Product Progress Assessment

 

Date: 3/22/19

Assessment:

For my final product, I am conducting a mini experiment for my screening test I made for my Original Work to see in comparison how it holds up to the MOCA test in terms of efficiency and accuracy. In addition, I am creating a pamphlet that describes lifestyle and dietary rules for people with Alzheimer's disease and for people who want to know what is the best way as a holistic approach for prevention. The reason I chose to have these two projects was to bring some sort of validation to my Original work, and have a tangible item that will be beneficial to the community I am targeting through my research in ISM.

I knew my work was going to take a lot of time and deep research, but things have not been going as smoothly as I anticipated. I was out of school all of January due to being infected with two viruses back to back. Due to this, I could not work on my project or see my mentor. In result, all of February was just a race to catch up with all my work I missed and tackle all that was being taught at that time. This period left me feeling a little unsettled and defeated, but I knew that if I was just going to moan about it, nothing would ever get done, plus everything continues on whether you like it or not.

Although this lead me to not be as focused on my ISM work, once I was out of It I decided to lock in and bring ISM to the forefront of my senior year. As of yet, for my test experiment, I have scheduled and gone to an assisted living center called Preston wood Court to administer the tests a few residents. I am also planning to send an email to a few teachers by this weekend to ask If I could have them be tested as well. Learning how to administer the MOCA properly and actually administering the test was harder than I imagined, in that there were lots of specifics that I needed to note. Also, the residents that I interviewed always put themselves down, and I had to really encourage them during these trials. I feel like the experiment is well on its way. I just need to write up a report, after I test a few younger people. I am basing my report on how I set up my reports from my microbiology class, and since I have written many of those, I have a good understanding as to how to tackle it and finish it efficiently and well.

For my pamphlet, I have made several documents that have links and notes to various sites that hone into a certain dietary or lifestyle aspect. In doing this, I will be able to give a very thorough response as to what is actually beneficial for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. My mentor has explained as to how there is so much research that is false or is not strong enough to make a claim certain. He walked me through on what I should be looking for as for the credibility of the source and its information. Since we discussed this after I started research, I am in the process of cross checking my information. In this stage, I am still researching and looking over more aspects that I have to dive into. The pamphlet form, I am planning to use canva, and to make it appealing and not bombarded with information, there is a link that Dr.Hitt has told me that can be put into the pamphlet that can let the patient read more about the information I put in. The cross checking sources is taking a while and may seem unnecessary, but this product has the potential to be used in a hospital, so I need to be careful in every aspect even if it takes some extra time.

This process, as cliche as it sounds, has been a rollercoaster. I was very down before because I felt like I missed so much time and was so behind, but I believe with scheduling and just really staying focused, I will be able to completely finish my project efficiently and thoroughly. I have a clear idea as to to how I am going to finish my whole project. I know how I am going to tackle every aspect, and I am ready to give 2,000% for my project. I am so excited for the future of my project, and I am ready to take on the rest of this year!