Research
Diabetes is a common disease currently happening in the United States, due to children doing less exercise and always staying home using electronics. This causes children to gain weight and eat extremely unhealthy, causing, type 2 diabetes. With type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, is caused by the destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. This type doesn't have a cure since the pancreas is not functioning; this type of diabetes is also referred as "juvenile-onset diabetes" since the peak of this disease is around the ages of 10-14 years.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) occurs when an autoimmune process develops in people who are genetically exposed to some unknown environmental trigger. The immune system then starts to attack and destroy beta cells. This destruction occurs over several of months and can last for years. During the destruction, you will start to notice some symptoms, including: increased thirst, frequent urination, bed-wetting, mood changes, weight loss, and more. These patients will require continuous insulin supplementation; insulin pumps are some devices these patients use to get the insulin they need.
These are great devices, but have some complications. The catheter that is inserted can often cause infections; due to the fact that the catheter can only be inserted in certain areas. I wanted to create an insulin tablet that would dissolve in the mouth; which would secrete insulin into the bloodstream and control insulin in the body. This would decrease the use of the insulin pump and decrease skin infections from the catheter inserted as well.
Mentor Interview
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish my mentor interview because my mentor had to move away and never called me back to set up a date. Instead, I did my own research and found many interesting things about nurse practitioners.
A nurse practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse who helps patients with what they may need including: ordering and interpreting diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnosing illnesses and diseases, and prescribing medicine. In an easier explanation, nurse practitioners do the same work as doctors, but study less years than doctors. Their salary is also a tad bit smaller than a doctor. It takes a 4-year degree to become a nurse practitioner. Before becoming a nurse practitioner, you must complete a Master's degree in a NP training program.
The average salary of a nurse practitioner is around $96,000 - $130,000 a year and $27-48 an hour. Requirements to become a nurse practitioner are to get your master's degree of science in nursing and a NP degree. You also need to become a registered nurse with either a master's degree or a doctorate degree; you will also need to pass a certification test. There are many types of specialties for nurse practitioners. Some include family nurse practitioners, pediatric nurse practitioners, neonatal nurse practitioners, emergency nurse practitioners, and many more. I am really interested in studying and hopefully become a pediatric nurse practitioner. I have always had an interest working with children and doctors. Pediatric nurse practitioners specialize in caring for infants, newborns and adolescents; they specialize in ages 0-17.