Ethics in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Nursing Essay Nurses are to provide compassionate, competent, and ethical care, and follow the moral principles and guidelines set out by the College of Nurses and the Canadian Nurse’s Association’s code of ethics. The nursing profession is a self-sacrificing one, and nurses take on the Nightingale Pledge, to elevate the standard of their practice and dedicate themselves to those committed in their care (Keatings Smith, 2010, p. 64) However unfavourable working conditions, inadequate patient to nurse ratios, and intensive job-related stress can lead to poor performance of daily routines, and adversely patient safety (Ozata et al. , 2013). In the situation regarding Mr. Gurt who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, it is vital for the nurse to weigh him at the beginning of each month. This is her obligation under her employing institution’s standards of care, as well under the autonomy of her practise in which any deviation from this could result in exposure to liability (Austin 2006, p. 62). In order for the nurse to properly care for Mr. Gurt, assessing his accurate weight is essential in providing a care plan that will focus on his overall wellness and healing. Because Mr. Gurt is frail, and has stage one pressure ulcers on both heels and his coccyx, it is imperative that he has every opportunity to build up his skin integrity and prevent future disruption of his skin surface. Complications that may arise because of the nurse’s neglect in failing to weigh him, may contribute to other underlying problems. General health concerns Mr. Gurt would be facing on top of his current co- morbidities would include a decline his general appearance, gastrointestinal, neurologic, integumentary, and musculoskeletal systems (Holloway, 2004, p. 80). By recording a weight of 70kg with a height of 170cm, the nurse calculated Mr. Gurt’s Body Mass Index (BMI) at 24.2 which is borderline overweight, when in fact it was 14.5, with 18.5 being the baseline for being underweight ( http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/ obesity/ BMI/bmicalc.htm., n.d.). According to this value, it would be likely that Mr. Gurt would suffer from imbalanced nutrition, less than his body requirements leading to other complications and failing to thrive. Nanda defines failure to thrive as the progressive functional deterioration of a physical and cognitive nature. The individual’s ability to live with multisystem diseases, cope with  ensuing problems, and manage his care are remarkably diminished (Ackley Ladwig, 2011, p. 350). To add on to potential problems, drug doses are given based on factors such as age, gender, and the weight of a patient (Raman-Wilms, 2013). Since Mr. Gurt is elderly and suffering from the effects of Parkinson’s with an imbalance of neurotransmitter activity between dopamine and acetylcholine, there may be fewer receptors and a decrease in neurotransmitters to take up his drugs (Raman-Wilms, 2013). Levadopa a dopaminergic medication which treats the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease should be reviewed with b ody weight changes (Raman-Wilms, 2013). A study looking into the factors of weight loss in Parkinson’s looked at the effects of dopaminergic treatment which suggested that the drug had a lipolytic effect and body mass fat was decreased with the advancement of Parkinson’s symptoms (Lorefalt, 2004, p.186). The potential magnitude and likelihood of harm occurring in this case is significant as drug tolerances, adverse effects, and toxic effects are high, making the liver and kidneys susceptible to disease (Urquhart, 2014), as Mr. Gurt’s body mass index indicates he is underweight and a higher risk for drug overdoses. Effectiveness of this drug will diminish over time in which the adverse effects may become severe and may include palpitations, abdominal movement, dizziness, and confusion (Raman-Wilms, 2013, p. 331). Incorrect doses of his medication could lead to physical and psychological issues based on the nurses documented weight and his actual weight. Failing to weigh Mr. Gurt will have a great impact on his nutritional needs, but will also affect his ability to heal his pressure ulcers on his heels and coccyx. Mr. Gurt is emaciated which may be in part to dysphasia, tremors, still muscles, and slow movements among other symptoms of Parkinson’s (Wilk Newmaster, 2013, p. 288). As well, Mr. Gurt’s weight is evidence that he is not receiving the nutritional intake his body’s immune system requires to create the proteins and blood cells (macrophages the body’s first line of defence), needed to attack and repair his wounds, and prevent the risk for infection (Raman-Wilms, 2013). The nurse’s blatant disregard to weigh Mr. Gurt puts him at greater risk for infection and is a form of negligence. Negligence in nursing can be unintentional, however it is important to understand the effects this has on health professionals practicing in Ontario. A registered nurse is responsible to follow the standard of care when performing nursing  acts under autonomy within their scope of practise (College of Nurses, 2004) (CNO, 2004). Standard of Care is the legal benchmark against which a person’s conduct is measured to determine whether a person has been negligent and whether the person’s conduct or actions in a given situation have met those expected of a competent health care professional (Keatings Smith, 2010). The College of Nurses is the governing body for registered nurses that protect the public through regulating the nursing profession (CNO, 2014). A practising nurse is obliged to follow the standards of care and ethical guidelines set out by this governing body (CNO, 2014). The College of Nurses lists seven ethical values which are all important, but recognizes that client well-being is a primary value (CNO, 2014). The College of Nurses connotation of client well-being is to promote the patients health, while preventing or removing harm (CNO, 2014). In the case regarding Mr. Gurt, where the nurse is required to weigh him monthly and record the data, she is morally responsible for the patient’s well-being and for any adverse outcomes regarding his health for failing to provide safe care. The nurse’s complacency in failing to weigh Mr. Gurt, a simple act, would be of concern in investigating her moral responsibility in providing ethical care in her work environment. The nurses ethical duty is to advocate for her patients and provide safe, effective, and ethical care (CNO, 2014). Possible outcomes that could arise for the nurse in failing to provide ethical care include: her co-worker filing a complaint to the College of Nurses, a discipline hearing with the College of nurses, and possibly a lawsuit (CNO, 2014). Potter Perry note the criteria nurses can be found liable for negligenc e as summarized; the nurse owed the duty to the patient; to whom that duty was not carried out; and the patient was injured for failing to carry out that duty (Potter Perry 2013, p. 96). A common negligent act is failing to monitor a patient’s condition adequately (Potter et al., 2013, p. 97). For a nurse to be sued, and in the case with Mr. Gurt, the nurse had carelessly not performed a duty which was vital to his ongoing care. While the ability to predict harm is evaluated is this case, the nurse had committed a wrong doing to Mr. Gurt and could be tried as an unintentional tort. (Potter et al., 2013, p. 97-98). According to the Criminal Code, 1985, if Mr. Gurt was to pass away as a result of improper care or toxic levels of medication being given due  to the nurse failing to weigh him, the nurse could also face criminal liability if the nurse was proven to have a reckless disregard for her patient (Potter et al., 2013, p. 99-100). The best way for nurses to avoid being negligent is to follow the standards of care; be self aware and to reflect on their nursing practise; to follow the ethical framework established by the College of Nurses; and to continuall y educate themselves on best practices, assessments, and evaluations within their nursing abilities (Potter et al., 2013, p.98). With that in mind, one final thing I would suggest is to have professional liability and legal assistance protection insurance coverage. References BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 4105 Ackley, J. A., Ladwig, G. B. (2011). Nursing Diagnosis Handbook (9th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Austin, S. (2006). Ladies gentlemen of the jury, I present the nursing documentation. Nursing, 56-64 Calculate Your Body Mass Index. (n.d.).Calculate Your BMI. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm.(n.d.). College of Nurses of Ontario/Ordre des Infirmià ¨res et Infirmiers de lOntario. (2014). College of Nurses of Ontario. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.cno.org/ Holloway, N. (1999). Medical-Surgical Care Planning. Orinda: Springhouse Corporation. Keatings, M. (2010). Ethical Legal Issues in Canadian Nursing (3rd ed.). Toronto:Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Lorefalt, B., Ganowiak, W., Palhagen, S., Toss, G., Unosson, M., Granerus, A.K,.(2004). Factors of Importance for Weight Loss in Elderly Patients with Parkinsons disease. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 180-187. Ozata, O., Ozturk, Y.E., Cihangiroglu, N., Altunkan, H. (2013). The Development of a Scale of Malpractice Trend in Nursing and Validity and Reliabilty Analysis. International Journal of Academic Research, 57-65. Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Kerr, J. C., Wood, M. J. (2009). Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing (4th ed.). Toronto: Mosby/Elsevier Canada. Raman-Wilms, L. (2013). Guide to Drugs in Canada (4th ed.). Toronto: Dorling Kindersley. Urquhart, B. (2014). Exploring how kidney failure impacts the bodys systems. Western News. Wilk, M. J., Newmaster, R. (2013). Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker.Toronto: Mosby/ Elsevier Canada.

Ma Joad as Leader in The Grapes of Wrath :: Grapes Wrath essays

In a crisis, a person's true colors emerge. The weak are separated from the strong and the leaders are separated from the followers. In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family, forced from their home in Oklahoma, head to California in search of work and prosperity only to find poverty and despair. As a result of a crisis, Ma Joad emerges as a controlled, forceful, and selfless authority figure for the family. Ma Joad exhibits exelent self-control during the sufferings and frustrations of the Joad's journey. Ma knows that she is the backbone of the family, and that they will survive only if she remains calm. Ma keeps her self-control when Ruthie tells some children about Tom's secret. The family becomes nervous and enraged over the situation, but Ma restores order by handling the situation in a calm and collected manner. If Ma were to ever show fear, the family would most likely collapse. For, "Old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the family will assume everything is all right. Most members of the family openly express their doubts or fears. Ma may be just as frightened as the rest of the family, but she always maintains a front for the rest of the family. When Ma had fears, "She had practiced denying them in herself." This extraordinary self-control helps to keep the Joad unit together and alive. Ma, like all leaders, must be forceful for things to work in her favor. Numerous situations occur in which Ma must be forceful or relinquish her role as the head of the family. Her forceful leadership occurs once when the family, without Ma's consent, agrees to leave Tom and Casey behind to fix the Wilson's car. Ma feels this will break up the family and uses a jack handle to prove her point. It is at this point Ma replaces Pa as the official head of the family. Ma's forceful leadership also surfaces when she threatens a police officer with a frying pan and when she decides for the family to leave the government camp. In both situations Ma must use force to achieve her objectives; in both situations, she emerges victorious. Eventually, Pa becomes angered because of his loss of power to a woman and says in frustration, "Seems like times is changed.

Good and Bad Arguments

ASSIGNMENT 1 MODULE 1 SHORT ANSWER PAPER Distinguish between good and bad arguments. Give the elements of ethical arguments. On what grounds do you distinguish between fact and mere opinion? An argument is a group of statements where one of which is supposed to be supported by the rest. The premise is the supporting statement and the conclusion is the statement being supported. Ethical arguments must have premise(s) and a conclusion and may appear in any order. Often arguments have indicator words that signal a premise or conclusion is near.There are two types of arguments, deductive and inductive and they can be valid or invalid, strong or weak, or sound or cogent. A good argument has a conclusion that is worthy and gives good reasons to accept a claim, where a bad argument fails to have a premise or conclusion or both. A true argument always has something to prove and presents good reasons to a claim. An argument is not the same thing as persuasion but if you express it correctly a nd prove something then you may be able to persuade people by reasoning and not by appealing to them via other methods.Good arguments have true premises and show its conclusion is worthy of belief, it also both must have the correct form by being either valid (having true premises that logically prove that the conclusion is also true) or strong (having premises that provide probable support for its conclusion). A bad argument proves nothing however it can still be persuasive. A bad argument can persuade someone by influencing them by any means besides reason.A bad argument has false premises that lead to false conclusions, these conclusions are called fallacies. Fallacies though wrong can be persuasive. There are nine different types of fallacies which all try to persuade by appealing to people’s emotions, using linguistic or rhetorical tricks, deception, threats, lack of evidence, using invalid citations and many other tricks. To check if a argument is bad you must learn dif ferent techniques, do research, and beware when there is conflicting evidence.To distinguish between fact and opinion in an argument you must check the form, the validity of the argument, and whether or not the premise has any truth. If something is a fact it is a statement or a claim that asserts that something is either true or false. Opinions are based on moral judgments, principles, and theories. Opinions also take into account feelings, desires, and beliefs. However in an argument both a fact and a opinion can be proven if the opinion has a good premise.

19 Interesting Selenium Facts

Selenium is a chemical element found in a wide variety of products. Here are some interesting facts about selenium: Selenium gets its name from the Greek word selene, which means moon. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon.Selenium has atomic number 34,  meaning each atom has 34 protons. The element symbol of selenium is Se.Selenium was discovered jointly in 1817 by  Swedish chemists Jà ¶ns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848) and Johan Gottlieb Gahn (1745–1818).Although it is uncommonly found, selenium does exist in relatively pure form, free in nature.Selenium is a nonmetal. Like many nonmetals, it exhibits different colors and structures (allotropes) depending on the conditions.Selenium is essential for proper nutrition in many organisms, including humans and other animals, but is toxic in larger amounts and in compounds.Brazil nuts are high in selenium, even if they are grown in soil that is not rich in the element.  A single nut provides enough selenium to meet the daily requirement for a human adult.English electrical engineer Willoughby Smith (1828–1891) discovered tha t selenium reacts to light (photoelectric effect), leading to its use as a light sensor in the 1870s. Scottish-born American inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) made a selenium-based photophone in 1879.The primary use of selenium is to decolorize glass,  to color glass red, and to make the pigment China Red. Other uses are in photocells, in laser printers and photocopiers, in steels, in semiconductors, and in assorted medicinal preparations.There are six natural isotopes of selenium. One is radioactive, while the other five are stable. However, the half-life of the unstable isotope is so long that it is essentially stable. Another 23 unstable isotopes have been produced.Selenium salts are used to help control dandruff.Selenium is protective against mercury poisoning.Some plants require high levels of selenium to survive, so the presence of those plants means the soil is rich in the element.Liquid selenium exhibits extremely high surface tension.Selenium and its compo unds are anti-fungal.Selenium is important to several enzymes,  including  antioxidant enzymes  glutathione peroxidase  and  thioredoxin reductase and the  deiodinase  enzymes that convert thyroid hormones into other forms.Approximately 2,000 tons of selenium are extracted annually worldwide.Selenium is most commonly produced as a byproduct of copper refining.The element was featured in the films Ghostbusters and Evolution.