Category: Nursing

  • Benchmark – Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management

    In this assignment, you will be writing a 1,000-1,250 word paper describing the differing approaches of nursing leaders and managers to issues in practice. To complete this assignment, do the following:

    Select an issue from the following list: bullying, unit closers and restructuring, floating, nurse turnover, nurse staffing ratios, use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses), or magnet designation.

    Describe the selected issue. Discuss how it impacts quality of care and patient safety in the setting in which it occurs.

    Discuss how professional standards of practice should be demonstrated in this situation to help rectify the issue or maintain professional conduct.

    Explain the differing roles of nursing leaders and nursing managers in this instance and discuss the different approaches they take to address the selected issue and promote patient safety and quality care. Support your rationale by using the theories, principles, skills, and roles of the leader versus manager described in your readings.

    Discuss what additional aspects mangers and leaders would need to initiate in order to ensure professionalism throughout diverse health care settings while addressing the selected issue.

    Describe a leadership style that would best address the chosen issue. Explain why this style could be successful in this setting.

    Use at least three peer-reviewed journal articles other than those presented in your text or provided in the course.

    Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

    This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion

  • Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay

    Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay assignment

    • Do not use direct quotes.

    • Understand that academic writing is about putting forth scholarly opinions in your own words. Provide proof of those opinions by paraphrasing and synthesizing material from scholarly research and professional experts. Throughout the program, focus on synthesizing more than paraphrasing so by graduation you will be at the point where you can collect all pertinent sources of evidence, read and think about the material, and then synthesize those readings into your own words. This process does not include the use of direct quotes. Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay.

    • Give credit to someone else’s ideas and writings by citing and referencing in APA style.

    • Upload all of your assignments to Safe Assign Drafts prior to submitting them for grading.

    ORDER A CUSTOM-WRITTEN, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER NOW

    To Prepare:

    1. Read the Writing Center’s section on Plagiarism found at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/ASCplagiarism

    2. The Writing Center has developed a Plagiarism Checklist to assist students in double-checking their work and scholarship practices to avoid plagiarism. Download the plagiarism checklist below and use it for each assignment to establish good academic integrity practices! Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay.http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/ASCplagiarismchecklist

    3. Read the Writing Center’s section on Paraphrasing and watch the video on Paraphrasing found at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/paraphrase/effective

    4. Read the Writing Center’s section on Synthesizing and watch the video on Synthesizing found at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/synthesis Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay.

    Assignment:

    In this Assignment, a) describe how you will avoid plagiarism in your submitted assignments; and b) discuss how paraphrasing and synthesizing professional literature strengthens your future nurse scholar-practitioner practice.

    Plagiarism

    Describe how you will avoid plagiarism in your submitted assignments

    Plagiarism refers to a situation in which a writer does not acknowledge source of information. In this case, lack of acknowledgement comes from either failing to cite the source of the information, incorrectly paraphrasing the information, or directly copying the information using the same phrases as the source of information. For that matter, academic writing requires the writer to credit all sources of information, indicate when ideas are supported by sources, and direct readers to the sources of information through an accurate reference list (Walden University, 2018). To avoid plagiarism, there are six strategies that writers can apply. The first strategy involves creating a reference page that includes all the cited sources of information and how they can be accessed. The second strategy involves citing all the sources of information. The third strategy is to cite every paraphrased quotation. The fourth strategy is to quote information as presented in the source. The fifth strategy is to use the correct formatting guidelines, such as MLA and APA. Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay. The final strategy is to paraphrase the information (Wilson & Glazier, 2018). The discussed strategies are expected to help writers in avoiding plagiarism.

    Discuss how paraphrasing and synthesizing professional literature strengthens your future nurse scholar-practitioner practice

    Paraphrasing and synthesizing professional information is an important skill for any future nurse scholar and practitioner. That is because it helps the nurse to understand what the original source of information communication. In addition, it helps the nurse much the source to the purpose for which the information is collected. For instance, information can be presented to criticize or support a point. Besides that, it helps the writer to distinguish between the main and subsidiary information even as extraneous information and details are eliminated (Wilson & Glazier, 2018). As such, paraphrasing and synthesizing information strengths future nursing practice through helping in distinguishing between main and subsidiary information when a lot of information is presented. Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay.

    References

    Walden University (2018).
    ASC success strategies: plagiarism
    . Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/ASCplagiarism

    Wilson, P. & Glazier, T. (2018).
    The least you should know about English: writing skills
    (13
    th
    ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Maintaining Academic Integrity by Avoiding Plagiarism Essay.

  • Professionalism and social media essay

    Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing.

    Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field.

    In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following:

    Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.

    Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.

    Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.

    Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

    This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

  • Leading Civility in the Workplace Essay

    Discussion: Leading Civility in the Workplace

    To prepare

    • Review the following from this week’s Learning Resources:

    o Week 5 Discussion Rubric, provided in the Course Information area or accessible through the link below

    o This week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools

    o This week’s articles

    • Review the conflict scenarios provided. Select one of the scenarios on which to focus for this Discussion.

    • Consider how civility and collaboration affect your role as both a student and a nurse.

    • Consider the importance of the nurse’s role on the team.

    video link for scenario1 (Case 001. A case for improvement): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KShd5XTHEKE Scenarios 2 Campaign for action promotional video

    (: http://campaignforaction.org/resource/campaign-action-promotional-video

    Post a 3-paragraph response (of at least 350 words) to one of the given scenarios. Explain how you would respond to the selected scenario. Before you begin writing, reflect on your reading from this week. Use the writing resources and the Week 5 Discussion Rubric to develop your post. Use evidence, in-text citations, and essay-level writing skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames.

    Case 001: A Case for Improvement

     

    The selected case is Case 1 highlighting the improvement in nursing care. The case highlights the predicaments of a nursing student who fails to show interests in gaining nursing experience that is critical for nursing practice. While this is the not the main issue highlighted in the case, it is essential in determining the ability of the nurse student to embraces continuous improvement in future practice.

    Suppose I was in the situation of the nurse student, I would have first of all developed interests in the earning process to gain nursing experience that would have guided me through the process of providing nursing care to patients (Bentley, 2018). A discharge conference is an important session for gaining nursing experience and therefore I would have taken my time to open up and gain all the relevant nursing knowledge from this opportunity. Unlike the nursing student, I would have shown the highest level of interest, focus my mind in the session, and maintain a positive facial expression to help me remain attentive throughout the session. I believe this session would have given me more skills and knowledge on how to

    I would have developed an interest in learning how to optimize patient care by acknowledging the significance of this session. I would have followed the proceedings carefully and show commitment to implement all the lessons learned from the session. I would have paid much attention to the process of learning about the patient’s health history and current diagnosis to understand the right procedure to follow when clearing a patient for discharge (Day, Penney & Hartling, 2018). During discharge, I would have ascertained whether it is safe to discharge the patient or not.

    My main priority would be to ensure that I follow all the intervention before discharging the patient as a way of enhancing patient safety. The welfare of the patient during homecare would also be a major priority for me during the discharge process because it would enable me to reduce chances of readmission by properly managing the patient at home (Stover, 2017). Conversely, I would have shown that have the general knowledge on patient management and care during discharge recess to reduce readmission by advocating for the welfare of the patient and availing all the resources required by the patient to enable the patient to resume normal daily activities.

     

     

    References

    Bentley, A. (2018). Book Review: Leadership CPR: Resuscitating the Workplace Through Civility, Performance, and Respect. 
    The Journal of Values-Based Leadership
    , 
    11
    (2), 16.

    Day, A., Penney, S. A., & Hartling, N. (2018). The psychology, potential perils, and practice of leading healthy workplaces. 
    Organizational Dynamics
    .

    Stover, P. D. (2017). Personal Resilience, Workplace Civility, and Staff Retention in Behavioral/Mental Health Crisis Stabilization Units.

  • Benchmark – Patient’s Spiritual Needs: Case Analysis

    In addition to the topic study materials, use the chart you completed and questions you answered in the Topic 3 about ”
    Case Study: Healing and Autonomy
    ” as the basis for your responses in this assignment.

    Answer the following questions about a patient’s spiritual needs in light of the Christian worldview.

    In 200-250 words, respond to the following: Should the physician allow Mike to continue making decisions that seem to him to be irrational and harmful to James, or would that mean a disrespect of a patient’s autonomy? Explain your rationale.

    In 400-500 words, respond to the following: How ought the Christian think about sickness and health? How should a Christian think about medical intervention? What should Mike as a Christian do? How should he reason about trusting God and treating James in relation to what is truly honoring the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence in James’s care?

    In 200-250 words, respond to the following: How would a spiritual needs assessment help the physician assist Mike determine appropriate interventions for James and for his family or others involved in his care?

    Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.

    While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

    This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion

  • Postoperative respiratory failure Essay

    To prepare

    • Review the Week 4 Assignment Rubric, provided in the Course Information area.

    • Review the AWE Checklist and Additional Resources for your Assignment:

    o 2000/3000 AWE Level Assignment Template

    o TOP Ten BSN References and Citations

    • Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools. Revisit the Writing Resources and Program Success Tools from Weeks 1 through 3 as needed. Focus on the QIs at http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/.

    • Choose a QI related to a nursing topic of interest to you. Think about the ways in which following and measuring this crucial health data improve effectiveness and efficiency in your nursing practice. Consider any points that relate your selected topic to the journey ahead in your nursing career.

    • Find two articles in the Walden Library to support your scholarly opinion in your paper.

    Assignment

    Use the Walden Writing Center guidelines titled “Writing a Paper” and “Scholarly Writing: Overview” to do the following:

    • Draft a 2- to 3-page paper describing your selected QI in general, and then describe how this QI has the potential to improve the quality, safety, and outcomes of your patients and their families.

    • Describe the current data available and leadership’s goal for improvement.

    • Draft a solution using 2 sources from professional and scholarly literature to support your proposal.

    • Use the 2000/3000 AWE Level Assignment Template in the resources for this week to complete your Assignment.

    • Use in-text citations to support your paper. Use essay-level writing skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames.

    Introduction

    Nursing quality involves the improvement of the effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, and patient safety to those in need. The most critical of nursing quality is patient safety has increased. However, nurses play a significant role in determining the nursing quality to ensure that their practice yields quality care and guarantee patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to describe the ways in which following and measuring Postoperative Respiratory failure health data will improve effectiveness and efficiency in your nursing practice. It will also explain the potential of this the QI to improve the quality, safety, and outcomes in patients and their families.

    Postoperative Respiratory Failure

    Postoperative Respiratory failure is a critical health data that is used by AHRQ (PSI-11) as an indicator of Patient Safety. It has a higher PSIs rate as compared to other PSIs, making it an effective health data used to measure the patient outcome across a diverse patient population. As a PSIs, Postoperative Respiratory failure determines the level of inpatient safety risks that patients are exposed to during acute care VHA hospitalizations and non-psychiatric (Rajaram, Barnard & Bilimoria, 2015). The PSI is common in veterans with psychotic disorders than those patients who have never had any case of psychotic disorders.

    Some potential causes of respiratory failure among patients who have shown signs of psychosis include restriction to aces ambulatory restrictions services, inability to comply with spirometry incentive and any other toileting involving the pulmonary parts of the body. The condition may also be caused as a result of drug interactions with anesthetics taken in response to the remedy the psychotropic condition (Canet, Sabate, Mazo, et al, 2015). Also, the use of antipsychotics or benzodiazepines on an ‘as-needed’ basis in response to insomnia, agitation, or aggression may also cause Postoperative Respiratory failure. Equally, patients with higher levels of cigarette smoking are also at the risk of experiencing Postoperative Respiratory failure (Smith, Zhao & Rosen, 2012).

    The Current Data Available and Leadership’s Goal for Improvement

    Going by the available literature, Post-operative Respiratory failure is said to be the most common perioperative causes of death especially in adult patients who have undergone thoracic surgery. However, it is important to note that the term respiratory failure brings on board issues such as failures caused by ARDS, pneumonia, and pulmonary emboli (McLean, Diaz-Gil, Farhan, 2015). This broad view has hindered a clear understanding of what postoperative respiratory failure is so as to be well conversant with its causes and then start planning for its prevention.

    Postoperative respiratory failure is attributed to the increased cost of care, longer hospital stays, and a high rate of mortality. Ranging between 30 days and five years. The patient factors that are common in patients with PRF smoking are age, past history of using COPD, as well as functional dependence (Winters, Bharmal, Wilson, et al, 2016). The procedural factors associated with PRF include vascular, prolonged and emergency procedures, thoracic, head/neck procedures, and abdominal. The effectiveness preventive measures that can be used to manage PRFs include subjecting the patients to exercises aimed at expanding the lung and discriminative application of nasogastric tubes for patients with abdominal cases (Canet & Gallart, 2014). The patients may also be subjected to a short-acting neuromuscular blockade and advised to practice preoperative smoking behavior and laparoscopic techniques.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, patient safety is a key component of nursing quality which can be achieved through the use of PRFs as a PSI. Conversely, nurses must be trained and make their resources available. PRF has become a major patient safety indicators thus increasing the role nurses plays t as they interact with patients, patients’ families and their colleagues in the profession. To facilitate patient safety, nurses monitor patients to ascertain signs of clinical deterioration, near misses, and errors. They also learn the weakness inherent in the care processes to promote high-quality care.

     

     

     

    References

    Rajaram, R., Barnard, C., & Bilimoria, K. Y. (2015). Concerns about using the patient safety indicator-90 composite in pay-for-performance programs. 
    Jama
    , 
    313
    (9), 897-898.

    Canet, J., & Gallart, L. (2014). Postoperative respiratory failure: pathogenesis, prediction, and prevention. 
    Current opinion in critical care
    , 
    20
    (1), 56-62.

    Canet, J., Sabate, S., Mazo, V., Gallart, L., de Abreu, M. G., Belda, J., … & Pelosi, P. (2015). Development and validation of a score to predict postoperative respiratory failure in a multicentre European cohort: a prospective, observational study. 
    European Journal of Anaesthesiology (EJA)
    , 
    32
    (7), 458-470.

    McLean, D. J., Diaz-Gil, D., Farhan, H. N., Ladha, K. S., Kurth, T., & Eikermann, M. (2015). Dose-dependent association between intermediate-acting neuromuscular-blocking agents and postoperative respiratory complications. 
    The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists
    , 
    122
    (6), 1201-1213.

    Winters, B. D., Bharmal, A., Wilson, R. F., Zhang, A., Engineer, L., Defoe, D., … & Pronovost, P. J. (2016). The validity of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Hospital-acquired Conditions.
    Medical care
    , 
    54
    (12), 1105-1111.

  • PHI-413 Case Study End Of Life Decisions

    Case Study: End of Life Decisions

    George is a successful attorney in his mid-fifties. He is also a legal scholar, holding a teaching post at the local university law school in Oregon. George is also actively involved in his teenage son’s basketball league, coaching regularly for their team. Recently, George has experienced muscle weakness and unresponsive muscle coordination. He was forced to seek medical attention after he fell and injured his hip. After an examination at the local hospital following his fall, the attending physician suspected that George may be showing early symptoms for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The week following the initial examination, further testing revealed a positive diagnosis of ALS.

    ALS is progressive and gradually causes motor neuron deterioration and muscle atrophy to the point of complete muscle control loss. There is currently no cure for ALS, and the median life expectancy is between 3 and 4 years, though it is not uncommon for some to live 10 or more years. The progressive muscle atrophy and deterioration of motor neurons leads to the loss of the ability to speak, move, eat, and breathe. However, sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell are not affected. Patients will be wheelchair bound and eventually need permanent ventilator support to assist with breathing.

    George and his family are devastated by the diagnosis. George knows that treatment options only attempt to slow down the degeneration, but the symptoms will eventually come. He will eventually be wheelchair bound and be unable to move, eat, speak, or even breathe on his own.

    In contemplating his future life with ALS, George begins to dread the prospect of losing his mobility and even speech. He imagines his life in complete dependence upon others for basic everyday functions and perceives the possibility of eventually degenerating to the point at which he is a prisoner in his own body. Would he be willing to undergo such torture, such loss of his own dignity and power? George thus begins inquiring about the possibility of voluntary euthanasia.

     

    The practice of health care providers at all levels brings you into contact with people from a variety of faiths. This calls for knowledge and understanding of a diversity of faith expressions; for the purpose of this course, the focus will be on the Christian worldview.

    Based on ”Case Study: End of Life Decisions,” the Christian worldview, and the worldview questions presented in the required topic study materials you will complete an ethical analysis of George’s situation and his decision from the perspective of the Christian worldview.

    Provide a 1,500-2,000-word ethical analysis while answering the following questions:

    How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world?

    How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?

    As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?

    What sorts of values and considerations would the Christian worldview focus on in deliberating about whether or not George should opt for euthanasia?

    Given the above, what options would be morally justified in the Christian worldview for George and why?

    Based on your worldview, what decision would you make if you were in George’s situation?

    Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.

    Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required

     

    Case Study on Death and Dying

    Introduction

    Death and dying are a very challenging and bitter part of life, yet the reality of life. The nature of death generally involved deep religious and philosophical questions. Euthanasia is a controversial issue in bioethics (Saybey, 2016). Christian and worldview view death and aspects such as euthanasia differently. This paper will analyze the case study of George, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease where the patient eventually loses the ability to speak, move, eat, and breathe, and finally dies. The paper will specifically analyze George’s imminent death and the ethics involved in euthanasia as per Christianity perspective.

     

    George’s suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world

    In Christianity, suffering, and fallenness of the world go hand in hand. This began when God put Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden where both cared for and nurtured God’s creating. Eve and Adam ate freely and did not experience any suffering until they tasted the fruit that God had warned them against, and this made them be chased from the garden of Eden (Shelly & Miller, 2009). This is where the fallenness of the world began and God separated himself from Eve and Adam following their sinning. Accordingly, according to the Christian narrative, the fallenness of the world was the beginning point of human suffering (Shelly & Miller, 2009). God pronounced a curse upon Eve and Adam and told them they would have to toil to get food. Therefore, human suffering is a curse from God and from that period, life changed.

    Therefore, George can link his suffering to being a sinner since God declared sinning as the key cause of suffering. As human beings, we keep sinning from time to time, and often we fall short of God’s will. This can be comparable to the case of George. George might justify his suffering to the sinful nature of human beings (Shelly & Miller, 2009).  As human beings, we never like being subjected to the curse of God because we rejected God first at the Garden of Eden from the start. Human beings have corrupted everything God has given to humanity, and hence human beings served God’s judgment and the suffering that come with the judgment. Therefore, George can console himself in the words that every human being has sinned against God and thus it is expected to suffer (Shelly & Miller, 2009).

     

    How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?

    In Christianity, it is believed that God created everything existing in the world and Jesus came to earth to enable human beings to have a view of God’s image. Therefore, a Christian would interpret what is happening to George as being the will of God. According to Saybey (2016) suffering such as the one George is experiencing are only intended to bring human beings close to God and to make humans ware of Christ’s suffering. The Christian teachings that Jesus died basically changes the view and experience of death. Death is a tragedy and evil, but Jesus conquered death on the cross.  Therefore, death as a defeated enemy in the Christian narrative, human beings also have hope of defeating death and rising again when Christ comes back. The god of Christian is constantly redeeming what is broken and will also redeem human beings from death. This teaches human beings to be close to God and live according to His will. Perceiving suffering as the will of good helps Christians in remaining steadfast in their Christian beliefs, and this makes their Christian faith stronger (Shelly & Miller, 2009). If a Christian believes that suffering may be as a result of the sins of the past, this can give one a chance to repent the sins and go back to God. This indicates that God is an orderly God because He allows suffering to human beings to make them turn back from their sinful ways and experience God’s love. Even though some human beings may view their suffering as a punishment, it is still an indication that God has such a great love for humanity and encourages people to live according to God’s purpose. However, the bottom line is that even after death, Christians have the hope of resurrecting just as Jesus did. These reasons can assist George to evaluate his life and repent and at the same time believe that God has forgiven his sins and his suffering will end after death (Shelly & Miller, 2009). After repenting, George also has the hope that resurrecting again once Christ comes back for the church.

     

    As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?

    According to the Christian worldview, even in the midst of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), George should view his life as precious and a gift from God, and hence it should not be taken away by a human being, but God.  Accordingly, even with this agonizing disease, George is expected to endure pain and all experiences associated with the disease (Shelly & Miller, 2009). A painful experience such as the one George is experiencing should not make a person make a decision to end their lives. In Christianity, people believe that human beings are supposed to hold on to their faith even during painful sufferings.  George is still a valuable human being even in the face of a disabling and devastating disease like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Life is a precious gift from God and since then sin entered the world, suffering is part of everyone’s life.  Therefore, George’s life is still valuable to God and God has a reason why he allowed George to experience amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). George should try to figure out what God is trying to teach him with the disease and use his current condition and life, for the glory of God. Therefore, George should continue persevering the suffering in the virtue of respecting life and Christian’s teaching regarding the value of life, as being God’s precious gift (Saybey, 2016).

     

    What sorts of values and considerations would the Christian worldview focus on in deliberating about whether or not George should opt for euthanasia?

    The kind of values that the Christian worldview would focus on in deciding regarding is George should opt for euthanasia or not include that suffering is part of life and just like Christ suffered we should accept suffering (Shelly & Miller, 2009). Jesus died on the cross and before His death, he underwent significant suffering and at some point, asked God if it is His will, He should take away the cup of suffering. Therefore, George’s suffering is God’s will and therefore, he should accept the suffering and ask God for sufficient grace to be able to endure the suffering. In addition, God uses suffering to bring humanity closer to Him and make them repent for their sins. Accordingly, George should use the suffering to discover what God wants him to learn and get closer to God (Meilaender, 2013).

    As per Meilaender (2013), expectations about life after death largely determine the way an individual welcomes the probability of death. If Christians view everything and especially suffering and death as per God’s will and the final hope of life after death and Jesus’ resurrection, this can assure a person that God is in control of everything. In this regard, George should view his life and sickness and God’s working in his life and being His will. Moreover, God has a purpose for our lives regardless of the suffering and only God is the giver of life.

     

    Given the above, what options would be morally justified in the Christian worldview for George and why?

    The morally justified option would be for George to continue living until God takes away his life. Therefore, euthanasia is not an option for George according to the Christian’s view. According to Christianity, human life is precious and a gift from God and hence taking human life and interfering with the process of God is unacceptable and morally wrong. In addition, Christian views suffering as part and parcel of life and also the plan of God and thus it is morally wrong to interfere with the plan of God (Shelly & Miller, 2009). Therefore, suffering and pain of a terminally ill person should be accepted by Christians just as Christ accepted his suffering on the cross.

    My Decision if in George’s Situation?

    Even though I am a Christian, if I was in George’s situation and facing the imminent suffering and disability associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), I would consider voluntary euthanasia.  Even though voluntary euthanasia is against Christianity, it is difficult to watch individuals suffer as a nurse and personally I would not want to experience such pain and suffering if there is an option of euthanasia (President’s Commission, 1981). Even if it is not morally right to choose euthanasia, the Bible states that God is forgiving and there is no single sin that cannot be forgiven.

    Conclusion

    Christianity views life as a gift from God and only God has the power to take away life. Suffering is part of life and God’s plan to bring his creation close to Him. A human being should, therefore, accept suffering and similarly, George should accept the suffering that comes with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Therefore, according to Christianity, it is not morally upright for George to consider voluntary euthanasia.

     

    References

    Meilaender G. (2013). Bioethics:
    A Primer for Christians
    , 3rd Edition. Michigan: Eerdmans.

    Saybey B. (2016). Definitions of death: brain death and what matters in a person.
    J Law Biosci
    . 3(3), 743–752.

    Shelly J & Miller A. (2009).
    Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing
    2nd Edition, Illinois: IVP Academic.

    The United States. President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1981). Defining death: a report on the medical, legal and ethical issues in the determination of death.

  • Essence of Nursing Essay

    Post a 3-paragraph response (of at least 350 words) to one of the following options. Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Use the writing resources and the Week 4 Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

    Reflect on your readings from this week, and then address one of the following options:

    Option 1

    According to Ma, Shang, & Bott (2015), it is critical that contemporary nurses have strong leadership and collaboration skills to improve health care. Reflect on the expertise that you expect to acquire with your education at Walden. Envision yourself taking the lead to improve patient care in your practice setting. Describe the knowledge and skills needed to achieve your professional goals.

    OR

    Option 2

    Use the website, http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/ , found in the Learning Resources to do the following:

    • Provide a brief definition of quality indicators.

    • Choose a particular indicator that either is being addressed or you would like to see addressed at your place of employment (or previous place of employment), and explain your reasons. Describe both the issue and your involvement in it. Alternatively, discuss your leadership’s role and your role in utilizing the indicator to improve health care.

     

     

     

    The essence of nursing

    Name

    Institution

     

     

    The essence of nursing

    I anticipated that graduating from the nursing education program at Walden will imbue me with strong leadership and collaboration skills to improve health care outcomes. In fact, I expect to gain resource management skills that allow me to acknowledge that nursing resources are scarce and must be well managed for the best outcomes. In addition, I anticipate to improve my proficiency in integrating professional and technological differentiations with nursing specializations to refine professional care in a manner that reflects the existing environmental reality (Finkelman, 2016). In this respect, I expect to acquire management instruments to direct my professional nursing practice to improve efficiency and effectiveness, while concurrently reducing costs.

    As a nurse, my professional goals are to improve nursing care in palliative services provision. I expect that completing this education program will allow me to gain and refine nursing professional experiences, knowledge and skills that will enable me to make the best use of interprofessional practice. Through this, I will be able to improve care quality by identifying what I need in terms of competency in order to provide the best possible care (Weiner & Ronch, 2013). In fact, this will allow me to form integrated teams with other health professionals offering palliative care, allowing them tams to communicate, orate and communicate to offer continuous and reliable care (Dang, Rohde & Sulfita, 2017). The capacity to create complementary teams will ensure that the different and complex care needs of patients are address within this modern environment that requires a mix of medical experiences, skills, knowledge and expertise that are then leveraged to offer patient centered care. Through distinguishing myself in the education program, I will be able to lead the complementary teams in ensuring that patients receive the best possible palliative care (Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2016). As a result, I will use the knowledge I gain in the nursing education program at Walden to take the lead in improving patient care by directing interprofessional care teams in palliative care settings.

     

     

    References

    Dang, D., Rohde, J. & Suflita, J. (2017).
    Johns Hopkins Nursing Professional Practice Model: strategies to advance nursing excellence
    . Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.

    Finkelman, A. (2016).
    Leadership and management for nurses: core competencies for quality care
    (3
    rd
    ed.). London: Pearson Education.

    Porter-O’Grady, T. & Malloch, K. (2016).
    Leadership in nursing practice: changing the landscape of healthcare
    (2
    nd
    ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

    Weiner, A. & Ronch, J. (2013).
    Culture change in long-term care
    . New York, NY: Routledge.

  • Discussion: Nurses Make the Difference Essay

    Post a 2-paragraph response (of at least 350 words) to either Option 1 or Option 2.

    Use the writing resources, writing samples, and Discussion Rubric to develop your post. Reflect on your reading from this week, and then address one of the following:

    Option 1

    Provide an overview of a Magnet facility. Include an explanation of how Magnet status drives health care change in the institution. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs and use evidence to support your ideas. The practice of writing cohesive paragraphs is essential to good writing. Focus each paragraph on one main idea or goal.

    OR

    Option 2

    Describe the personal contribution a nurse might make in the process of seeking or maintaining Magnet designation. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs and use evidence to support your ideas. The practice of writing cohesive paragraphs is essential to good writing. Focus each paragraph on one main idea or goal.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Nurses make the difference

    Name

    Institution

     

     

    Nurses make the difference

    Option 2

    Magnet designation is an award that is accredited to medical facilities under the authority of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The designation refers to medical facilities that are acknowledged for recognizing and promoting structures of higher operational standards that seek to improve personnel empowerment, retention and job pleasure. In fact, medical facilities with a Magnet designation must offer evidence of having met the set thresholds of professionalism and quality with regards to nursing services provision (American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2018).

    Nursing personnel can make meaningful contributions towards achieving and maintaining Magnet designation. This occurs through the nurse ensuring that he or she has access to opportunities, resources and information that would improve the effectiveness and efficiency in completing professional tasks. To be more precise, the nurse should operate at a higher standard of respect, professional independence and assigning worth to the nursing profession while enhancing communication with other stakeholders (Friese et al., 2015).

    In addition, the nurse can make a contribution through professional autonomy and independence. Through having greater control of nursing practice that goes beyond routine decision-making, the nurse gains the capacity to engaged in policy making and design as well as setting up internal nursing management frameworks. This creates opportunities for self-growth and allows the nurse to achieve a higher operational standard (Stimpfel, Rosen & McHugh, 2014).

    Besides that, the nurse can contribute by creating and maintaining communication platforms that ensure the right stakeholder is at the right plan at the right time to either pass on or receive information. This improves communication effectiveness so that nurses are given a voice in determining excellence within the facility as well as adding value to the facility. Through this contribution, nursing personnel would feel more respective and appreciated since they are allowed to offer views vital to improve care outcomes (Stimpfel, Rosen & McHugh, 2014).

    Also, the nurse can contribute through embracing evidence-based practice. This entails using the latest and best available evidence to support care decisions. Through this contribution, the facility would experience reduced operational costs and improved care quality and outcomes. This is based on the awareness that nursing practice can play an important role in meeting the Magnet objective of quality care through integrating evidence into practice (Wilson et al., 2015).

    Yet another contribution can occur through shared governance. This presents adaptive and flexible structures ensures that nursing personnel are included in decision-making processes. This allows them to contribute to dispute resolution, setting objectives and goals, controlling the nursing profession, participating in governance activities, ensuring accountability, and controlling resource access and use. Moreover, shared governance allows the nursing personnel to conduct more comprehensive self-appraisals that identify professional practice areas that require improvements for the best care outcomes (Lamoureux et al., 2014).

    It is important to note that the American Nurses Credentialing Center acknowledges and designates Magnet medical facilities on the nurses’ contributions through their experiences and quality of care provided since excelling nursing services are linked with favorable outcomes for patients and other stakeholders. The Center particular looks at good nursing performance as an important aspect when credentialing. That is because performance has a direct correlation with outcomes as an intentional incident. This is based on the awareness that good performance will typically be accompanied by favorable outcomes while bad performance will typically be accompanied by unfavorable outcomes. Additionally, nursing personnel contribute through attaining new knowledge, innovations, leadership, and structural empowerment that are reflected in care outcomes (Wilson et al., 2015). In this respect, nurses can make personal contributions in the process of seeking or maintain Magnet designation.

     

     

    References

    American Nurses Credentialing Center (2018).
    ANCC Magnet Recognition Program
    . Retrieved from http://www.nurse credentialing.org/Magnet

    Friese, C. R., Xia, R., Ghaferi, A., Birkmeyer, J. D., & Banerjee, M. (2015). Hospitals in ‘magnet’ program show better patient outcomes on mortality measures compared to non-‘magnet’ hospitals.
    Health Affairs
    , 34(6), 986-992, 1-12.

    Lamoureux, J., Judkins-Cohn, T., Butao, R., McCue, V., & Garcia, F. (2014). Measuring perceptions of shared governance in clinical practice: psychometric testing of the RN-focused Index of Professional Governance (IPNG).
    Journal of Research in Nursing
    , 19(1), 69-87.

    Stimpfel, A. W., Rosen, J. E., & McHugh, M. D. (2014). Understanding the role of the professional practice environment on quality of care in magnet® and non-magnet hospitals.
    JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration
    , 44(1), 10-16. doi:10.1097/NNA.0000000000000015

    Wilson, M., Sleutel, M., Newcomb, P., Behan, D., Walsh, J. & Baldwin, K. (2015). Empowering nurses with evidence-based practice environments: Surveying Magnet, pathway to excellence, and non-magnet facilities in one healthcare system.
    Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing
    , 12(1), 12–21.

  • Journal: Time Management (Observe, Process, Reflect)

    Submit a minimum 150-word Journal Assignment. Journal about one aspect of the classroom resources (Assignments, Discussions, or assigned readings) that surprised you. Additionally, journal about one or both of the options below:

    Option 1

    What concerns do you have about managing distractions and obtaining the support you need to be successful? Include how you plan to make certain that you have support, and how you will take personal responsibility for your own success.

    Journal: Time Management

    The classroom discussions interested me the most as they provided a platform where students can learn from each other and articulate the contents in the course in their own words. However, the discussions were not conducive to cover huge amounts of content (Turner & Hicks, 2015).  Since discussions are dynamically interactive, they helped me to learn, be motivated, complete homework and to prepare for classes. It is surprising that all discussions were productive and enhanced my ability to invent, create, imagine, take risks and dig deeper for different meanings. Perhaps it was because they took place in an environment where fellow classmates and I felt safer to share ideas. The class instructors also had a vital role to play in making the discussions meaningful; they accomplished this by being mindful of the vital conditions associated with interactive teaching (Lin-Siegler, Dweck & Cohen, 2016). Class instructors also provided leading discussions where each student could contribute meaningfully.

    As a student, I value every minute of the day to ensure that I get things done in terms of, completing assignments on time, attending classes as scheduled and solving any personal problems which may arise. However, my greatest concern about managing distractions is the ability to pay attention from the beginning to the end of a class session. Besides, I often find difficult to open up and ask for assistance from classmates, educators or class instructors in any areas in classwork that may prove to be difficult. To adequately address these concerns, I plan to develop a culture where I set boundaries and have expectations about everything I do (Alderman & MacDonald, 2015).   I will build a support system of classmates and class instructors who will be able to regularly hold me accountable and observing and to-do-lists.

     

    References

    Alderman, M. K., & MacDonald, S. (2015). A self-regulatory approach to classroom management: Empowering students and teachers. 
    Kappa Delta Pi Record
    , 
    51
    (2), 52-56.

    Lin-Siegler, X., Dweck, C. S., & Cohen, G. L. (2016). Instructional interventions that motivate classroom learning. 
    Journal of Educational Psychology
    , 
    108
    (3), 295.

    Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2015). Connected reading is the heart of research. 
    English Journal
    , 
    105
    (2), 41.