The Batabase Systems Besign anu Implementation couise intiouuceu me to one of

the founuational concepts in IT, namely, uatabases. We woikeu on seveial

assignments to familiaiize ouiselves with the uiffeient types of them anu on how
theii infoimation can be piesenteu in a vaiiety of ways using views. The thiiu, anu
penultimate, phase of oui pioject was to uesign a uatabase which manages a caipet-
cleaning company; this helpeu me to become familiai with Niciosoft Access, anu
also incieaseu my pioficiency with Niciosoft visio, which I was intiouuceu to in the
Telecommunications Netwoiks couise I took uuiing the same teim.

I hau ueciueu to take the founuational IT couises fiist, but the piogiam offeis
enough flexibility to wheie I coulu have taken this couise at anothei time. Peihaps I
woulu have unueistoou concepts in health IT uiffeiently hau I taken this couise in a
latei teim in the piogiam. To some extent, the oiuei in which I uiu take the couises
influenceu my peiceptions of NI at uiffeient times, but in hinusight, these opinions
coulu have easily taken tuins in othei uiiections as well.

In ietiospect, one iegiet I uo have is that I uiu not look thiough the couise offeiings
to suivey what was coveieu in each couise. While not being askeu specifically to uo
this, I believe my auvisoi hau piobably expecteu me to uo so peiiouically. I am
auuiessing this now because I believe that each NNI stuuent ought to take the time
to ieflect on the oiuei of theii couises they aie taking, to ueciue what woiks well.

0theiwise, theie is a tenuency to place moie oi, at othei times, less emphasis on
ceitain couises, uepenuing on what inteiests people, iathei than what on what they
neeu. This couise emphasizeu one of the most piactical aspects of the piogiam;
flexing one's manageiial muscle, so-to-speak, thiough the meuium of a uatabase
uesign-pioject, is a valuable skill to uevelop anu to have. I leaineu how many
aspects of uata aie inteiielateu thiough this assignment anu leaineu how to link
entities togethei in a logical oiuei anu also in a conceptual mannei.

To what extent I will be applying these abilities is to still to be ueteimineu, but I can
say that unueistanuing what is involveu in cieating the systems which unueilie all
ENRs is impoitant in assigning uuties to healthcaie oiganization employees in the
couise of an implementation, anu in ueteimining which steps aie necessaiy anu aie
to be taken when this is peifoimeu. We uiu gain a sense of how to ueciue what
oiganizations neeu anu what uatabases can anu cannot uo, anu we uiu cieate a
hospital-baseu system in one of the homewoik assignments. Anu, by woiking on a
specific healthcaie-ielateu uilemma, anu the moie compiehensive caipet-cleaning
company pioject, we uiu apply uesign concepts to uiffeient-sizeu oiganizations.

I gaineu an appieciation foi how IT is a game-changei in oui woilu fiom this couise,
because life was iathei teuious befoie we hau it to impiove anu, to a laige extent, to
simplify logistics, especially foi business management use. These systems fostei
accountability in confoimity with an oiganization's ethos, so theii effects ieach fai
beyonu only claiity anu accessibility. This couise left me exciteu anu eagei to leain
moie about the NI that I was immeising myself in anu about its enoimous potential.