Now This is a Powerful Message!!

Healthcare

I thought this picture was really interesting, especially since I'm taking a Health Services Administration class and recently wrote a paper regarding Managed Care; specifically on HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans. It's amazing how insurance companies as well as healthcare providers treat you really differently when you have insurance. If you want to know more about Managed Care, I highly recommend a movie call "Managed Care" and stars Laura Dern. It's based on a true story of how insurance companies deny patients life-saving procedures to cut costs and increase their profit margins; making money of the sick. What good is having healthcare when the procedures you need to make you better are denied due to high costs for health insurance companies. It's all a cycle and it's very depressing to know that although we do have health coverage, at times, your coverage itself limits you to what you need to stay healthy. It's reality, but it's sad. My advice.....stay healthy, eat healthy, exercise daily, and hopefully this won't happen to you!

This is exactly how I feel.....

Are Finals Stressing You Out???

It's that time during the school year when the first semester is about to end and all you can do is think about what to do for winter break. But before you make plans for that long awaited ski trip to Tahoe or a tropical excursion to Hawai'i, you've got to get through FINALS WEEK!!! If you're just like me and voluntarily committed scholastic suicide by taking 6 classes and studying for 5 finals...prepping for finals can be extremely stressful. Yes you will definately have to sacrifice the next few weeks after Thanksgiving to study, but if I've learned anything from mid-terms, stress only makes things worse. Therefore, I've come up with ways to help you reduce finals stress in 5 easy ways.

1. Stress only gets worse when you're lacking sleep. Therefore, give yourself a break. Either take 30 minute naps to energize yourself before you begin your studies or sleep a little earlier to get your minimum 8 hours of sleep.

2. Don't forget to eat. When I mean eat, I mean eat healthy food! Before you head to the library grab a fruit, maybe a banana, an apple, or yogurt! It will definitely give you energy and keeps you away from sugars and starches making you tired after a meal.

3. Take a break and a breather! Come on....your mind can only handle so much information. Give yourself and your brain a 5-1o minute break and get some fresh air or call a friend.

4. Don't overdue it. After studying all day and all night, it's important to trust that you've put in enough time to study for that day and continue tomorrow. Don't doubt yourself. You know your stuff!

5. Start a study group. If you're confused about a topic, ask your classmates! Chances are, you're not the only one who doesn't understand the age-specific rate of population A (except for you epidemiology majors). Study groups help with your studies as well as making new friends, which is a great way to relieve stress!

Have You Heard of Web 2.0?

My answer to the question above was "no" when I was first asked what it was during my Health Communication class. It was an overall concensus by the entire class that we considered it to be some outdated program, which we've never used before. Surprisingly enough, Web 2.0 is the current operating system of the internet and is comprised of the following names displayed in the picture above. Just like yourself, I was surprised to find this out as well. A perfect example of this use is myspace.com. Now-a-days it seems like everyone has a myspace account, except for the few people who are too lazy to keep in touch like myself, is a service that can reach a huge audience, is user friendly, and involves new ideas utilized by its users. Another good example of this resource is craigslist.com. Just like myspace, in Web 2.0, this is a resource which allows users to be on the same playing field. Everyone is able to reach their audience, regardless of location or status. The better we understand how Web 2.0 works, the better we can utilize its vast uses to ultimately market, communicate, and deliver health messages to audiences not just in our community, but also in the internet community.