PROFESSIONALISM STANDARDS
INTRODUCTION In this essay I am going to write on issues of confidentiality and record keeping. Nurses are subject to ethical, legal and professional duties which are considered to be to respect patient's confidentiality. I will discuss about a nursing home staff that turned up on the ward to collect some personal documents that belongs to a discharged patient from the ward. Griffith and Tengnah (2008) "states that maintaining confidentiality of patient's information is a fundamental element of professional conduct and ethical practice for nurses". The reason why I chose this incident is to explore the professional components of the incident that occurred during my clinical placement and to see how patient's information can be maintained and the importance of record keeping. Patients' information is identifiable because of their name, date of birth, address and postcode. A nurse must ensure that all confidential information obtained concerning patients must be protected and disclose only with patient's consent (Rumbold, 2006). In order to respect the staff name's to confidentiality I will use a pseudonym to protect the patient and nursing home staff information (NMC, 2008). My pseudonym is Mr TC for the patient and Mr Anthony Adams. Pseudonymisation is a process that aims to provide a confidential solution to service users that are known to Trust (SLAM, Confidential Policy,
Law and ethics in nursing
This assignment is based on the ethical and legal issues that are significant to nursing practice. The specific areas that are going to be covered will be that of consent, accountability, duty of care, the Nursing and Midwifery council's code of professional conduct and the four fundamental principles used in ethical decision making, also known as principlism. The following statement will also be discussed: "Ignorance of the law is no defence and the nurse should be aware of the limits which the law imposes on her, and also the power it gives her" (Dimond 2004). Nursing practice is affected by many pieces of legislation and law (Kozier) and so areas such as negligence and trespass will be discussed. A scenario taken from practice will then focus on some key legal and ethical issues that arise during practice, adhering to confidentiality at all times. The main issue from the scenario that will then be discussed is that of informed consent and also how a nurse may use her role to influence people and their decisions and what the implications this could cause. Throughout the assignment, personal reflective thoughts will be given to show learning and understanding. A conclusion of what has been discussed throughout the assignment will then summarise the main points and make recommendations for future practice. As a health care professional, nurses are accountable for
Freud and JungThe psychological genre as it relates to sociological and medicinal matters has gained an increasing amount of scientific
Freud and Jung The psychological genre as it relates to sociological and medicinal matters has gained an increasing amount of scientific approval. Impartiality and the scientific method are both integral components to a psychologist's mode of practice. However, even the most esteemed of psychologists can only speculate at what makes human beings act the way they do. Absolutes play no function in psychology. Everything is relative and open to conjecture. Theologians give us their visions or thoughts about life. In the field of psychology, there have been many different regions of interest and speculation. Psychoanalysis has been the pinnacle of arenas to examine within the vast field of psychology. Psychoanalysis has been an area that Carl Jung has explored, critiqued and perfected in his lifetime. Jung was not alone in his exploration of the psyche; there were many other psychoanalytic perspectives as well. Carl Jung was said to have been a magnetic individual who drew many others into his circle. Sigmund Freud was Carl Jung's greatest influence. Although he came to part company with Freud in later years, Freud had a distinct and profound influence on Carl Jung's psychoanalytic perspectives, as well as many others. Within the scope of analytic psychology, there exist two essential tenets. The first is the system in which sensations and feelings are analyzed and listed by
Is Cosmetic Surgery really worth the risk?
Is Cosmetic Surgery really worth the risk? Some might believe cosmetic surgery is necessary to get through everyday life. It is freely advertised in television commercials, books and magazines. You can't even open a local newspaper without seeing page upon page of adverts for the surgery. This Cosmetic surgery is aimed at both men and women from any age group. It is the simple way of achieving "the perfect body". When I think about cosmetic surgery I tend to think, "Why can't people accept themselves as they are?" Of course you're going to get the ugly duckling of the family. However you know what they say, "Beauty is only skin deep". My personal opinion is that everyone is unique in a certain way and that people shouldn't change that so others approve of them. What makes people take the risk of having cosmetic surgery where there is a possibility of disfigurement? All surgery does not come with a guarantee. In some cases death has occurred and this is what no one hears about. People (the general public) get the cosmetic surgery done to enhance their looks (larger breasts or straighter noses). To have the perfect face or perfect body is impossible because everyone has a different view of what "perfect" is. It's mainly down to the person who is getting it done to end up with what is perceived as "perfect". However, some people get it done for medical reasons such as
Were Arab doctors better than European doctors in the middle ages?
Were Arab doctors better than European doctors in the middle ages? I N the middle ages, there were many changes that would affect knowledge of medicine a lot. In the middle ages, lot of events occurred, the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death and Great Fire of London but during this time, knowledge of medicine was improving a lot in some parts of the world. This was mainly thanks to some doctors like Galen and Hippocrates but now there were new legends, doctors like Rhazes (al Rhasi) and Avicenna (Ibn Sina). Although knowledge of medicine was improving, it was on a brink of being lost forever. The Roman Empire collapsed and Saxons and Vikings destroyed everything Romans made including the universities and the libraries where the medical knowledge was kept. That's when the Arabs come in. The Arabs saved and kept few of the books written by Galen and Hippocrates and translated them. The medical knowledge was rescued from total loss. Arab countries at this point had now more and better medical knowledge then European countries but as the middle ages went by, the Europeans will soon catch up. It was religion that mainly hindered medical knowledge in Europe but in the Middle East, Islamic Religious influence was actually helping the course of medicine as Islam encouraged Hygiene and Cleanliness. This was done by bathing once a week, brushing teeth, trimming nails, keep
Hormones and Heredity
Checkpoint: Heredity and Hormones The influence on heredity and hormones play a major role on a person's behavior. Traits are passed from generation to generation, and though upbringing and environment allow for some modifications in how those genes may or may not be expressed, the traits have already predetermined some things. Hormones have been identified as having noticeable control of physical and mental processes as well. Hormones are of significant importance. Hormones are your body's chemical messengers. They travel in your bloodstream to tissues or organs. They work slowly, over time, and affect many different processes, including: growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction and mood (Medline Plus, 2010). Hormones are powerful and it only takes a tiny amount to cause big changes in cells or even your whole body. Endocrine glands, which are special groups of cells, make hormones. The major endocrine glands are the thyroid, pineal, pituitary, adrenal glands and pancreas. In addition, men produce hormones in their testes and women produce them in their ovaries (Medline Plus, 2010). The thyroid gland produces thyroxin which is the hormone responsible for regulating metabolism which plays a part in how much energy one has at a particular time. When the thyroid overproduces thyroxin, a person will experience several symptoms, some being
Recovering The Soul and Reinventing Medicine and Healing beyond the Body - Dr. Dossey.
In the same manner as in Recovering The Soul and Reinventing Medicine Dr. Dossey - as expected by his friends and foes - takes on the traditional - or what the author would like to refer to as "modern" - medicine and science in his latest publication Healing Beyond the Body and this is despite his academic background as a doctor and a scientist. Dr. Dossey has been trying to go back to his new found roots in spirituality and discovering the effects of soul and mind in healing physical illnesses for well more than two decades. One would see this as a crusade in its own terms. Dossey strongly believes in effectiveness and necessity of alternative and "integrative" medicine, but unlike many of his colleagues in the "alternative medicine camp" he has an impressive medial background both in terms of academics and practice. He tries to apply this very credible medical background and practices as a means of defending the whole idea of alternative medicine and goes to the extent of trying to make a fusion of the two, the "modern" medicine and the so called "alternative" medicine. He attempts to create an image of a world where alternative medicine and modern medicine co-exist in peace, and in all counts above he fails miserably. One of the great flaws in Dr. Dossey's arguments for the alternative medicine is that he fails to understand or acknowledge the fact that the "alternative"
Critically discuss the theoretical explanations put forward to explain alcohol dependence and discuss the rationale for prevention programmes for hazardous drinkers.
Addictions. Critically discuss the theoretical explanations put forward to explain alcohol dependence and discuss the rationale for prevention programmes for hazardous drinkers. This assignment aims to evaluate current theoretical explanations that are relevant to the field of addiction and to explore the reasons and intentions behind various prevention programmes for hazardous drinkers. There are many different types of theoretical explanations and models relating to addiction, and most research has focussed on alcohol dependency. (Ogden, 2004) However it is important to define what is meant by the term "addiction"; Goodman (2005) puts forward the following as a definition for addiction: A process whereby a behaviour, that can function both to produce pleasure and to provide escape from internal discomfort, is employed in a pattern characterized by recurrent failure to control the behaviour and continuation of the behaviour despite significant negative consequences. (Goodman, 2005, online) Although the term "addiction" is still widely used current theorists and scholars are tending to use the term "dependence" in modern research and studies. People can become dependant not only on external substances that are ingested but also to risky behaviours such as gambling, extreme sports etc. In this respect anything that induces a pleasurable physiological change has the
Otitis Media in Aboriginal Communities
Indigenous Health Assignment Diabetes is a very serious health concern among Indigenous communities throughout Australia. It is a disease which affects multiple aspects of Aboriginal life, creating a need for a complete lifestyle change; one which some Indigenous people do not have the money or knowledge to be able to achieve. In this assignment, I will be discussing the epidemiology and trends of diabetes and why type II diabetes, in particular, is a worrying and statistically high form of the disease. I will also be exploring the fundamental causes of diabetes in Aboriginal communities, which includes a discussion about historical circumstances and socio-economic conditions. I will conclude with information about organisations and services which are helping to improve the health of Aboriginal people through community based diabetes assistance. The prevalence and trend of diabetes in Indigenous communities is significantly higher than that of the non-Indigenous community. In 2006, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that diabetes was 3.4 times more common for Aboriginal people than for other Australian people.1,2 From the data collected by the Bureau of Statistics, it has been estimated that around 6% of Indigenous Australians have some form of diabetes.1,2 However, this only reflects the number of Aborigine's who reported and are aware that they currently have
This essay is about the development of medicine in Ancient civilisations
Essay on Ancient Civilisations This essay is about the development of medicine in Ancient civilisations and whether or not individuals were the only significant factor to the development of medicine. Before the start of the Ancient Civilisations, there were prehistoric people who lived in small villages, grew their own crops and used Gods and Spirits for the reason behind the cause and cure of illness. Although they weren't very advanced in their knowledge aboout medicine, they knew enough to get by in life. The Egyptians didn't have an individual to tell them about the causes of illness and how to ure it, but they were more developed in their knowledge of medicine than people in Prehistory. To start with the Egyptians lived in a very wealthy country with powerful rulers. The Egyptians wealth was based on the river Nile. The Egyptains used the Nile for farming which was so successful that they became rich. With their new found wealth the Egyptians could spend their time training specialist doctors and metal workers. They also developed a form of writing and paper made from papyrus so that doctors could record symptoms of different illnesses for patients so that they ould use them again for future reference on ther patients. The Egyptians used the Nile to trade herbs and plants with far away countries to help them with their remedies. Egyptian doctors also believed that the