Blog 27: Senior Project Reflection

1. Overall in my senior project, I am most proud of my service learning. I think that having the opportunity to work directly with the people I was researching gave me a really big advantage when it came time to choose answers to my essential question


2. On my 2 hour, I would have to give myself a P. I was really nervous and spoke way too quickly in the beginning, but I ended up making time requirements and covered everything I was supposed to, so I was able to do what was asked of me. 


On my overall senior project, I would have to give myself an AE. Throughout this project, I have consistently turned in quality work on time for every assignment. The dedication I showed to this topic over the last 9 months has surpassed anything else I have attempted in my life so far, and, as my product shows, I am not walking away from high school unchanged.


3. What worked for me in my senior project is beginning to do service learning so early in the school year. By starting so early, my interest in my topic was sparked early on, leaving me open to keep learning more about my topic.


4. One major thing that did not work for me with my senior project was how little we did first semester for the project, and how much we squished into these last few months. I-Search, towers, science fair, research, etc. could have been done a lot better in my eyes, if I had been given more time to do each. 


5. With my product, which deals with not judging people, I can already see a difference in the way I act towards other people in my daily life. It may be difficult to relate to, but I genuinely believe that working with a population of people I used to know nothing about has opened up my mind to be willing (an eager) to see what other types of people I haven't met yet!

Blog 26: 2-Hour Presentation Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

Blog 25: Service Learning

Log of Hours


All time used towards Independent Component is not included
Total Hours WITH Independent Components: 136.5 Hours



Contact: Shelly Lummus

• Through my service learning, I discovered most of the information necessary to complete my senior project. Being able to work directly with the population that I was researching enabled me to take advantage of a first-hand look into the life of those in HIV+ drug rehabilitation. 
• My essential question was created and answered entirely as a result of my service learning. The experiences I had with these patients was the best way to answer: "What is the most effective way to treat an HIV+ patient in drug rehab?"

Blog 23: Interview 5

I interviewed junior, Alonso Corona, Thursday, the 26th, at lunch in front of Ortega's classroom.


1. What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

• " I was thinking something in the fields of radio broadcasting or medicine, like pediatrics. These are possibilities for future careers for me."
• I explained to him that, while most seniors advise juniors not to choose a possible career choice as their senior project topic, I really recommend it. If you still like the subject after studying it for a year, then you know it would be a plausible career option.

2. What do you plan to do to complete the 10 hours of service learning which is due prior to senior year starting?

• "I was hoping to get into contact with someone in the medical profession or someone into radio broadcasting. I'm not too sure yet because I haven't looked into too much yet and I'm not sure about my topic."
• My advice was to look into service learning as soon as possible. I told him that finding service learning is very difficult, especially when talking about the medical professions, and that it could take longer than he expects to find service learning, let alone complete it, before summer is over. I also told him that it was good to make as many connections as possible with individuals that may be able to help him later on in his senior year with things like ideas and interviews.

3. What do you hope to see or expect to see when watching the class of 2012 present their two hour presentations?

• "My class is really into making really big projects and building things, so I'm hoping that the class of 2012 is the same, or better, because you guys are seniors."
• Basing this feedback off of my own experience when watching the senior projects, I told him that it is very important to pay close attention to the way the senior presents their topic, and see what works and what does not work, and apply this to his own senior project next year. 

4. What questions do they have about senior project? What additional recommendations would you give the 2013 student about senior project?

• He asked: "What was the most difficult part of senior project?" I told him that, although a generic answer, time management. First semester seems relaxed around senior project, and you amy not expect much, but once February comes, everything stacks up and it becomes difficult to juggle it all if you don't stay directly on top of things.
• I explained to him how important it is to take the senior project seriously the entire year, even when model assembly is going on. Due dates can creep up on you, and you suddenly have four blogs to write, an interview to complete, research to margin note, and towers to update, but you're stuck at service learning the entire Thursday afternoon. You definitely have to plan out your schedule on how you will tackle each new assignment. I also told him not to fall behind on the "little" things like research checks and updating towers/working bibliography, because the night before a research count will quickly turn into a very bad night. 

Blog 24: Independent Component 2

I, Carly Griffin, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."


I chose to spend both of my independent components completing additional service learning hours at Straight Talk, Inc. with my service learning mentor, Shelly Lummus. 


I knew that when I first started doing service learning in the office of Straight Talk, I would need to earn a lot of trust with the administrators of Straight Talk in order to be granted access into the actual rehabilitation houses with the patients I was studying. For this particular component, I logged 36.5 hours of service learning, a majority of which was completed at Gerry House in Santa Ana with Mrs. Lummus supervision. While there, I was able to see how the patients responded to certain treatments. While I was not able to work directly with any patients for privacy and safety reasons, a few of the counselors were able to share new counseling techniques they were trying out and how patients were responding.  


Being able to see how differently patients would respond to similar treatments led me to choose my second answer, tailoring a treatment plan to fit the individual needs of a patient, as my best answer. Before completing this independent component, I thought that my first answer, offering counseling and testing services to the patient, their partners, and their family, was my best answer. Having this amazing opportunity to see how real-life patients were each so drastically unique really changed the way I viewed my answers to my essential question. 


Log of Hours 

Blog 22: Answer Three

The most effective way to treat an HIV+ patient in drug rehab is by ensuring that patient meticulously follows a prescribed antiretroviral treatment plan. 


Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) are the drugs used by medical professionals to help keep patients' HIV under control. Of course, there is no sure for HIV, but antiretrovirals have the ability to greatly prolong the life of a patient with HIV when taken correctly. Currently, patients typically receive a combination of at least three HAART medications that inhibit viral replication of the HIV. In the absence of HAART, progression from HIV infection to AIDS has been observed to occur at a median of between nine to ten years and the median survival time after developing AIDS is only 9.2 months. The reasons for non-adherence and non-persistence with HAART are varied and overlapping. Major psychosocial issues, such as poor access to medical care, inadequate social supports, psychiatric disease and drug abuse contribute to non-adherence. The complexity of these HAART regimens, whether due to pill number, dosing frequency, meal restrictions or other issues along with side effects that create intentional non-adherence also contribute to this problem. 


Whatever the reason, lack of strict adherence to the HAART program results in ineffective treatment. The virus will continue to mutate and replicate until it becomes resistent to any form of management.

Without fail, my service learning experiences continued to be my main source in developing my third answer. Other sources, like Wikipedia, Aidsinfonet.org, Thebody.com, and Avert.com allowed me to see the HAART programs from a more medical viewpoint. 

Blog 21: 3-Column Chart

Chart

Blog 20: Room Creativity

1. I have been thinking about how I can make the classroom have a medical-like feel or a rehab center feel. In other words, I was thinking about putting up as much white around the room as possible to make it look "sterile", or I was going to give it a more inviting, "home-y" feel, like the rehab houses have. Obviously, I am still very unsure as to how this will be addressed.


2. I was hoping to repeat my activity that I used for 20-minute (the note card transmission) because I think my classmates really grasped the idea that my activity was trying to portray. It is difficult to come up with more exciting, educating ideas..

Blog 19: Answer Two

The most effective way to treat an HIV+ patient in drug rehab is by tailoring a treatment plan to fit the specific needs of each patient in any given facility.


Obviously, people are more willing to respond to anything that is geared specifically towards them, the individual. When it comes to an issue as touchy as HIV and drug rehabilitation, knowing that the plan you are following was created especially for you, you are more likely to follow it, as it becomes easier to see a successful ending. Also, each patient in a drug rehabilitation facility has their own story of why they got there in the first place, which means they each need their own way to ensure never having to come back to rehab. As an administrator, you must realize that coming up with one master plan to crank patients out of your facility will hurt the patient (and society), as you have no way of knowing whether or not you've addressed the specific reason the patient came to your facility in the first place. Relationships must be formed between patients and those administering treatment to make sure the patient gets the most help out of their stay. 


My service learning at Straight Talk, Inc. was, again, the biggest help in determining my second answer. Also, fact sheets from Aidsinfonet.org and the CDC have been extremely helpful in better understanding the many answers to my essential question.  

Blog 18: The Product

So far, the best definition of my product from the senior project has to be my newly acquired ability to be able to look at each individual I come into contact with, and not judge them by what I know about them and/or their past, but allow them a clean slate in my mind. In other words, when most people think about HIV+ patients in a drug rehab facility, it is customary to immediately think down upon them. This is nobody's fault, it's simply how society has groomed us to behave. Being able to overcome this in my mind is something that I have hoped for since the first day I looked into studying this topic, as I knew it would give be the best insight into how I can help these people turn their lives around. Now, when I walk into the rehabilitation centers to do service learning, I subconsciously take on the same mindset that comes with waking into the grocery store or college classroom - these people are just like me, and they each have something new to offer, all they need is a chance. 


Obviously, it is difficult to provide evidence that supports something like this. Honestly, I feel as though my many hours volunteering at Straight Talk Counseling, Inc. should show that I am in a setting that leaves me comfortable enough to come back for more. 

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

1. Do you find it difficult to interact with HIV+ people?
2. What do you think about stigmas attached to HIV+ drug rehab patients?
3. Have there been any particular stories you have heard that really caught your attention?
4. Do you think many patients who have HIV know how they contracted it?
5. Do you think many patients who have HIV knows how HIV spreads?
6. Do many HIV+ patients believe their status is a death sentence?
7. Do you think many patients who have HIV may have been able to avoid contracting it if they had more knowledge on the nature of the virus?
8. Do you think many patients with HIV are cautious about spreading their virus with others? Or do they appear to not care about the welfare of others?
9. What are some limitations an HIV+ person will have in attempting to live their everyday life?
10. Do most HIV+ people know what the general population thinks about HIV?
11. Are there certain qualities needed in a caregiver to successfully treat an HIV+ patient?
12. Are there certain qualities needed in a therapist to successfully counsel an HIV+ patient? 
13. Are there certain things that should be avoided when trying to treat an HIV+ patient?
14. Are there certain things that should be specifically addressed when trying to treat an HIV+ patient?
15. Do you think that most patients that leave your facility are ready to face the "real world"?
16. What special measures must be taken when it comes to patients that are placed into your facility due to court mandating?
17. How does your facility approach patients who are obviously unwilling to cooperate?
18. What types of education are required of those that work at the rehab houses?
19. Do you think that, in time, the world will become more or less accepting of those with HIV?
20. What are some basic signs a patient may show to let you know their treatment is working? 

Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

For Independent Component Two, I plan on completing an extra 30 hours of service learning. I am currently completing my service learning at Straight Talk under Administrator, Shelly Lummus. 


I am confident that there will be no problem for me to complete the thirty hours required for the independent component. I have been volunteering a few days a week since the beginning of September, and I have already completed a large portion of my required hours. 


Since Straight Talk is a counseling and rehab center that primarily focuses on drug addicts, I get an up-close look at what goes into treating an HIV+ drug addict in rehab. Straight Talk has two rehab "houses" dedicated to HIV+ patients, and the individuals that run these houses are more than happy to give me any information I may need if I ask. Unfortunately because I am not 18 years old, I am not able to volunteer directly at these houses. However, I still feel as though I am answering my EQ thoroughly through my Independent Component.  

Blog 15: Independent Component 1

Click Here for Log of Hours

I, Carly Griffin, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.


Literal
Going with the short summaries provided on the log, I mainly helped the office in whatever tasks they needed assistance on. 


Interpretive
More service learning allows me to gain a better perspective as to what goes on "behind the scenes" at this non-profit geared towards helping drug addicts with HIV. The patients have a very limited group of supporters willing to help them, and working with a couple of those extraordinary people has really opened my eyes to the struggles this group faces every day just to survive.


Applied
Learning first-hand about what patients and caregivers go through to rehabilitate an HIV+ drug addict is truly a new experience that I would never gain through ay other type of research. The more time I spend at this facility, the more information I gather to share/research further throughout the remainder of the Senior Project. 

Blog 14: Presentation 2 Rough Draft

20-Minute Lesson Plan

Blog 13: Answer One

Answer One

The most effective way to treat an HIV+ patient in drug rehab is by providing HIV counseling and testing services to patients, their partners, and their family.

Once a patient is informed that he/she has contracted HIV, it is very important to talk about it with those who the patient may have spread the disease to. Testing should be made available to those who may have contracted the disease. It is also very important to discuss ways that transmission can be prevented with the patient. 

Almost every single piece of research I have collected thus far has introduced this idea when talking about ways to rehabilitate HIV+ patients in drug treatment centers. One website that has been extremely beneficial throughout has been TheBody.com.  

Blog 12: Service Learning

I am volunteering at Straight Talk, Inc. 

My contact is the administrator, Shelly Lummus. She can be reached at 714.828.2000, Ext 111 (She does not work Friday). 

So far, the main things I have been doing include various office activities that allow me to see the other side of running the treatment center (filing, organization, etc.) and errands for the office. It is very difficult for this small staff to run this non-profit, and I am grateful that they allow me to shadow them, so I do whatever I can to help them out. Other things I have done are attending a "graduation" ceremony for one of the rehab patients, and sitting in on a meeting with the administrators involved in HIV treatment centers in Orange County regarding housing for the clients. I have worked about 50 hours so far at Straight Talk for service learning. 

ESLRs

Effective Communicator
1. I am trying to learn how to communicate effectively with people I don't know. I tend to be very shy when meeting new people and I can already see the difference the senior project is making on that.
2. Talking with the people at the rehabilitation centers and and my service learning center has almost forced me to be confident in what I say, especially when meeting new people. Most of the clients at the treatment centers are usually not very accepting of new people, so I need to show them that I am someone worth getting to know.
3. I am hoping that this makes me a better presenter at school. I am usually not very intimidated by my peers, but my speech doesn't always come off as confident. I am hoping that my senior project enables me to change that.


Effective Learner
1. I am hoping to find a different way to collect research - other than google. I feel as though I don't get very "respectable" research with the sources I use now.
2. I am hoping to get more research from my service learning center. They have a lot of data that I have been told I was allowed to sort through.
3. A lot of this research will aid me in my senior project. Hopefully, I will start getting better research like that so I don't have to rely on search engines.

Blog 11: Third Interview Questions

1. What do you think is the most effective way to treat an HIV+ patient in drug rehab?
2. Do you think that HIV+ patients require specific care that other patients may not need? Why?
3. Do you think that HIV+ patients should be housed separately from those that are not HIV+? Why?
4. Do you think that HIV+ patients may think their "special attention" is not in their best interest? Why?
5. How is the way we treat HIV+ patients in drug rehab different today than it has been in the past? Why do you think this has changed?
6. What are some risks that occur when caring for an HIV+ drug patient? 
7. Other than the disease itself, are there any notable differences between HIV+ patients in the program when compared to those without the disease?
8. Roughly how much more money does it cost to put an HIV+ patient through rehab compared to those without HIV?
9. Do patients without HIV show any resentment towards those with HIV? What about the other way around?
10. Roughly how many HIV+ patients does your center house versus those without HIV?