Blog Post #15: Entrepreneurship

Choose a focus of either your final project topic or your career plan to develop an entrepreneurial assessment of yourself. This should be about a "1-page" activity. Some of these questions may help guide your thoughts: Do you want to be a "businessperson or an entrepreneur?" What traits and/or strengths do you see in your PDP that aligns with your thought? What weaknesses or opportunities for improvement do you notice that you would like to address to become a "businessperson or an entrepreneur?" Is entrepreneurship just about starting a business? Or is it much deeper and holistic than that? As the world quickly changes, which type of folks do you feel will be more on their "toes" and less on their "heels." Who do you think will achieve and live the happinesses that they seek in life?

The career plan that I have is to become a Physical Therapist working with sport/injury related patients.  I have never envisioned myself as starting my own clinic and dealing with the business side of Physical Therapy, the type of things that interest me include injuries, sports and improvement of health. 

Based on the lecture of entrepreneurship in class it sounds like I would rather be an entrepreneur than a businessperson.  This is only based on the differences we saw between the two.  I want financial freedom and free time with my family and friends, but I also want to stay safe, and I know I will worry about deadlines and paying bills.  These are qualities of both a businessperson and entrepreneur, so I feel like I would be a mixture between these two to achieve what I want.  In my PDP I stated in my long-term goals that I would work hard to earn a wage that will support my family which shows the businessperson side of me, but I also said I am interested in balancing family and career which shows the entrepreneur side of me.

A weakness that I have is worrying too much about things getting done on time.  I would like to address this because I know that it sometimes affects the way I do things and I might not get things done right.  Also worrying less can help me be less stressed in times when I shouldn’t be.  I feel like entrepreneurship is more about running your own life rather than just a business.  From what we discussed in class it seems like entrepreneurs are happier with their life and are in more control of what they have or are involved in.  Although this may not be true, I’m sure there are many people out there that are perfectly happy being a businessperson and prefer it that way.  They may work best like that and enjoy life more if they do what they do according to what they prefer.  I feel like people can work just as well if they are on their “heels” than on their “toes”, it’s just a matter if they prefer it one way or another.  If people seek happiness according to the way they want, they will be happy and have a sense of satisfaction.

Blog Post #14: Implementing a Lean Process

For the documentation, list/describe the waste you have identified and explain the process change you have implemented. Either collect some data that demonstrate your improvement, or realistically estimate the effect that your improvement will have on your process.

The following is in response of the assignment above:

For my lean process I chose to put my effort towards eliminating Inventory waste.  I have a small 3-drawer unit where I keep all of the supplies I need to do homework and any other kind of work I need to do.  These drawers are pretty messy and there are plenty of items that aren’t needed and get in the way of work.  During my lean process, I moved a lot of items out of the drawers and organized them so I wouldn’t have to dig for things I was looking for and I knew where everything was.  In one drawer I had many pencils and pens that didn’t work that I removed.  Also in that drawer I had things like scissors, a 3-hole punch, calculator, and rulers.  I moved these items out and put them in another drawer so I could separate writing utensils from those items.  This makes it easier to find things I need and will allow me to work faster and not get distracted.  I also had a lot of cords in another drawer that were tangled and not easy to get, so I rearranged that drawer to make the cords a lot easier to have access to and now I can get at the other items in that drawer.  This can help with little stressors and help with efficiency and speed of completing work.

Blog Post #13: Criteria For Evaluation

The following criteria will be used to evaluate my group members on our final project.  Each member will be ranked in numerical order (based off of this criteria) with the exception of myself. 

1.      Participation:

a.       researching topics

b.      adding to the conversation

c.       asking questions

d.      attendance in group meeting and class

2.      contributions

a.       quality effort

3.      Tasks accomplished

a.       follow the timeline established by the group

4.      professionalism
5.      communication

Blog Post #12: 5S Process

Post a record of a 5S process that you have completed. Post a before and after picture. Also, post a short narrative of how you addressed each of the "8s's" of the 5S process. Due Nov 11.

The 5S methodology is a program used to organize a workplace or area.  A list of Japanese words directs how to conduct this organization for a work space to be efficient and effective.  By storing items, maintaining the area and new organization work can be done faster, easier and simpler.  The 5S project I completed was my desk/work space at my college home which I use for homework and any other work I need to get done.  The before and after pictures are attached to this post.

Before

After

The 5 S’s of this program are Seiri (Sorting), Seiton (Straightening or setting in order), Seiso (Sweeping or shining or cleanliness/Systematic cleaning), Seiketsu (Standardizing), Shitsuke (Sustaining the discipline or self-discipline), and there are 3 more words that have been added to this methodology; they are Safety, Security and Satisfaction.  I accomplished Sorting by going through the drawers I had at my desk and took out unnecessary items, such as pens or pencils that didn’t work or tools that didn’t need to be there.  I moved my lamp in a better position and added another cabinet/shelf for more space for my things.  I also sorted through some lists I didn’t need and condensed them.  Straightening or setting in order was done by rearranging my printer and drawers so I would have more space to do my work.  The drawers were organized so each drawer has a specific category.  Shelves close by were also reorganized so I could utilize them for items I might need while at my desk.  For Systematic cleaning I dusted my printer to keep it clean and I will keep the desk clean and ordered.  For Standardizing I equipped my drawers and shelves with everything I can think of that I will need for the type of work I do at my desk.  Because this is a new and better system I will be using Sustaining the discipline will be done by keeping the organization I have now and only changing things for efficiency sake.  Safety was achieved by adding a power strip on my plug-in with a circuit breaker so if I possibly overload the circuit I won’t blow a fuse.  Security is accomplished by moving any valuables I had in my desk area elsewhere so they can’t be easily found.  Satisfaction will be obtained by working more efficiently and hopefully seeing the benefits. 

Blog Post #11: Quality Management

Identify and describe a quality management process that is utilized in your field of interest. Typically this process is in response or guided by a professional organization in that field. Identify that organization.

In response to the directions above: 

The field of interest I am searching is Physical Therapy.  The product quality of physical therapy can’t be measured instruments or scales, but most accurately by the patients undergoing the physical therapy treatment.  Surveys are a good way of getting this information of quality.  The system used by HSM, Inc. (Health Services Management) is used with the different health services companies they partners with, including physical therapy companies.  “Patient satisfaction is measured with a modified Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (CAHPS). A random sample of patients will receive the satisfaction survey and an outside agency will handle the mailing, data collection and reporting. This survey also includes questions to monitor functional outcome and quality of the services provided.”  This is a statement from the HSM, Inc. website describing the survey used to help manage satisfaction and quality of the health service.  “The Health Plan Survey asks enrollees about their recent experiences with health plans and their services. This standardized survey was designed to support consumers in assessing the performance of health plans and choosing the plans that best meet their needs. Health plans can also use the survey results to identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas for improvement.” 

https://www.hsminc.com/ReadArticle.asp?articleId=90

http://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/Surveys-Guidance/HP/About-HP.aspx

Blog Post #10: Specific Ethical Question

Ask/address an ethical question in your field of interest.
Develop/address arguments for each side of the issue then defend your position on the issue.

The following is in response of the assignment above:

Doctors deal with children every day, whether they are pediatricians or therapists they may have to face ethical decisions when they suspect that a child may be being abused.  My career plan is Physical Therapy so the field of interest for this ethical question includes Physical Therapy, but also includes medical practitioners everywhere in many different fields.  It is a doctor’s job to help their patients, but what if they think a child is being abused?  What is the responsibility of the doctor?  This is an ethical issue that has been talked about for a long time and there are opinions on if the doctor can/should tell somebody about it or not.  This is both an important and difficult ethical question.

There are people who think that the doctor should not tell anyone about the suspected child abuse.  It is against the law to break the confidentiality of the patient regardless if it is a child, teenage or adult.  They may think that the only relationship between the patient and practitioner is for the reason that the patient is there, not anything they might suspect.  According to an article written by LeRoy G. Schultz, “Confidentiality becomes of legal concern through legislative recognition and court precedent. Disclosure of confidential information could be the basis for professional discipline through an ethics complaint or legal action through civil or criminal liability.”  Breaking this confidentiality could get the doctor into a lot of trouble with the law.  If the guardians of the child speak for the child, and if they are the abusers legally they have the right to confidentiality.

On the other hand, there are people who believe that the doctor should tell someone, another worker or the authorities, about the suspected abuse.  Ethically it is right to tell someone about the abuse so it can stop and the child won’t be harmed anymore.  That responsibility is handed to the doctor once they believe the child is being abused because that abuse is wrong and against the law.  The American Academy of Pediatrics says in a journal article they wrote, “All states have laws that mandate reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect, and HIPAA rules allow disclosure of protected health information without legal guardian authorization under these circumstances.”  In other words, practitioners have the obligation to report their suspicion of abuse.  It is actually against the law to not disclose that information. 

I believe that it would be wrong not to disclose the suspicion of child abuse.  From my ethical standpoint, if someone is being hurt and you can stop it, you should.  There are laws in place that may protect you when you break the confidentiality and it is worth the risk to help that child.  It would be wrong to abuse the child in the first place, and suspecting it but not saying anything about is close to the same thing because you are letting that happen.  Of course you would have to have good reason and/or evidence that the abuse is happening, but if you confidently think it is happening, it should be dealt with.

Comittee on Child Abuse and Neglect. "Child Abuse, Confidentiality, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act." Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/1/197.full.

Schultz, LeRoy G. "Confidentiality, Privilege, and Child Abuse Reporting." Institute for Psychological Therapies. IPT Journal, 1990. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume2/j2_4_5.htm>.

Blog Post #9: Project Title, Issue, and Action Plan

Title:   Cure for COPD

Issue:   Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a disease that, at the time, has no cure.  Treatments that are utilized today are only temporary relief from the different types of COPD, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.  They include drugs, oxygen therapy and even surgery, but again they don't ultimately cure COPD. 

Action Plan:  
1. Meeting with Dr. Ruth on Thursday the 27th.
2. Contact pulmonology experts within the community and surrounding areas, and try to meet with these professionals.
3. Group meeting on Saturday the 29th.
4.  During this whole time group members will be researching their own topics and finding new and possible treatments for COPD.