Stress in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Stress in Nursing Essay One of the definitions of stress offered in literature is: Stress is the psychological and physical state that results when perceived demands exceed an individuals ability to cope with them. The profession of nursing has thrived over the past century into a respected and necessary member of the health care arena. However, the future of the profession, and more imminently, patient care and the health of nurses, may be significantly impacted by repeated challenges in the contemporary era where current levels of STRESS and burnout are contributing to organizational problems, burnout, and attrition. According to the article The effect of stress on health and its implications for nursing, stress is seen as a negative feeling affecting peoples health either physically and/or psychologically. However, stress is a normal part of life and considered necessary to increase functional capacity. This article identifies and discusses the effect of stress on health and its relationship to nursing. First, according to the authors of the article, the effects of stress on health and its implications for nursing, stress affects people in different ways and is recognized as a cause of physical and _PSYCHOLOGICAL_ ill health. For example, Psychological reactions to stress produce emotional responses ranging from exhilaration, when an event is stressful but manageable, to anxiety, anger, discouragement and depression when an event appears to be unmanageable. In addition, _PHYSIOLOGICAL_ responses refer to the internal responses within the body that regulate physiological processes in an optimal way to adapt to the demands of the work environment. Therefore, physiological response to stress causes the bodys metabolism to increase in preparation for expending energy on physical action, thereby curtailing unessential activities such as digestion, saliva and mucus production which over a long period can be harmful. The short-term symptoms of stress include headache, muscular tension, chest pains, indigestion, palpitations; disturbed sleep and increased susceptibility to respiratory  infections. Second point in this article discusses stress relationship to nursing. The most important resource in any organization is the employee; therefore maintaining and supporting their health is vital to ensure their ability to work, to keep standards and continuously improve standards of care. According to the article the effects of stress on health and its implications for nursing, stress may also affect the wellbeing of the nurse with a positive correlation between stress and mood disturbance with common effects including: anxiety and irritability, depression and mood swings. Also, this article states that nurses express dissatisfaction regarding lack of autonomy, and practice a coping mechanism to reduce stress termed avoidance behaviors. This avoidance behavior may result in a loss of the caring element of nursing by giving only a clinical response to those in their care. Stress can have a significant impact on individual nurses and their ability to accomplish tasks. More specifically, poor decision making, lack of concentration, apathy, decreased motivation and anxiety may impair job performance, creating uncharacteristic errors. All of which can directly contribute towards absenteeism, decreased work performance, and ultimately, burnout. The information given in the article was found to be factual. The facts that the author used to support the argument are issued guidance from National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2009), Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (2007), and The American Nurses Association (2005). However, I found that the information given in the article is faulty because the information that the author is giving is a generalization from the literature and other author findings. There isnt any bias, propaganda or stereotyping. The author is not backing up his/her information with any studies. After I read this article, I think the effect on the general public specially nurses and other healthcare professionals will be very positive. This article inform about the effects of stress in health; therefore the general public, nurses and other healthcare professionals are going to be more  perceptive about their health and the impact that stress could cause when they delivering care to others. Furthermore, some recommendations the author suggests in this article are that shift nurses who have family care-giving responsibilities at home should be encouraged to avoid working consecutive 12-hour shifts and a special focus is required to concentrate on limiting the physical and psychological workloads that may significantly increase physiological strain on ageing nurses. Also, the author suggests to promote wellbeing among older staff nurses, nurse managers may consider providing flexible shift hours, ergonomic modifications, wellness programmers, and transferring older nurses fro m bedside nursing to mentoring younger nurses. Finally, my reaction about this article isnt surprising. Today, the number of medical lawsuit for negligence and malpractice is increasing, and it has to do a lot with stress management among health care professionals. For example, nurses are in constant tension. A splash of contaminated body fluid, a needle stick incident, lifting patients heaviest than them, etc., could jeopardize their life; therefore nurses not only have mental fatigue but also physical. As a consequence, errors and poor delivery of care can occur.

The Health Insurance Crisis in America Essay -- Public Policiy Issues

Health insurance comes as second nature to many of us. We grab that blue and white card and put it in our wallet and forget about it until we are sick or injured. When this happens, there it is, cushioning our fall like the extra padding it provided to cushion our wallets. This is not the case with everyone, however. Many Americans have no cushion to fall back on, no blue and white card to show the emergency room when they have an unexpected health concern. No HMO with a convenient co-pay amount when their son or daughter develops an ear infection. Medicine and other health services are expensive without these important conveniences that many people lack. These people have been â€Å"falling through the cracks† in U.S. health care system for years, leaving many citizens wondering: why would our country do this to us? Our great and powerful nation, the United States, a country that much of the world views as the most highly developed nation in the world, is the only industrialized country that does not provide its citizens with universal health care, according to a report by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA 1). Being that we are a capitalist economy, perhaps the government feels it is the duty of the people to make sure they are taken care of. This makes sense, doesn’t it? We are all smart individuals; we can make decisions and take action for ourselves. But what can the individuals do when the cost of insurance and health care is too high for them to handle? In the United States, the answer is nothing. A 2002 census published by the Public Information office showed that there are 41.2 million Americans who do not have health insurance (Bergman). That amounts to a startling 14.6 percent of the population, up from... ...ently, without expensive health insurance, Americans are in a bind. If they cannot afford health insurance, they surely cannot afford the medical bills that will fall upon them should they need to be hospitalized. Every other country in the world that is on the same level as America industrially and developmentally offers universal health care to its citizens. Some Americans are worried about the rise in taxes if the government offers guaranteed care to everyone. The insurance companies will suffer, as well. But the sacrifice is more than worth it. America was founded on the basis of freedom for all. Shouldn’t we all, regardless of income, be free to enjoy as many years of health as we deserve? Sources Cited National Rural Health Association http://www.apa.org/rural/report99.html Lardie, Diane Universal Healthcare Action Network http://www.uhcan.org/

Police Corruption Problems

Corruption has been in the dark closets of American policing since it was first established in the country. When policing was first instituted conditions were not the best, pay was low, and respect was hard to find. These problems coupled with the problem of a lack of laws in which bound the police to accomplish a specific task a specific way, meant they had enough discretion to hang themselves by. There shouldn†t be any surprise that corruption hasn†t vanished and will most likely never totally go away. It is just like the saying â€Å"Absolute power, corrupts absolutely†. It is just human nature to want a better life and get the things you always wanted. Some people, and police are just people, just can†t resist the temptation for â€Å"easy money†. People have a way of rationalizing situations in their heads, by thinking they are just taking care of their families and paying there bills. This is similar to the job I presently have, working in the Asset protection department for Sears. I see things I would like to have all day long, I know I could take them and no one would ever know, but I don†t. I don†t do it because there is a fear of getting caught or any kind of punishment like that, I don†t do it because of ethics and morals. I, like the majority of people see the opportunity, while a very small percentage of people take advantage of it. It is the same with policing most police are honest and hard working but, there are always some â€Å"bad apples† in the bunch. If you knew a way to tell if someone was going to be honest in everything they do, 100% of the time, I think you would at the very least be a billionaire. Corruption has to be defined in order to look at it closer. The dictionary definition of corruption is: 1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved. 2. Venal; dishonest: a corrupt mayor. 3 Containing errors or alterations, as a text: a corrupt translation. 4. Archaic. Tainted; putrid. Would consider a police officer who accepted a free cup of coffee corrupt?. What about an officer accepting money in exchange for not patrolling his/her sector. What would you think of a business person taking that same cup of coffee, would you believe him/her to be corrupt? I think you have to draw a line on what is corrupt and what you believe isn†t. I think you have to add into your decision making steps the â€Å"offenders† jobs, position, and role in the community. The conclusion I came to is that it definitely does make a difference on the job, position, and role in the community. I believe if the business person had nothing to do with the place in which he/she received the coffee, he/she is not corrupt. He/she just had an act of kindness betrothed on them. Regarding the police officer, he/she should not of accepted the coffee because he/she has a duty to stay impartial to the community. If he/she had to go to a fight later that same day between the person that gave him the coffee and another person, and the person who gave him the coffee was found to be in the right and the other person was in the wrong, what would happen? Most likely the person who was arrested (assuming this person had knowledge that he accepted the coffee) would most likely bring that fact up at the trial. If this situation happened the officer†s integrity would be in question, and the jury/judge would have to wonder about it. Of course accepting coffee is not the main focus of police corruption, its not against the law, nor will it have a overwhelming impact on policing. I do believe the illustration puts into simplistic terms the larger problems which are occurring with policing in large. It all comes down to â€Å"Do I take it or don†t I take it? † and it is enough? Corruption is like a drug in a way, you start small and just work your way up the ladder, until you fall off. I said before that accepting a cup of coffee isn†t against the law and doesn†t make up the corruption which we face today. I am going to describe some recent corruption cases which have been fought. As identified in a report by the Knapp Commission published over two decades ago it was found there are two different violators. The first are called â€Å"Meat eaters† who abundantly misuse their power for personal gain. These individuals go out and seek ways to get money and have the advantage. The second type is called the â€Å"Grass eaters† these people are the ones who just accept payoffs and such when the happenstance come their way. For the most part, when you hear of a corruption case you most likely hear about the â€Å"Meat eaters†, because they are the ones which get bolder faster with every successful gain. So what do we do about it? I said before if punishment isn†t going to stop police from becoming corrupt, what will? The first step to solving this â€Å"disease†, which is slowly eating away at public trust, is to acknowledge the problem. Managers on a whole use three different approaches when failing to deal with corruption. First, it is simply ignore the problem like it was never there. This approach is bad for many reasons. If the police can†t police themselves, someone will have to come in and do it for them. Public trust will never be gained. The second approach is a â€Å"pollyanna† mentality. This is where the manager discovers and finds the corruption, but downplays its total impact. This approach as with the first approach, will cause someone outside the agency to solve the problem. The third is the most lethal approach for the manager to take, one of a â€Å"cover-up†. Like the second, the manager discovers the corruption, but takes overt action to cover it up. Not only did the manager â€Å"condone† this behavior, but this will only lead to more corruption and abuse. This now enlarged corruption, will eventually lead to great public mistrust. A manager can overcome the problems with these approaches by assuming a realistic posture to this issue. This will allow the effects of the corruption to be less damaging to the agency. The next step to prevent corruption is to develop a plan of action. While no one plan will be foolproof it should include these three elements, recruitment, training, and investigation. As I previously stated, you have to come up with a definition of corruption to be used for your plans. I suggest everything from accepting a cup of coffee to the further most end of the spectrum be included. Using this definition stops people and managers from trying to decide what is across the line and what isn†t. If you try to â€Å"draw a line† this can create confusion and many people could rationalize situations as being OK. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) defines corruption as acts involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce either personal gain or gain for others. With a definition like this everyone from the patrol officer to the Chief knows where they stand. The IACP created the Model for Management Corruption Prevention, in reaction to the corruption running rapid in the departments. This model covers the three basic elements which I mentioned previously recruitment, training, and investigation. Recruitment is the first step in this process. It goes without saying that no agency hires people who they know are corrupt. There are a multitude of reasons why agencies should â€Å"Weed out† bad recruits. Money is at the top of the list. All the training in which the recruit has to go through cost the taxpayers a lot of money. Many agencies have policies in which they hire only trained personnel so this cost can be eliminated. Selecting candidates which have already been on the job, shows supervisors a track record and therefor gives them more information. The use of the polygraph is a useful tool when â€Å"weeding out† candidates.. Training provides outstanding opportunity to make a anti-corruption plan work. It does this for a couple reasons. First training gets the message out with concern to standards. Second, this training allows the recruit to ask questions and to clarify his doubts about what is appropriate and what isn†t. Training is divided into two parts, recruit and in-service. The in-service training is a valuable tools because the recruit interacts with a seasoned officer and allows that recruit to ask questions about everyday events. The department must also watch the candidate for a probationary period of about six months. This programs is called the Field Training Officer (FTO) period. During this period of FTO the new recruit rides with a seasoned officer. Most agencies can release the recruit during this period for little or no cause. The department may also elect to send their recruits to a formal academic setting for training. This in turn will hopefully help the recruit in making the right decision when the question arises â€Å"Will I take it or won†t I? â€Å". The last stage of this three point training is investigation. This is the crucial elements to this whole program, without it everything else loses its ability to function. If the public knows the department will thoroughly investigate all reports of corruption, it will instill a confidence with the department. The investigation phase will most likely be conducted by the departments internal affairs unit. The IACP developed a model for departments to utilize. The first issue to be addressed is staffing. In small departments this could consist of only one person on a part time basis. In larger departments this unit could consist on many officers on a full time basis. If you are really concerned with the corruption within your department, you should consider having an outside agency investigate alleged corruption. This will ensure favoritism will not occur. Once you have decided with type of staffing is appropriate for your department, you should decide where in the department to place them. The best location for the unit to be is directly under the Chief. This will provide for a direct line of communication of the problems at hand. The Chief should provide a clear and definitive procedure for investigating alleged allegations of corruption. Theses procedures may include: 1. Handling all complaints quickly and impartially. 2. Explanation that the unit only handles facts, and doesn†t determine guilt of innocents. 3. Meticulous and accurate documentation is a must. 4. Responding to a crime scene immediately where an officer had to shoot a subject. In summary, police are human and have the same compulsions which others posses. This of course doesn†t excuse the corruption in the departments. When you think of corruption in the police field, remember that acts which are corrupt for one may not be corrupt for all. Every instance needs to be looked in to with great concern and objectiveness. If we don†t investigate every allegation we will loose the public trust and this will make it impossible to do the job effectively.

An Analysis Of The Film Hamlets Antic Disposition Essay

An Analysis of Hamlet s antic disposition In the film†Hamlets antic disposition† the author Alexander W Crawford, describe hamlet as mad, but a close reveal of the play shows that Hamlet is straightforward and sane. His actions and thoughts are a logical response to the situation in which he finds himself. However, he assumes antic-disposition to undercover the truth of his father s death. After the Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius has murdered his father, Hamlet begins to plan his next steps. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold, so it s not like he can just bust into Claudius bedroom and bump him off in the middle of the night. So in this scene he warns his friends that he will put on an antic disposition—i.e., pretend to be a madman. In the first act, Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions and thoughts. When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy appearance Hamlet says, Seems, madam? Nay it is know not seems (I, ii, 76). This is to say, I am what I appear to be. Later he makes a clear statement about his thoughts of mind when he commits himself to revenge. Hamlet says, I ll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain (I, iv, 99-103). With this statement, the play makes a transition. Hamlet gives up the role of a student and mourning son, and commits himself to nothing elseShow MoreRelatedHamlet, By Alexander W Crawford Essay1213 Words   |  5 Pages In the film†Hamlets antic disposition† the author Alexander W Crawford, describe hamlet as mad, but a close reveal of the play shows that Hamlet is straightforward and sa ne. His actions and thoughts are a logical response to the situation in which he finds himself. However, he assumes antic-disposition to undercover the truth of his father s death. After the Ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius has murdered his father, Hamlet begins to plan his next steps. After all, revenge is a dish best served coldRead MoreA Comparison of Hamlet and Mcmurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nes2438 Words   |  10 PagesA Comparison of Hamlet and McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest It is suggested that in modern literature, the true element of tragedy is not captured because the protagonist is often of the same social status as the audience, and therefor, his downfall is not tragic. This opinion, I find, takes little consideration of the times in which we live. Indeed, most modern plays and literature are not about monarchs and the main character is often equal to the common person; this, howeverRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagesprocess of developing or presenting an argument; reasoning. The setting forth of reasons together with the conclusion drawn from them. 18. assonance- The repetition of vowel sounds in a literary work, especially in a poem 19. attitude- manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes 20. audience- listeners or viewers collectively 21. caricature- a picture, description, etc., ludicrously