'You must treat information about patients and clients as confidential and use it only for the purpose for which it was given.' This essay explores the above statement taken from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002).

'You must treat information about patients and clients as confidential and use it only for the purpose for which it was given.' This essay explores the above statement taken from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002). The aim of this essay is to demonstrate an understanding of issues that influence professional practice and the ways in which care may be delivered to patients regarding the issue of confidentiality. Reference will be made to published literature to support the views put forward in this essay. Confidential information is information that is either identified by the patient as confidential or is classified as confidential by applicable law or regulation. Confidentiality has long been emphasised in nursing practice. The Nightingale oath states that 'every nurse should be one who is to be depended upon, in other words capable of being a 'confidential nurse' she must be no gossip; no vain talker; she should never answer questions about her sick except to those who have the right to ask them. (Nightingale 1859). This statement shows that confidentiality has long played an important role in nursing care and it still plays a fundamental role in the profession today. However, as the health care has developed in complexity, so the boundaries of confidentiality have become increasingly difficult to define. (Mason and McCall).

  • Word count: 3149
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Compare Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Old Nurse’s Story” with “The Call” by Robert Westall. Which do you think is more successful?

Compare Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Old Nurse's Story" with "The Call" by Robert Westall. Which do you think is more successful? Most ghost stories have certain conventions that we expect them to follow, such as vulnerable characters and supernatural goings on. The ghost stories "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell and Robert Westall's "The Call" both follow some of these conventions. In ghost stories there is often an isolated setting, such as a wood or a house with land all around it and no neighbours. When people are isolated there is no one around to help when help is needed, and sometimes there is no way of contacting people, making people susceptible to bad things. Most of the time the main character of a ghost story is a young woman or a child, because they are seen as vulnerable; children because they are young and impressionable and young women because they are thought of as weak, and an easy target for ghosts and other bad things. Ghost stories are often set in large old mansions or castles with lots of wings and quarters where ghosts can hide. Quite often there is bad weather such as thunder and lightening, heavy rain, fog and snow. The bad weather can create a spooky atmosphere and also a sense of vulnerability and isolation. Sometimes the bad weather in ghost stories brings down telephone lines, so there can be no communicating with people, adding to the

  • Word count: 1252
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Perform a patient case study that will focus on the appraisal of the nursing model used in practice, culturally specific components of care, health education and promotion, and the multidisciplinary approaches to care provision.

Health, Society and Care Provision The aim of the assignment is to perform a patient case study that will focus on the appraisal of the nursing model used in practice, culturally specific components of care, health education and promotion, and the multidisciplinary approaches to care provision. All names in the case study have been changed to protect the patients' identity, to conform with The Code (2008) and Data Protection Act (1998). Edna is an 87 year old female, has a good quality of life and is busy socially. She lives alone and has been widowed for ten years, yet has plenty of family and friends close by. She is self sufficient, does her own cooking and cleaning, and drives to see her friends. Edna's previous occupation was a dinner lady at the local school where she served for over 30 years. She is a devout Roman Catholic and goes to Church every Sunday. Edna has previous medical history of hypertension, angina and arthritis, all of which are controlled with medication. More recently she had urinary problems and was suffering from incontinence. She was referred to the urology consultant and after tests, he discovered a blockage in her bladder that would require an operation for its removal. She was then seen by the specialist urology nurse who explained the procedure and went through the pre-operation checklist with her. Edna was admitted onto the ward in

  • Word count: 2902
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Discuss how development of self-awareness in the nurse may assist him/her in delivering patient care

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ENGLAND Module title: Psychology and Communication within a context of Nursing Module Number: 6190 Title of Assignment: Discuss how development of self-awareness in the nurse may assist him/her in delivering patient care Submission Date: 30th May 2000 Student Name: Steven Perks University Number: 99024365 Word Count: 2204 CONTENTS PAGE Page No PART 1 - TOPIC DISCUSSION Discuss how development of self-awareness in the nurse may assist him /her in delivering patient care. 1-8 PART 2 - REFERENCE LIST A full reference list, using the Harvard referencing system. 9-10 Discuss how development of self-awareness in the nurse may assist him/her in delivering patient care. Self-awareness skills are vital for all therapeutic interaction and development of such skills should be built into all training programmes (English National Board 1987). This essay will attempt to identify a variety of theories based upon the concept of the 'self' and acknowledge the importance as well as the problems in becoming self-aware. The author has chosen this topic to gain insight into the importance of developing self-awareness, as Stein-Parbury (1993) comments the more nurses understand about themselves, the easier it becomes to understand patients.

  • Word count: 2644
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Observation and reflection. Measuring vital signs - Temperature, Pulse, Respiration and Blood Pressure.

OBSERVATIONS Temperature, Pulse, Respiration and Blood Pressure Temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure are the vital signs which indicate the body's ability to regulate body temperature, maintain blood flow, and oxygenate body tissues. Vital signs indicate patients' responses to the physical, environmental, and psychological stressors. Vital signs may also reveal sudden changes in a patient's condition (NICE 2007). A change in one vital sign can directly lead to a detection of a change in another vital sign. As a first year student l was allocated a new post-operative patient from the theatres to the orthopaedic ward by my mentor and to record patients' observations. The British journal of Nursing (2006) states that patient's vital signs need to be measured and recorded upon arrival to a health care facility as well as on admission to the ward. I also had the opportunity to do baseline observations. According to the Emergency Medical Service, 2006, p194, the baseline observation is used to ...."identify the patient's condition, such as the improvement, stability or deterioration." Prior to going over to the patient, l made sure that my equipment was clean and functioning well. l also had to have the MEWS Chart where l would record the vital signs data. MEWS is acronym for the 'Modified Early Warning System'. In the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) Code

  • Word count: 1670
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Improving pain management in cancer patients

Improving pain management in cancer patients Abstract Pain is often the most feared aspect of cancer. Therefore, pain management is an ongoing and important issue, which concerns many patients and health professionals alike. Many misbeliefs from health professionals and patients, such as "pain is an unmanageable and inevitable feature of advanced cancer" or "opioids cause addiction" have led, and are still leading to ineffective pain management that causes unnecessary suffering and reduces quality of life. Recent advances in the understanding of pain and pain management are shifting the trend from unnecessary suffering and reduced quality of life to effectively controlling pain in up to 90% of cancer patients. New treatment options that have been developed to control pain effectively do not only include new technologies and advances in pharmacology but also ways of caring for the cancer patient and changes in the whole health care sector. Some major breakthroughs in pain management such as controlled release morphine and patient controlled analgesia pumps have replaced outdated and less effective methods of pain management. Furthermore, many alternative measures of controlling pain in cancer patients, such as acupuncture, massage and relaxation have proven to be helpful as adjuncts to therapy in pain control. Such alternative measures have been known for many years and

  • Word count: 4240
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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A critique of a research article from a professional journal

A critique of a research article from a professional journal Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a wide ranging term with a large and multi-faceted meaning. Traditionally, a narrow definition may refer to EBP as "...de-emphasising intuition, unsystematic clinical experience...and stresses the examination of clinical evidence from research" (Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group, 1992). This definition misses the current broad and overarching nature of evidence-based practice. A more broad and current definition by the McMaster University Evidence Based Medicine Group (1996) identifies implications for the research used, for example concepts such as validity and appropriate data collection methods, as well as acknowledging patient preference as an important factor. Evidence-based practice has become a cornerstone of a variety of professional conduct, for example, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) mandates, for example, that all advice given to patients is based upon the best available evidence (NMC, 2008). The evidence provided by research does not, however, necessarily mandate a change in practice: the whole purpose of EBP is to use available research to inform practice, and as a result of good judgement by practitioners ensure that as healthcare professionals we do what is best by our patients (Sackett, 1996). The paper selected for analysis is called "Effective and

  • Word count: 4240
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Broncho Pulmonary Dysplasia. The following discussion will analyse issues related to babies who develop broncho pulmonary dysplasia (BPD). This will include a definition and identify risk factors, treatment and the eventual outcome of babies admitted to

A Reflective Essay On The Concepts Of Care of The Newborn DISCHARGE PLANNING OF A CASE OF BRONCHO-PULMONARY DYSPLASIA. Registration NO: 100252125 Module NO : SNM3116 Unit Leader : Angela Thurlby Word Count : 2066 The following discussion will analyse issues related to babies who develop broncho pulmonary dysplasia (BPD). This will include a definition and identify risk factors, treatment and the eventual outcome of babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). An overview of the difficult stages that a baby with BPD goes through before being ready for discharge will be discussed to show that these babies and their families need special attention when it comes to planning their discharge. Northway et al first described BPD in 1967 as lung injury, in preterm infants resulting from the need for oxygen and mechanical ventilation. Even though it was the first definition, the most commonly used is that of Bancalari et al( 1979) who explained that BPD usually occurred following 28 days of oxygen therapy with evidence radiographic changes. Brodwich and Mellins (1985) found that the combination of oxidant injury and mechanical ventilation resulted in inflammation, fibrosis and smooth muscle hypertrophy in the airways. Also that BPD is the most common complication of preterm babies weighing <1kg. Cunha (2005) carried out a prospective

  • Word count: 2745
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Encouraging parental participation in the NICU. According to Wigert et al (2006) the most difficult aspect of having a baby in NICU for mothers is being unable to take the important first steps to attachment: Haut et al (1994) states that family bonding

HIGH DEPENDENCY CARE OF THE NEWBORN (SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE) PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN NICU Registration NO: 100252125 Module NO : SNM3115 Unit Leader : Angela Thurlby Word Count : 1649 The focus of this discussion will be to encourage parental involvement in the NICU. My motivation for choosing this subject is an experience that occurred when I nursed a baby, who was a surviving twin from a premature delivery. The mother refused to handle her daughter saying that she was frightened of hurting her. Unfortunately the other twin had died shortly after delivery. The aim is to analyse the factors that can affect the initial parental attachment, the complex psychological needs of families during this stressful time, and also to make recommendations for interventions which can be used for future practice. According to Wigert et al (2006) the most difficult aspect of having a baby in NICU for mothers is being unable to take the important first steps to attachment: Haut et al (1994) states that family bonding within the neonatal environment is very difficult due to separation. Affonso et al (1992) supports this, suggesting that separating a mother from her baby when in need of intensive care prevents initial bonding. According to Boxwell (2010) the early delivery of a baby may make parents feel guilty and think that they

  • Word count: 2112
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Prison Camp or Hell?

Prison Camp or Hell? A journal written by Josef Sramek from Usti nad Lebem illustrates the views of the war from a prisoner of war's standpoint. Josef's journal entries begin December 9th, 1914 and end on December 28th, 1915. The first line in his journal states, "Kraguyevats! It took three days to get there, and they were filled with trouble," which implies that he had been held prisoner since December 6th. By reading and analyzing Josef's journal entries during this period, I will get a real life perception of the war from a POW's point of view. As soon as the prisoners arrived at their first destination, they confiscated their coats, shoes, underwear, and everything else that had any value from them. The prisoners were given little to eat, most of the time splitting a single loaf of bread between themselves per day. For the first day, they were forced to sleep on the snow. They were sent to a new prisoner camp called Skoplye soon after they were finished with their first "meal". The prisoners must have been as uncomfortable as a person trying to fit into pants 5 sizes smaller than they would normally wear. I use this analogy because the prisoners being transported in the boxcar were so crammed they were incapable of even sitting down. Three days after departing from their first camp, the prisoners reached Skoplye. The Serbs finally gave the prisoners a "home".

  • Word count: 876
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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