought new antibiotics.  The question remains how many patients are receiving incomplete care?  How have we come to have such unmanageable costs to provide care to people who truly need it, to provide years to one’s life rather than a temporary fix.   The most expensive care isn’t always the best care; it is all about obtaining the best results.  Rationing has come into play having the government wondering who needs to kicked off of Medicare, and many have found that systems work the best.  As a people we want the best specialists, the best medicine and the best care but haven’t thought about how all of that comes together.  According to Atul systems can be good if used and evaluated properly. 

·         Find where your failures are

·         Devise Solutions- such as checklists that provide pause points, which will make one aware of problem areas and tactics.  Then focus on the killer items that will prevent problems from escalating.  This is bigger than a drug

·         The ability to implement- There is a deep resistance that proves how far away from being a functioning system we are.  Teamwork and communication are still areas many have yet to come up to.  We need to operate with different values which may be different from ones we are accustomed to such as: humility, discipline, teamwork which has been the opposite of what healthcare was built on, independence , self sufficiency and autonomy. 

Creativity Assignment

 

Tiffany McLeod

Creativity Assignment




Anthony Quinn was born with creativity running through his blood line.  His mother used to craft hand sewn handkerchiefs by drawing pictures on linen and selling them in order to feed the family.  Anthony's father embraced his artistic talent by playing Mexican folk songs on the guitar.  Even though their home was a humble shack, his mother took great pride in keeping their dirt floors clean.  At a young age Anthony learned that regardless of how poor he was he was convinced life could be made richer through the arts.   






I choose the Lolanda solid wood sculpture by Anthony Quinn.  Lonanda Addolori was Anthony's  costume designer and second wife whom he was madly in love with for 31 years.  The marriage crumbled in 1993 when he had an affair with his secretary that resulted in a baby being born.   This sculpture really showed the essence of a woman embracing her curves in a way that screams confidence.  In a world where size has become such a stigma of what the face of  beauty should be and the shape  of  a woman has been viewed that if you have curves or meat on your bones you are now obese and not attractive. This sculpture shows that Anthony had a love for a woman that was curvy, he excentuated hips that told a story and a stomach that had a buldge weather before or after giving birth and a stance that said yes i am still yet sexy.  

I thought this piece to be quite creative because through the eyes of Mr. Quinn he saw beauty in a way that others could only see from the surface.  He took the time to carve each shape and bring forth pieces that others may just have missed from the naked eye. 

Medicaid Provides Poor Quality Care: What the Research Shows

Medicaid Provides Poor Quality Care: What the Research Shows
By: Brian Blasé


There has been several research studies that show that Americans enrolled in Medicaid have less access to health care, and when they do receive the care the quality is inferior to the care provided to other patients. Medicaid is failing current patients who are enrolled and taxpayers must be notified of the changes taking place.  According to Brian the Medicaid expansion within Obamacare will further weaken the program and hurting those who truly need it and will burden taxpayers.



Medicaid is a costly and unsustainable welfare program that delivers low quality health care , providing low provider payment rates which in turn makes for a hard time finding a doctor.  By doing this it forces many patients to rely on expensive and overcrowded hospital emergency rooms for what is deemed as non-emergency care.  Medicaid patients are assigned to less skilled surgeons and receive poorer post- operative instructions and at most times suffer worse outcomes for identical procedures than similar patients both with and without health insurance.





In 2020 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare will enroll up to 25 million additional people into Medicaid including those who had private health insurance.  It has been suggested that congress should have another course that allows states greater leeway to determine how to provide safety net health care within a framework that encourages those states to be wise stewards of taxpayer dollars.  Medicaid patients stay in the hospital an average of 10 days compared to 7 days for patients who are privately insured.   Another frightening discovery was when a closer look was taken regarding children with asthma.  Researchers found that a child having private coverage was  5 times more likely to see an asthma specialist than if they were on medicaid.  Children with Medicaid are 50 percent more likely to be seen by a doctor in the emergency room in the past year alone.


According to a 2004-2005 survey only half of american physicians accept all new Medicaid patients
Many don't believe Medicaid should not expand but should be reformed because it is currently failing taxpayers and has become too large to serve those individuals wo truly need public assistance.