Microbiology Journey this far

REFLECTIONS

    First and foremost, before starting the Microbiology class, i was a little skeptical about the subject and what to expect. "Microbiology" sounded like a very complex word and i thought i will just learn about little creatures called microorganism without any real connection with my course as this subject seemed to be mainly for those doing scientific research. However, to my astonishment, i started learning about microorganisms and their uses and benefits to the human body. Although i always knew that some food i eats like yogurt had microorganisms, yet i did not know what makes those bacteria beneficial to the human well-being and i also tasted something new;


figure 1; Yogurt coated raisins.
This first day's introduction to microbiology sparked an interest in me. Next i learned about the founders of microbiology and how they uncovered certain mysteries that has helped humanity. One of these discoveries that really pattern to the field of nurses that applies to me was the importance of hand washing  aseptic techniques, and the contributions by Florence Nightingale who is the mother of nursing.

Figure2; Florence Nightingale (the lady with the lamp)

The acquired knowledge different, bacteria, their pathogenicity, their shapes, and composition have also helped in connecting the course to nursing as this knowledge provide the way forward in regard to treatment. This helps me understand why and how certain antimicrobial (antibiotic) treatments will work on certain bacteria and not on others. The information acquired and learned this far in microbiology have not conflicted with any course, but enhanced my understanding of Anatomy and Physiology in subjects like pathogens, antibodies, bacteria, etc..
Moreover, i have been challenged intellectually to use different learning styles and i will say that i am both a visual and practical learner. In this course all the learning styles are used as we learn in class, learn through animations, concept map, and hands-on practice in the laboratory and in class.
The two most important things that i have learned this far are related  mostly to bacteria. Firstly, living things and microorganisms can only grow from other microorganisms and that viruses are a different type of microorganism because they have no cell membrane and are obligate parasites. Also, bacteria are classified as Gram-positive and Gram-negative based in their composition and thus affect the way some pathogenic bacteria can be treated.
However, some things still remain abstract like the importance of studying bacterial shapes, how to really detect these shapes through the microscope, and if it is just for identification. These issues can be clarified by me seeing some examples of microscopic view of some bacteria and their shapes and names. This class has changed the way i listen to any information in my environment as i always think of any causative microorganism or pathogen when i hear of a certain disease or infection.  I have also learned to reinforced my aseptic techniques by effective hand washing and cross contamination.

REFERENCES
http://www.northwood.org.uk/mind%20map%20florence1.gif
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSKnfsIwZ3FYZN8y8O0EUwUOCOEMwQX3tgFVNeWtjrwEHBkNC08