Tag: sexually transmitted diseases

STIs Practicum Journal Entry

STIs Practicum Journal Entry
STIs Practicum Journal Entry

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STIs Practicum Journal Entry

This practicum is one of the most fascinating experiences in my clinical practice. Dealing with patients diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is challenging as most of the patient are hesitant to talk openly to a nurse or doctor about their experiences, which makes it challenging during clinical decision making processes (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2011).

Mrs. Kate (pseudo name)  a 21 year old college student presented to the clinic with complaints of itchiness around her genitalia, sharp burning sensation during sexual intercourse and had noted whitish discharge that had foul smell. From the clinical manifestation, I gathered that the patient is suffering from an infection, which could be either sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or urinary tract infections (UTIs). There is a thin line that separated the two, which indicated the need for  further laboratory test.

According to Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC), UTIs and STIs clinical manifestations are non-specific and are a common to problem for females. This highlights the likelihood of misdiagnosis. The common clinical manifestation for the urogenital diseases includes a burning sensation during urination, vaginal discharges and pelvic pain. However, in UTIs infection, vaginal discharge with awful smell is normally absent. The patient with urinary tract infection tends to have fever. A pelvic exam, urine culture and vaginal culture results indicate that the patient had yeast vaginal infection (CDC, 2013).

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One of the challenges experienced during this practicum was during sexual history assessment. Initially, the patient was hesitant to disclose the information because it is a taboo and also she believed that disclosing this information would victimize her. After reinforcing the issue of confidentiality, the patient became relaxed and disclosed the sensitive information.

The sexual history assessment was done using the general guide of the ‘5 Ps.’ This included the number of sex partners, the type of sexual activity, the rates of use of protection, and use of contraceptives. This helped me understand the patient literacy and perspectives about UTI (Schuiling and Likis, 2013).

The patients seemed somewhat distressed when I gave her the diagnosis results. However, she was cooperative all through the care plan. The patient was advised to have regular check up with the gynaecologists. This is because sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have short and long term impacts that can be life threatening. The short term impacts include emotional disturbances due to physical changes.

The long term effects include genital sores, inflammation, infertility issues and pelvic inflammatory reactions. Fortunately, genital yeast infections like other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is manageable if diagnosed early and proper medication regimen is provided (CDC, 2013).

The patient had tried to manage the itchiness and pain using Tylenol (OTC) and vaginal cream, which yielded little success. The patient was given fluconazole 150 mg and Terconazole 80 mg both orally administered one suppository/day for at least 3 days. The medication ensured that the patient did not get recurrent infection. The patient was encouraged to observe hygiene and practice abstinence during the medication regimen. Other hygiene measures such as mutual monogamy, abstinence and avoid of douching practices.

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This practicum was very enlightening, especially on ways to practice cultural competency. I noticed that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) education focuses in specific information on signs and symptoms which seems to be the worst case scenarios and a taboo to most of the community.

The only down to earth guidance is abstinence and use of condom. If not handled with care, the interaction with the patient could affect patient psychosocial status. I have learnt a lot from this practicum and will use the knowledge to help other patients to identify risk factors and practice preventive measures (Schuiling and Likis, 2013).

References

American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2011). Guideline for adolescent health care (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.acog.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2013). Incidence, prevalence, and cost of sexually transmitted infections in the United States. Retrieved from http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13174

Schuiling, K. D., & Likis, F. E. (2013). Women’s gynecologic health (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

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Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

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    Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

         Sexually transmitted disease among the youths is a global concern to public health.  The rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as syphilis, simplex virus, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea have dramatically increased among the heterosexual youths, especially among women of childbearing age.  Research indicates that two-thirds of the estimated 12 million new incidences of STIs in the USA are women.  

Women are twice likely to acquire infections after a single exposure to pathogens causing Hepatitis B, Chlamydia infection, Chancroid, and gonorrhoea as compared to men.  These STIs are the leading causes of reproductive morbidity among the women of childbearing age (Mittal, Senn, & Carey, 2011).

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This highlights that STIs are of particular distress among women due to their potential acute complications which can be life threatening especially during pregnancy.  These include complications such as fetal death secondary, pneumonia, sepsis and premature delivery.   My main inspiration for this topic is derived from the many cultural and religion expectations of women on mutual monogamy during and after their marriage.

This expectation contradicts most STI teachings resulting into the dramatic increase in STIs prevalence rates among this group. I feel obliged to conduct this research as women need to understand their STI risks, and learn the most effective preventive measures, chiefly because we live in a generation that lacks any assurance of mutual monogamy (Mittal, Senn, & Carey, 2011).

Without any interventions, a dramatic increase of the incidences is anticipated. This is has earned my interest as there is limited research on knowledge and perceived risk among women in the childbearing age. Due to the rising incidences of the STIs among the youths, evidence-based research indicates that behavioural interventions should aim at empowering women to increase their knowledge and perceptions of risk factors (Mittal, Senn, & Carey, 2011). Well, it is said that when a woman is educated (empowered) the whole nation is educated.


References

Mittal, M., Senn, T., & Carey, M. (2011). Mediators of the Relation between Partner Violence and Sexual Risk Behavior among Women Attending a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/olq.0b013e318207f59b

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Sexually Transmitted Infections Practicum Journal Entry

Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually Transmitted Infections

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Sexually Transmitted Infections

This practicum is one of the most fascinating experiences in my clinical practice. Dealing with patients diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is challenging as most of the patient are hesitant to talk openly to a nurse or doctor about their experiences, which makes it challenging during clinical decision making processes (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2011).

Mrs. Kate (pseudo name)  a 21 year old college student presented to the clinic with complaints of itchiness around her genitalia, sharp burning sensation during sexual intercourse and had noted whitish discharge that had foul smell. From the clinical manifestation, I gathered that the patient is suffering from an infection, which could be either sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or urinary tract infections (UTIs). There is a thin line that separated the two, which indicated the need for  further laboratory test.

 According to Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC), UTIs and STIs clinical manifestations are non-specific and are a common to problem for females. This highlights the likelihood of misdiagnosis. The common clinical manifestation for the urogenital diseases includes a burning sensation during urination, vaginal discharges and pelvic pain. However, in UTIs infection, vaginal discharge with awful smell is normally absent. The patient with urinary tract infection tends to have fever. A pelvic exam, urine culture and vaginal culture results indicate that the patient had yeast vaginal infection (CDC, 2013).

Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here

One of the challenges experienced during this practicum was during sexual history assessment. Initially, the patient was hesitant to disclose the information because it is a taboo and also she believed that disclosing this information would victimize her.  After reinforcing the issue of confidentiality, the patient became relaxed and disclosed the sensitive information.

The sexual history assessment was done using the general guide  of the ‘5 Ps.’ This included the number of sex partners, the type of sexual activity, the rates of use of protection, and use of contraceptives.  This helped me understand the patient literacy and perspectives about UTI (Schuiling and Likis, 2013).

The patients seemed somewhat distressed when I gave her the diagnosis results. However, she was cooperative all through the care plan.  The patient was advised to have regular check up with the gynaecologists. This is because sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have short and long term impacts that can be life threatening. The short term impacts include emotional disturbances due to physical changes.

The long term effects include genital sores, inflammation, infertility issues and pelvic inflammatory reactions. Fortunately, genital yeast infections like other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is manageable if diagnosed early and proper medication regimen is provided (CDC, 2013).

 The patient had tried to manage the itchiness and pain using Tylenol (OTC) and vaginal cream, which yielded little success. The patient was given fluconazole 150 mg and Terconazole 80 mg both orally administered one suppository/day for at least 3 days. The medication ensured that the patient did not get recurrent infection. The patient was encouraged to observe hygiene and practice abstinence during the medication regimen. Other hygiene measures such as mutual monogamy, abstinence and avoid of douching practices.

Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here

This practicum was very enlightening, especially on ways to practice cultural competency. I noticed that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) education focuses in specific information on signs and symptoms which seems to be the worst case scenarios and a taboo to most of the community.

The only down to earth guidance is abstinence and use of condom. If not handled with care, the interaction with the patient could affect patient psychosocial status. I have learnt a lot from this practicum and will use the knowledge to help other patients to identify risk factors and practice preventive measures (Schuiling and Likis, 2013).

References

American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2011). Guideline for adolescent health care (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.acog.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2013). Incidence, prevalence, and cost of sexually transmitted infections in the United States. Retrieved from http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13174

Schuiling, K. D., & Likis, F. E. (2013). Women’s gynecologic health (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 

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Teenage Sexual Education Project Paper

Teenage Sexual Education
Teenage Sexual Education

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Teenage Sexual Education

My project is on the provision of sexual education to teenagers. Teenagers that are sexually active are a matter of serious public concern.  In the past years, several school-based programs have been designed for sole aim of holding up the initiation of sexual activity.  Schools can play a central role in offering teenagers with a wide knowledge base that can aid them in molding their healthy lifestyle and coming up with informed decisions about their behavior (Shindel& Parish, 2013).

Detailed sexual education provides accurate information about gender identity, human sexuality, sexual health, reproduction and develops skills for communicating and relating to others in meaningful and satisfying ways. Additionally, it supports one’s ability to make sexual decisions with integrity and respect to other people.

Noddings (2015) reports that equal access to sexual education for teenagers of all cultures, races, gender identities, economic circumstances, and ethnicities are a matter of social justice. Young people who learn how to make respectful and intentional sexual decisions manage leading a healthy and safe lifestyle free from early teenage pregnancies, STIs such as HIV/AIDS, syphilis and gonorrhea as well as lost opportunities and barriers of economy that often follow.  Parents, schools, religious institutions, and community based organizations have a crucial role of providing detailed sex education to young people (Wight & Fullerton, 2013).

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How it relates to the Field

As a health care practitioner, this project of sexual education is central to my practice. We are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the public engages in activities that do not predispose them to health risks. We have a mandate of ascertaining that high health standards are maintained in the community. It is our duty to enlighten the public on the consequences of certain activities that impair the quality of life of the people and may lead to high mortality rates.

Therefore, provision of sexual education is one way of ensuring that people lead a healthy lifestyle by avoiding STIs and teenage pregnancies. The school is the appropriate environment of offering sexual education since it is often in regular contact with a large percentage of young people, with virtual all teenagers attending it before they engage in risky sexual behavior.

PICOT Question

Population: Teenagers attending public schools in the US. Students that were cognitively handicapped, school dropouts, delinquent, institutionalized, or emotionally disturbed were not considered for this project since they address different needs and characteristics.

Intervention: Sexual education on the importance of abstinence behavior.

Comparison:  The results of this study were compared to those of studies that focused of a group of students in public schools who had not received sexual education

Outcome: The results that were determined include; delay in onset of intercourse, decease in intercourse frequency, and decrease in the number of sexual partners.

Timing:  Evidence was gathered from studies where by the intervention was implemented for a period of one year and results obtained.

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IOWA Model

According to Schaffer et al., 2013, health care providers are encouraged to use updated research evidence to promote better patient outcomes and inform actions, decisions, and patient interactions to deliver quality care to patients. Different models have been developed by scholars to promote the use of EBP in healthcare.

One of these models is the IOWA model. This model is quite crucial in my project since it will serve as a guide on the steps I should follow for successful completion of this project. For instance, it has seven steps that each researcher should follow when conduct a study. These steps are;

  •  Selection of a topic
  • Forming a team
  • Retrieval of evidence
  • Evidence grading
  • Developing an EBP standard
  • Implementing EPB
  • Evaluation

With this model, I will be in a better position to actively read, critique, and grade evidence that will aid in promoting my project of sexual education among young people.

Feedback

A well designed PICOT question is an essential guide in retrieval of evidence in literature research. The question provides information on the type of population to be considered in the study, the implemented interventions, the control parameter, the outcome as well as the timing of the research.

Adhering to these steps makes a literature research simple even for novice researchers. The formulation of the PICOT question also supports an EBP project since one can select literature on the research topic and use the steps to gather evidence, implement it, and determine the outcomes of the project.

References

Noddings, N. (2015). The Challenge to Care in Schools, 2nd Editon. Teachers College Press.

Schaffer, M. A., Sandau, K. E., & Diedrick, L. (2013). Evidence‐based practice models for organizational change: overview and practical applications. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(5), 1197-1209.

Shindel, A. W., & Parish, S. J. (2013). Sexuality education in North American medical schools: Current status and future directions (CME). The journal of sexual medicine, 10(1), 3-18.

Wight, D., & Fullerton, D. (2013). A review of interventions with parents to promote the sexual health of their children. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(1), 4-27.

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