Thursday, January 30, 2020

Educational Preparation in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Educational Preparation in Nursing Essay With a consistent change in modernizing medicine, along with the continuing advancement in technology, continuing education in nursing is essential for a variety of reasons. The nurse’s main concern is providing safe, efficient, and effective patient care with positive patient outcomes. This paper will examine the differences in competencies between nurses prepared at an associate-degree level versus a baccalaureate-degree level, in order to provide an evidenced-based understanding of the variation in the educational preparation of nurses. An associate-degree nursing program usually takes place over the course of a two year period, providing the nurse with the confidence in skills and knowledge to be placed in an entry-level position upon graduation. These types of programs focus on preparing nurses for care settings including community hospitals and long-term care facilities—and were traditionally designed to compensate for the nursing shortage. A bachelor-degree nursing program typically takes place over a period of four academic years; and is intended to prepare its graduates to practice nursing in leadership and management positions in a number of care settings (Creasia Friberg, 2011, pp 25-27). A bachelor-degree program in nursing provides a further understand of not only the scientific and clinical nursing education, but also a more in-depth overview of specialized skills including: critical thinking, decision-making, communication, leadership, case management, and health promotion (The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice, 2012, para. 1). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing describes evidenced-based recommendations that explain that in order to â€Å"respond to the demands of an evolving health care system and meet the changing needs of patients, nurses must achieve higher levels of education (Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce, 2012, para. 5).† The professional nurse holding a baccalaureate-level degree is prepared for a broader role in patient care with a higher understanding of holistic treatment, community health, clinical research, and nursing leadership and management. The added course work provided in a baccalaureate program is designed to prepare the nurse for a broader scope of practice and a better understand of issues that affect patients and their health care, including: cultural, economic, political, and social issues. â€Å"Nurses with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees are well-prepared to meet the demands placed on todays nurse (The Impact of Ed ucation on Nursing Practice, 2012, para 1).† Patient outcome are the principal for continuing education. The level of educational preparation required by a baccalaureate-degree nurse allows for more equip decision-making in approach to patient care situations. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, In the October 2012 edition of Medical Care researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that surgical patients in Magnet hospitals had 14% lower odds of inpatient death within 30 days and 12% lower odds of failure-to-rescue compared with patients cared for in non-Magnet hospitals. The study authors conclude that these better outcomes were attributed in large part to investments in highly qualified and educated nurses, including a higher proportion of baccalaureate prepared nurses. (Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce, 2012, para. 9) With â€Å"Magnet† indicating a higher portion of baccalaureate nursing staff, it is determined that the nurse prepared at a bachelore-degree level is better prepared to approach a patient care situation with the capability of taking immediate action to provide better patient outcomes, than that of a nurse prepared at the associate-degree level. This goes to show that higher education has a strong impact on nursing practice. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, a better educated nursing workforce will improve patient safety and enhance nursing care, decreasing mortality rate—as there is a significant correlation between nurses educated at a bachelor-degree level and lower patient death rates (Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce, 2012). Through this research it is apparent that there is a significant connection between patient health care outcomes and the educational preparation of nurses. It is now established that the nurse prepared at a baccalaureate level is more readily capable of caring for critically ill patients; working in situations requiring critical thinking, leadership, and decision-making; and also taking roles in clinical aspects relevant to non-hospital settings. â€Å"Researchers have identified improved patient safety and lower rates of patient morbidity and mortality; lower levels of medication errors and procedural violations; and fewer disciplinary actions for BSNs (Altmann, 2012, para 4).† The need to continue education in nursing is on-going in order to continue to keep up with the changes in technology, advances in medicine, and to provide the best patient care. The Grand Canyon University Philosophy for nursing education explains: Baccalaureate nursing practice incorporates the roles of assessing, critical thinking, communicating, providing care, teaching, and leading. The caring professional approach includes the values of autonomy, altruism, human dignity, integrity and social justice with unconditional regard for all people. Nursing practice includes health promotion, disease prevention, early detection of health deviations, prompt and adequate treatment of the human response to acute and chronic illness, and compassionate care for those experiencing death. (Philosophy, n.d., para. 8) It is essential to maintain competency in nursing practice through the pursuit of continuing education. The difference between educational levels involves clinical competencies in a variety of settings, decision-making skills, leadership roles, job opportunities, and most importantly overall patient outcomes. In order to provide the best care for patients, a higher education, and continuing increase in knowledge is essential. References Altmann, T. K. (2012). Nurses attitudes toward continuing formal education: A comparison by level of education and geography. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(2), 80-4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1009642651?accountid=7374 Creasia, J. L., Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice [5] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books/978-0-323-06869-7/id/B9780323068697100029_p0150 Fact sheet: Creating a more highly qualified nursing workforce. (2012, October 24). Retrieved November 8, 2012, from American Association of Colleges of Nursing:

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Role of Women in Buddhism :: essays research papers

In examining the Buddhism religion, particurally the role of women in Buddhism, it was quite clear that the religion of Buddhism is practiced very different from country to country. Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha ("Buddha" means "enlightened one"), who lived and taught in northern Inda in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering. Women have been a part of Buddhism since the Buddha first made his enlightenment known in Northeast India in the 6th century BC. Looking back to the earliest roots, several nuns and laywomen were among the Buddha’s ablest and wisest Diceples. The everyday role of women in many countries is quite different from that defined in Buddhist scriptures. Pure Buddhist ideology The Buddah originally banned women from monastic practice (nuns) but later reversed his decision, allowing them to practice in seperate quarters. The Buddist scriptures say very little about women, treating them as equals. In one scripture, the Visuddhi Magga, a monk asked, â€Å"Reverend Sir, have you seen a woman pass this way?† And the elder said: Was it a woman or a man that passed this way? I cannot tell. But this I know, a set of bones is travelling upon this road. Although this verse attempts to show the equality of women on the spiratual path, there was, and still is... sexual stereotypes present in the culture of Buddhist communities. By contrast to such bigoted practices that hinder spiritual development, Buddhism can be claimed to be the least discriminatory in attitudes towards women. There is no doubt at all that the Buddha was the first religious teacher who gave women equal and unfettered opportunities in the field of spiritual development. Although He had on several occasions pointed out the natural tendencies and weaknesses of women in general, He also gave due credit to their abilities and capabilities. He truly paved the way for women to lead a full religious life. This implied that they were equally able to develop and purify their minds and realize the bliss of Nibbana as well as men. This fact is amply proven by the testimonies of the Theris (Nuns) during the Buddha's time. The teachings of the Buddha did a great deal to wipe off numerous superstitious beliefs and meaningless rites and rituals - which also included sacrifices - from the minds of many people.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

How successful was Philip II’s foreign policy? Essay

Throughout Philip II’s reign there were regular substantial occurrences outside he monarchia which forced him to implement some kind of foreign policy. When assessing how successful Philip’s foreign policy was it is important to acknowledge the aim of foreign policy seem to be in line with the traditional Hapsburg aims of keeping his land and passing them on intact, whilst adding to them if possible. In line with these aims Philip seems to have achieved a moderate amount of success in the first half of his reign adding Portugal to his lands and eliminating the Turks as a threat, however these successes are seriously undermined by his later failures in England and France The area of foreign policy where Philip seemed to achieve the most success was in his exploitation of the political situation in Portugal which led to Portugal being added to Philip’s monarchia. Portugal was already in a fragile state after the death of King Sebastian in 1578 the throne of Portugal had been given to his sick and aged Uncle Henry due to Sebastian having no children. This left many worries over who would be Henry’s successor and eventually by 1580 Philip was King of Portugal. Philip’s was successful in Portugal due to his two pronged policy of diplomacy and bribery along with the dispatching of Granville, one of his closest advisors to cultivate merchants of Lisbon who already were closely identified with Philip due to loans from the crown. This detailed and precise approach successfully ensured the withdrawal of Catrina – Philip’s main rival in Portugal. Furthermore despite the crowning of Don Antonio as King of Lisbon, Philip was very successful in invading due to his awareness of Portugal’s army being depleted from expeditions to Morocco. Another area of Philip’s foreign policy where he achieved a high amount of success is his neutralisation of the Turks as a threat in the Mediterranean. Since the early 16th century the Turks had been attempting to expand their empire into Europe, forcing Philip to react. However despite later success, at first Philip was very unsuccessful against the Turks due to surprise assaults from the Turkish fleet along with blockades and poor weather. On the other hand, Philip made these early setbacks irrelevant in 1571 when alongside the Holy League he successfully defeated the Turks in Lepanto. This was seen as making Philip’s foreign policy particularly successful due it being seen as the greatest victory for the Christian empire, and thus had a huge religious impact. However, Philip’s greatest success when dealing with the Turks seems to be the negotiating of a truce in 1578. Despite the negative repercussions at the time involved with Philip putting his own problems before religion, the truce was highly successful as it allowed Philip to have little need for substantial military involvement in the Mediterranean, allowing him to move his armies further north in order to deal with the Netherlands and also his aspirations in France and England. This truce can be seen as having a negative impact on Philip’s prestige due to the agreement being a sign that he had backed down and was inspired for fighting for Catholicism as his title ‘champion of Catholicism’ would suggest. However, its political benefits easily outweigh the impact it has on Philip’s prestige and overall was one of Philip’s most successful decisions in his foreign policy. One area where Philip achieved little success was in the last 15 years of his reign where he seemed to change his foreign policy to being that of an aggressive imperialist, this appeared to be due to the fact that he spread his armies to thinly, fighting on three fronts at once in the 1590’s. Problems with England began through Elizabeth’s fears of England being turned Catholic as she could see what was happening in the Netherlands. These fears led to Elizabeth signing the treat of Nonesuch with rebels in the Netherlands, providing them with money and soldiers. In response Philip ordered the Armada to invade England in 1588 and despite this limiting English interference in Netherlands it was fairly unsuccessful due to Philip’s plan being highly complicated, furthermore the two fleets he sent had no co-ordination between them, and the as the Spanish fleet did not possess heavy artillery it was outgunned by the English. Philip did launch two more Armada’s in 1596 and 1597, however these achieved even less success due to weather and didn’t even reach England, furthermore these crippled Spain financially due to the sheer amount of money each Armada cost to construct. Similarly in France Philip achieved little success and moreover due to his actions in France he actually contributed to the success of the Netherlands revolt. After many years of civil war and attempted interventions by Philip to turn France Catholic, Henry of Navarre, an anti Spanish protestant was crowned King of France. In response Philip ordered the transferral of troops from the Netherlands to attack France in a bid to claim the thrown for his daughter Elizabeth of Valois. Despite Henry becoming a Catholic, Philip’s attack on France was highly unsuccessful and led to his third bankruptcy in 1596 and the removal of troops from the Netherlands during vital points of the revolt stopped victory against the rebels. Overall Philips foreign policy seemed to be successful early on in his reign due to him being defensive and reactive up to 1584 as it gained him Portugal and eliminated the threat of the Turks. However after 1584 Philip seemed to change to being an aggressive imperialist possibly due to the fact he wanted to leave behind some kind of impact as he realised he would not have long left as King, however this was unsuccessful as he tried to do to much in a short period of time, leaving his armies spread too thinly without enough equipment due to his mounting financial problems.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Insights on Love and Marriage From Social Scientists and Aziz Ansari

The big news at 2015s annual meeting of the American Sociological Association was that actor and comedian, and now author, Aziz Ansari would be in attendance to participate in a panel discussion about his new book  Modern Romance, co-authored with sociologist Eric Klinenberg. On Saturday August 22, a huge crowd of sociologists awaited the insights on dating, mating, and marriage that would be shared not just by Ansari and Klinenberg, but also by Christian Rudder, the founder of OK Cupid; biological anthropologist Helen Fisher; and psychologist Eli Finkel. What followed was a fascinating hour and a half of presentations and discussion among the panelists and audience, including these thought-provoking and helpful insights and tips on modern romance. Romantic Love is a Drive Following analysis of brain scans of people in love, Fisher and her research team found that the part of the brain activated by romance is the same one that controls basic needs like thirst and hunger. Fisher concludes from this that romantic love is not only a basic human need, but also a drive that shapes how we act in the world. She explained that it is associated with wanting, craving, focus, energy, and addiction, and that it is separate from but adjacent to both where our sex drive resides in the brain, and the part of our brain that is activated by attachment, which is something that grows out of romantic love over a period of time. Love at First Sight is Totally Possible Fisher explained, after an audience member asked a question about the possibility for success of arranged marriages, that love at first sight is something that our brains are hard wired for. Brain circuitry for love is like a sleeping cat, she said, and can be awakened in a second. You can fall in love with someone instantly. According to Fisher, this is why a lot of arranged marriages work. People Dating Today Suffer a Paradox of Choice Ansari and Klinenberg found through talking to people in interviews and focus groups that dating in todays world, enabled and organized by social media and dating sites, presents people with a paradox of choice--we are so overwhelmed by the amount of potential romantic partners available to us that we find it very difficult to select one to pursue. Ansari pointed out how digital technology has enabled this, citing the example of a guy he spoke with who admitted to checking Tinder on the way to a date arranged by Tinder, and then checking Tinder in the bathroom after having given the current date just a few minutes of his time. Ansari and Klinenberg observed in their study that many young singles are simply not giving each other enough of a chance, and suggest that we need to employ the Flo Rida Theory of Acquired Likability Through Repetition (LOL but really). Ansari explained, Social science shows that the more time you spend with people, thats when you learn these deeper things and develop positive illusions, and the Flo Rida theory basically just states that ultimately, were all like a Flo Rida song. When you first hear it, youre like, All right, Flo Rida, Ive heard this shit before. This is very similar to what you put out last summer. But then you keep hearing it over and over and youre like, All right, Flo Rida, youve done it again. Lets dance! Our Dates Are Too Boring Related to the previous point, Ansari and Klinenberg learned through their research that people are quick to move on from a potential romantic interest after just one date because most of us arrange terribly boring dates. We go out for a meal or a drink and essentially exchange resumes and life histories, and very few of us have an especially good time. Instead, they suggest, we should organize dates around fun and exciting events that give us an opportunity to see what each person is like in a social setting, and to bond over a shared experience. Ansari referenced sociologist Robb Willers Monster Truck Rally Theory, which is based on the experience of Willer and his friends, who started taking dates to monster truck rallies, at which both parties had a great time, and many pairs blossomed into couples with great relationships. We Put Far More Pressure on Marriage Today than We Did in the Past By looking at the way what a marriage is and what we expect of one has evolved over time, psychologist Eli Finkel found that today people expect marriage to provide not only love and companionship, but also to facilitate personal growth and self-expression. According to Finkel, these expectations are far greater than those people have had for marriage in the past, and the problem is, married people today are spending less time together than in decades prior, so they are not putting enough time into their relationships for those expectations to be fully met. He suggests that this is related to a long-term decrease in marital happiness. So, Finkel offers that if people really want marriage to meet these needs, then they need to devote more time to their partners. However, he also observed that those who are doing it are doing it really well, as evidenced by how the proportion of people who are blissed out in their marriages has increased simultaneously while overall marital happiness h as declined. Heres hoping you can deploy these insights and tips as you date, mate, and marry.