"Hepatitis A"

In 1995, the year I was born, there was not very many major medical discoveries. I decided to expand the area of my research between the years of 1990-1995. I learned a lot of new things that I did not know had even discovered or researched. One thing I found out was that in 1992 the hepatitis A vaccine was made and successful. After interviewing my mom, an RN, she told me that the vaccine was developed but not readily available to the general public. In the more recent years since 1992, the hepatitis A vaccine is now a routine vaccination. "In 1997, 30,021 cases were reported to the Centers for Diesase Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Notifiable Disease Surveil-lance System." When I found this out I researched more about Hepatitis A. You probably have no clue what it is either, I know I didn't. "Hepatitis A is inflammation (irritation and swelling) of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. "Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is the painful, red swelling that results when tissues of the body become injured or infected. Inflammation can cause organs to not work properly."There are more than one type of Hepatitis virus. There is Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Hepatitis A is the mildest of the three diseases. Some of the symptoms are, fatigue, itching, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and yellow skin. You can get the disease by being in contact with a person's blood or urine who has the disease or eating food that contains the disease. The Hepatitis A virus can be contracted more from the mouth. Unlike hepatitis A, the hepatitis B virus is contracted through the blood, and the hepatitis C virus is contracted through sharing needles. The vaccine does not prevent the disease like any other vaccine it helps protect you and gives you a higher chance not to get it. To help you along with getting the vaccine, wash your hands after coming in contact with blood or urine. "There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A. Rest is recommended during the acute phase of the disease when the symptoms are most severe. People with acute hepatitis should avoid alcohol and any substances that are toxic to the liver, including acetaminophen (Tylenol)." Like I said, this is the mildest of all Hepatitis's. If you have the symptoms of the disease contact your doctor. You can get a blood tests to see if you really do have the hepatitis A virus. Usually Hepatitis A is not deadly but it can turn into a worse type of Hepatitis. "When you recover, your body will have learned to fight off a future hepatitis A infection. However, you can still get other kinds of hepatitis."

"In the Eyes of an RN Nurse"

"Graduating from nursing school as an RN in 1995 was equal to embarking on a journey in my mind." There have been so many changes that it would take all year to describe them.  The biggest change and the change that has impacted the nursing field the most I think, has been the "decrease in reimbursement from Medicare." Feckers, C. "In the medical profession we would like to say that patient satisfaction and safety govern the decision we make I don’t believe that is always the case." Feckers, C. I think the major changes we have made have been to get better care for our patients, but to also get them in and out in a short time span to make money or break even. In 1991, the supplies were not limited, patients got a bath daily and the time for other care every night. "This began to change. I worked the evening shift and remember hearing the patients complain that the linen on their bed had not been changed since they came in." Feckers, C. This was just the beginning of the changes in patient care. Because of decreased money from Medicare, the number of hours allowed to be spent on each patient began to decrease, after that a bath took to much time. "Soon after our focus of care began to change our lengths of stay also began to decrease." Feckers, C. Patients would have to be let out of the hospital in shorter time, than a normal 3 days or week. We tried to keep patients healthy before they got to the hospital. We also started looking to the home health nurses and public health nurses, to help. "The home care nurses were given much more autonomy and began working collaboratively with the physician to maintain the patients health thus keeping them out of the hospital." Feckers, C. In the hospital the nurse has gained responsibility to care for the patient and work with the case management team to actually make the patient  be able to stay in the hospital. This, with the fact that patients were encouraged to help in their care and to call if they thought they have been released from the hospital too soon. Another HUGE change in the medical field in the last 14 years is technology. With technology entering the hospital older nurses and, the doctors are expected to use the computer to find things needed to care for the patient. This has been hard for many health care people. "The future will be interesting and exciting as nursing has changed so much since I began. Nurses will be required to do many things that are outside of the usual comfort zone." Feckers, C.

"Major Medical Advancements"

    In years before 1996, doctors were trying to find out how to colon animals, and other living things. They successfully coloned a sheep who they called "Dolly", in 1996. She was the first mammal ever cloned. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and other people at the Roslin Institute. She was born on July 5, 1996. She lived until she was six years old. A sheep's life span is from about 10 to 20 years. It seems like Dolly died young but she really did have a long life. Some sheep die between 5 to 7 years into their life. Another major event that happened between 1990-1995 is the Oklahoma City Bombing. On April 19, 1995 several bombs were placed in different places in Oklahoma City. This bombing, people said, "was the greatest terrorism act until the September 11 attacks in 2001." This bombing took the lives of 168 people and injured at least 680. It damaged 324 buildings in a 6 block radius. It also burned 86 cars. All together the damage done during this terrorism attack cost about $652 million. In this time I can tell you that things were not well. Hospitals were trying to save hundreds of lives. People that had been burned and breathing in bad fumes needed help. After this time a lot of hospitals had learned more about burns, breathing, and how to treat them.