Nurse Facilitated Hospital Discharge Planning in an Elderly Unit Literature review

Nurse Facilitated Hospital Discharge Planning in an Elderly Unit - Literature review Example Patients with complex care needs, including frail and elderly or those with mental problems, may require continuing care in special housing, residential or nursing homes, and need a ‘package of care’ to support them back to good health after hospital discharge (McKenna et al, 2000, p.594-601). Such population demands effective discharge arrangements. Discharge planning is â€Å"a facet of the overall care of the patient, developed through the application of the nursing process† (Watts, 2005). It is a process â€Å"that is dependent on inter-professional collaboration between health and welfare professionals† (Atwal, 2002). Study of problems of discharging patients from hospitals have been in focus during the last two decades, and some of the shortcomings identified are: â€Å"poor communication between hospital and community; inadequate notice of discharge; over-reliance in informed support and lack of support; inattention to patient’s needs before leaving hospital; and wasted or duplicated visits by community nurses† (McKenna et al, 2000, p.594-601). â€Å"Cost effective, coordinated, high-quality discharge planning† is integral to control increasing healthcare costs and hospital personnel must become more adept at preparing patients for discharge as there is a decrease in length of acute hospital stay, and increase in care shift to communities and homes (Lalani & Gulzar, 2001). â€Å"Aged care assessment team (ACAT)† model, operating in Australia, may be helpful in streamlining hospital discharge process in the U.K. (Robinson & Street, 2003). ACAT, a key multidisciplinary group primarily comprising nurses and paramedical staff, is involved in determining the discharge needs of older people Hence, decreasing length of patient stay in hospitals is paramount agenda in every health care planner and eliminating long waiting lists and freeing up of ‘blocked beds’ could be possible with effective an d efficient discharge planning procedures.  

Dietary supplements (e.g vitamins,herbal extracts,etc) Research Paper

Dietary supplements (e.g vitamins,herbal extracts,etc) - Research Paper Example Amino acids, which are the individual building blocks of proteins, are part of these substances. The supplements can come in form of pills, tablets, capsule, or liquid form. They add to the usual daily diet and must not be considered for food. They are widely available and some people take them for healthy purposes or because of health related complications. Minerals and vitamins are the common supplements. They include vitamin C or multivitamin, herbs and plants and natural source substances like omega-3 fatty acids. The supplements, according to the processors, contribute to well-being and health maintenance, but may treat, diagnose, or prevent infections or disease. Many people have used the ingredients for many years to treat illness and help health. At times some of these supplements are a basis for common medicines today. For instance, willow bark tea, for centuries, has been a fever control mechanism. Phamceutical firms eventually realised that it contained a chemical that helps in fevr reduction and used the knowledge to come up with aspirin (HOLLENSTEIN, 2007). The researcher used random questionnaires to collect information from people around his locality. The questionnaire had questions related to the necessity of using dietary supplements. Some of the questionnaires were online while the researcher distributed others manually to collect information locally and internationally. The method used was survey questioning where information from online questionnaires was compiled and related with that of the other respondents. They do provide a nutritional support to the body of a human being and help in meeting optimal nutrient levels to ensure health from the baseline. 35% of the respondents believe that dietary supplements are good for consumption, 4% think that some of them prevent influenza, 2% take them for boosting their immune, 10% support its consumption

Family Assessment and Substance Abuse Assignment

Family Assessment and Substance Abuse - Assignment Example Violence here can be physical, verbal, or sexual. This can be attributed to the impaired reasoning state that a person assumes after using drugs. Drugs have been known to interfere with one’s perception of things and so tend to think illogically and irrationally. Those who suffer here are spouses of drug addicts as well as their children. In addition to this, the physical state of drug addicts is also affected. Psychologically, drug addicts are affected, as they appear mentally deranged (Thombs et. al., 1997. Their thinking and reasoning is impaired, and as a result, their decisions affect their families. The resultant effect of drug abuse in a family includes denial and keeping of that issue secretive. As a result, the family makes changes in the ways it deals with the substance abuse problem. Some of the rules that have been documented to exist in families where substance abuse is an issue include; all family members are encouraged not to feel the painful effects that drug u se cause a family member to do. These changes include emotional and behavioral changes. Children and spouses affected here do not talk about or express their emotions in public, but in case this happens, the reaction is always violent and abusive. In such families, there is lack of trust since many promises made are always cancelled or forgotten. This erodes the trust of family members, especially children who grow up with this notion. If anyone abuses drugs while expectant, then there are chances that they will give birth to babies with low birth weight. In addition to this, babies born by addictive mothers suffer from withdrawal syndrome soon after birth or acquire fetal alcohol syndrome. Substance abuse... This essay stresses that organizations that are responsible for drug trafficking should be dismantled and their leaders arrested and prosecuted in international courts. However, this method has not been effective as much, probably due to the high rate of corruption and presence of rogue law enforcers and top government officials who benefit from drug sales. Also, fundamental is the enhancement of policies that will control the sale of prescription drugs so that they are not abused. The government has put in place some acts and legislations that are aimed at controlling the vice. For example, the Drug abuse Control amendments of 1965. This was formed to act as a modification of the Food, drug, and cosmetics act. Through this act, some drugs were labeled as stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, required licenses, and control in terms of distribution and sales. The bureau of narcotics and dangerous drugs was also formed, and handles control of marijuana and narcotics, as well as other drugs. Finally yet importantly in control of substance abuse and addiction is the online counseling services that help drug users. This paper makes a conclusion that substance abuse is without a doubt a major problem that has affected all and sundry in the world, be it directly or indirectly. Even though there are measures in place to curb this problem, it is evident that a lot more has to be done if total eradication is to be achieved. This will bring normalcy to families and the society as whole.

Why did Operation Barbarossa Fail?

Why did Operation Barbarossa Fail? Before Operation Barbarossa was launched, Hitler and Germany have great success on invasion and battles, except Battle of Britain. Hitler invaded Poland in 1931, attacked Belgium, France, and Holland, battle with Britain. But when he comes to invading Soviet Union, the operation was the beginning of Hitler’s downfall. Operation Barbarossa is a code name for German’s invasion of USSR. That operation was launch on June 22, 1941, and because it was launched at that time, Germany has to deal with one of the biggest problem when they were invading Soviet Union winter. It was the largest military attack in World War Two. Operation Barbarossa was the turning point of World War Two, and reason why is because the invasion of Soviet Union is one of the biggest mistakes Hitler makes in World War Two. The idea of invading Soviet Union is not the problem, but the way Hitler did it. Operation Barbarossa failed because Germany used weak military forces, had poor logistics and plannin g, and failed to win the Battle of Stalingrad, which is one of the main battles in Operation Barbarossa. First of all, Germany has weak army and military forces. Their condition, military forces, army were weaker than Red army. One of the main problems is the winter in Russia. German’s army and military forces can’t handle the winter in Russia. â€Å"The German tanks had narrow treads with little traction and poor flotation in mud. In contrast, the new generation of Soviet tanks such as the T-34 and KV had wider tracks and were far more mobile in these conditions.† (Operation Barbarossa) According to the information above, Soviet Union has more reliable and improved vehicles than Germany’s. Their military forces such as tanks were not good as Soviet Union’s. They were also not prepared for the weather and Soviet Union’s poor road network, even reaching to certain destination was also hard for them. â€Å"Consequently, the troops were not equipped with adequate cold-weather gear, and some soldiers had to pack newspapers into their jackets to sta y warm while temperatures dropped to record levels of at least -30  °C (-22  °F). To operate furnaces and heaters, the Germans also burned precious fuel that was difficult to re-supply.† (Operation Barbarossa) Besides transportation problem caused by the winter, German’s army were also affected by the winter. Their equipment and gears were not fit for the weather. For example, they have to burn fuel, which is a very important supplies and very hard to get, to keep them warm. On the other hand, Soviet Union’s troops have warmer clothing. Their vehicles such as aircraft also weren’t in a good condition, because sometimes fuel will freezes and soldiers will have to took time to fixed it, otherwise those vehicles can not be used. Lubricants for vehicles were also useless as well in such a cold weather in Russia. These supplies such as lubricants, oil, fuel, were extremely important, because these supplies keep German’s military forces such as guns, vehicles in action and a good condition. Second reasons were German’s poor logistics and planning strategy. One of the reasons is because Germany was way too confidents, they’ve over underestimated Soviet Union. That leads to unrealistic, poor strategy and logistics. â€Å"The invasion had three main objectives. Army Group Center, consisting of 1.3 million troops, 2,600 tanks and 7,800 artillery pieces, mounted a massive drive on Moscow. Meanwhile, Army Group North, consisting of 700,000 troops, 770 tanks and 4,000 artillery pieces.† (Erik Sass, Operation Barbarossa: The Biggest Military Adventure in History) Hitler uses the strategy called â€Å"blitzkrieg†, or â€Å"lightning war†. This is the same strategy Hitler use to defeat France and Poland, but this doesn’t work on Soviet Union. Soviet Union was also surprised by this invasion, due to Stalin’s belief Germany won’t attack it’s own allied, especially after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Due to the di fficulty of getting fuel for supplies, Germany sometimes has not enough fuel to reach to the destination. Their army doesn’t have enough ammunition and other supplies as well. Food was never important to Hitler. Because it is hard to get supplies while in the frontline of battlefield or marching toward the heartland of Russia, Hitler has to choose between food, ammunition, and warm clothes, Hitler mostly choose ammunition instead of others. â€Å"Commanders in the field relied on foraging local livestock to feed the soldiers and this continued until such time when shortages resulted in troops eating their units horses.† (MAJ Loganathan, Failure Of Logistics In â€Å"Operation Barbarossa† And Its Relevance Today) By September 1941, Germany was winning and the invasion was successful so far. They have already conquered Kiev and Odessa, and pushing forward to Leningrad and Moscow. â€Å"By December 1941, the combined German armies had killed 360,000 Soviet soldier s, wounded one million, and captured two million more, for total Red Army losses of around 3.4 million by the end of the year. In six months, German troops and their allies advanced up to 600 miles and occupied over 500,000 square miles of Soviet territory, home to 75 million people.† (Erik Sass, Operation Barbarossa: The Biggest Military Adventure in History) Finally, Germany lost the battle of Stalingrad, which is the turning point of this operation. Before this battle, Hitler was mostly success in this invasion. â€Å"Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict.† (Battle of Stalingrad) The Battle of Stalingrad was started at 17 July 1942, in this battle Soviet Union successfully defend the city of Stalingrad. One of the reasons why Stalingrad is important is that it was Russia’s main communication center in the south. German’s commander was General Paulus, and his main goal was to secure the oil field in Caucasus, on the other hand, Russia would try not to let Germany secure the oil field. German’s army had to deal with and handle the winter in Russia while fighting with Soviet Union. That makes Germany harder to defeat their enemies. Zhukov, Russian commander, used strategy to go around the city and trap German’s army. At this point, Hitler still refused to give up, and commanded General Paulus to hold their ground. â€Å"Hitler ordered that Paulus should fight to the last bullet, and to encourage Paulus, he promoted him to field marshal. However, by the end of January 1943, the Germans could do nothing else but surrender. Paulus surrendered the army in the southern sector on January 31st while General Schreck surrendered the northern group on February 2nd, 1943.† (Battle of Stalingrad) 91,000 soldiers were taken as prisoners and about 150,000 men were lost. That’s a huge lost for Germany and their military had been weaken since then. In conclusion, Operation Barbarossa was one of the greatest mistakes Hitler had made. It was the turning point of World War Two. Operation Barbarossa failed because Germany used weak military forces, had poor logistics and planning, and failed to win the Battle of Stalingrad, which is one of the main battles in Operation Barbarossa. The major problem that leads to the failure of this operation was the winter in Russia. That cause many major and minor problems such as weaker military forces, poor transportation. Russian army also has better equipment, gears, vehicles that suit the situation more. Second is that Germany has poor logistics and planning strategy. Germany has over underestimated Soviet Union, and their army, supplies were too confident. That leads to unrealistic, poor strategy and logistics. Finally, Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad, which is a important major battle in Operation Barbarossa. German’s army was surrounded and Hitler makes the wrong call. Works Cited â€Å"Operation Barbarossa†. New World Encyclopedia. Web. 12 May 2015. MLJ Loganathan. â€Å"Failure Of Logistics In â€Å"Operation Barbarossa† And It’s Relevance Day†. mindef. gov. sg. Web. 12 May 2015. â€Å"Battle of Stalingrad†. History.com. A+E Networks. 2009. Web. 12 May 2015. Erik Sass. â€Å"Operation Barbarossa: The Biggest Military Adventure in History†. Mental_floss. Web. 12 May 2015. Chris Trueman. â€Å"The Battle of Stalingrad†. History Learning Site. 2014. Web. 12 May 2015. Professor Richard Overy. â€Å"The Soviet-German War 1941-1945†. BBC. Web. 12 May 2015. Kennedy Hickman. â€Å"World War II: Battle of Stalingrad†. about education. Web. 12 May 2015.

Chaucers Canterbury Tales :: essays research papers fc

The Canterbury Tales is a great assortment of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Each individual story is told by a pilgrim from the voyage to Canterbury. â€Å"The Prioress’ Tale† was a Miracle of the Virgin story, told by the Prioress. Another tale is â€Å"The Nun’s Priest’s Tale† which is a Beast Fable. Then there is â€Å"The Pardoner’s Tale†, which is an Exemplum. The genres of The Canterbury Tales help shape the entire story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"The Prioress’ Tale†, the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, miraculously aids a follower in the time of need, which is also known as a Miracle of the Virgin tale. A few quotes from the tale support this, one is the following: â€Å"Where he lay face upright with throat slit, began to sing ‘Alma Redemptoris’ so loud, that all the place began to ring† (Chaucer 291). The little boy’s throat had been slit, but since the Virgin Mary had placed the grain on his tongue, he was still able to sing until the grain was taken away. Since the story shows the miracles that can happen when a follower is in the time of need, and how the Virgin Mary guides the follower, it proves that â€Å"The Prioress’ Tale† is a Miracle of the Virgin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An Allegory â€Å"is the representation of ideas or moral principles by means of symbolic characters, events, or objects† (Stein 150). The little boy in the story is compared to Jesus, the son of the Virgin Mary. Throughout â€Å"The Prioress’ Tale,† she tells of the Jews and uses a allegory, and compares Jesus’ death to the little boy’s. â€Å"My throat is cut to my neck-bone,† said this child, â€Å"and according to nature, I should have died, yes, a long while ago; But Jesus Christ, as you find in books, wills that His glory endure and be remembered; and, for the majesty of His Mother dear, yet may I sing ‘o Alma’ loud and clear† (Chaucer 294).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Nun’s Priest’s Tale† is a Beast Fable, or when â€Å"animals are given human qualities and are involved in clever tales that preach a moral lesson† (The Center for Learning 31). In the tale, Chanticleer is a rooster who is given human characteristics. He talks throughout the story, showing his human like features. â€Å"Here men may see that dreams are to be feared† (Chaucer 316). The entire tale tells the story of Chanticleer and his seven wives.

Etta James Essay

Born as Jamesetta Hawkins January 20, 1938 in Los Angeles, California music legend Etta James came into this world. Etta’s mother Dorothy Hawkins was only 14 at the time she had Etta which was a factor of the young girl being moved around to foster homes multiple times. She never knew her dad and when vocal coach James Earl Hines took her in to sing at the church and teach her, he would sometimes get Etta out of bed and beat her to force her to sing for people. This is looked at to be the reason Etta never liked singing on demand. Etta moved to San Francisco where she created her first musical group named The Creolettes at the age of 14. Multitalented Johnny Otis found the girls one day singing at a nightclub and took the girls under his wing. Otis changed the Creolettes name to The Peaches, signed them to Modern Records, and changed Etta’s stage name from her birth name Jamesetta Hawkins to Etta James. Etta was a very spunky girl with an enormous attitude. When Georgina Gibbs covered James’ single â€Å"Dance with me, Henry† and it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Etta was very angered. A similar incident happened when Beyonce Knowles, who portrayed Etta James in the 2008 movie Cadillac Records, performed James’ single â€Å"At Last† at the 2009 presidential inauguration ball. Etta expressed her distaste and anger at this at a Seattle concert. After James’ time with Modern Records ended in 1960 she then signed onto the Chess label Argo where she recorded her debut album At Last! Where her signature hit â€Å"At Last† was featured on. An interesting thing about her most popular song â€Å"At Last† that few people are aware of is that it was actually not her most rewarded piece of work. Etta James faced many obstacles throughout her life from being a foster child, facing a heroin addiction, and sadly suffering from Alzheimer’s and leukemia which eventually led to her death on January 20, 2012. Etta’s heroin addiction took a big toll on her career as she was in and out of rehabilitation centers during the early 1970’s. She avoided prison time when her husband and she were caught in possession of heroin and he took the fall having to serve a 10 year prison sentence. Etta was then forced to stay at the Tarzana psychiatric center for 17 months. Unfortunately her addiction was not conquered and she continued to battle it until she died. Etta James success was only later recognized in the early 2000’s where she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003 Etta was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award and soon came out with a new album â€Å"Blue Gardenia† in 2004. Her second to last album â€Å"Let’s Roll† was released in 2005 and won her the Grammy for Best contemporary blues album. In May, 2009 at age 71 Etta James was awarded the Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year award from the Blues Foundation for the ninth time! The very next year while she was touring, she was forced to cancel many of her shows due to her gradually failing health after it was revealed that she was suffering from Dementia and Leukemia. Etta released her final album in November 2011, which was critically acclaimed and soon after died two months later. After listening to the song â€Å"I’d Rather go Blind† you can’t help but have an appreciation for Etta. You can sense the despair in her voice like she really does not want that man to leave her. I love the way it crescendo’s or builds up the emotion throughout the song. I also love the song â€Å"I just want to make love to you.† The way she goes into her gravelly voice is really unique.

Dental Hygiene Research Essay

I.Introduction- Dental hygienists can be found in a variety of workplace settings, but Usually they work in private dental offices. II.1st body paragraph Overview – What exactly does a Dental Hygienist do and why is it important? A.1st Paragraph Supporting Details – They remove hard and soft deposits on teeth Take and develop x-rays, make impressions for casts†¦ B.1st Paragraph Supporting Details – Teach patients proper technique and strategies for good overall oral health. C.The American Heart Association researchers shared findings that professional dental care can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. D.1st Paragraph Supporting Details – Other similar jobs are Dentist and Dental assistant. III.2nd body paragraph Overview – Specific requirements and education needed to become a dental hygienist. A.2nd Paragraph Supporting Details– Each state has its own educational requirements. B.2nd Paragraph Supporting Details–A minimum of an associate’s degree in dental hygiene is needed to enter the occupation. C.Majority of college programs take at least 2 years to complete. D.A bachelors or master’s degree is required for teaching, research, or practice in public or school health programs. E.Areas of study are anatomy, physiology, radiography, and periodontology. IV.3rd body paragraph Overview – Advantages and disadvantages of the dental hygiene profession. A.3rd Paragraph Supporting Details- Personal satisfaction from helping all types of people. B.3rd Paragraph Supporting Details– Because of education and training, they are valuable members of the oral healthcare team. C.3rd Paragraph Supporting Details– Flexible scheduling. Full-time and part-time options are usually available. More than half of dental hygienists work part time allowing them to sometimes work for more than one employer. D.3rd Paragraph Supporting Details– Great demand for dental hygienists so employment opportunities are going to be available well into the future. V.Conclusion – While cleaning teeth is one of the skills a dental hygienist has been trained to do, it’s only one of the many