Differences in Competencies Between Associate Degree and Baccalaureate Degree Nurses Essay Example for Free

Differences in Competencies Between Associate Degree and Baccalaureate Degree Nurses Essay Differences in Competencies Between Associate Degree and Baccalaureate Degree Nurses Nursing education can be confusing because there are so many ways to become a nurse. However, throughout history, nurse leaders have advocated the importance of higher education for nurses. But as nursing shortages developed, the need for more and more nurses became apparent. To help solve the nursing shortage problem, Mildred Montag developed the associate degree of nursing program (ADN) in 1952. It was designed to be completed in two years and provide a balance of general nursing education along with clinical courses. The original program designed by Mildred Montag was for associate degree nurses to work under the supervision of professional baccalaureate prepared nurses. Due to confusion, the graduates of the associate degree nursing program were allowed to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). This NCLEX exam was the same exam given to baccalaureate degree nurses (Creasia Friberg, 2011). Now, associate degree nurses can be found in almost every setting from hospitals to long term care facilities. However, even though associate nurses have the skills to provide adequate patient care, the advanced education of the baccalaureate degree nurse provides leadership skills, advanced critical thinking skill and improved patient outcomes (Lane Kohlenberg, 2010). Therefore, in recent years the difference in competencies between the associate degree nurse and the baccalaureate degree nurse has been examined, resulting in a push for more nurses to obtain a bachelors degree (BSN). Associate degree nursing programs teach the technical aspect of nursing care. An associate prepared nurse can function well at the bedside. She can monitor the patient’s needs and record the outcomes of treatments. An associate prepared nurse can use critical thinking skills to determine her best course of action in most situations. But the constantly changing field of healthcare is demanding higher educated nurses. It is demanding nurses that are more professional and have an understanding of theory based practice. Nursing and medical organizations across the nation are recommending that all RNs advance their education. An advanced level of education can improve patient safety and quality of care (Fact Sheet: Creating, 2013). This has been evidenced by numerous studies on the correlation between higher educated nurses and patient outcomes. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study that found surgical patients had 14% lower odds of dying as an inpatient within 30 days when being cared for by higher educated nurses. Another study conducted at the University of Toronto found hospitals that increased their pool of baccalaureate prepared nurses by just 10% had a decrease in death of discharged patients (Fact Sheet: Creating, 2013). To fully understand the differences in competencies between an ADN and a BSN, it may be necessary to evaluate how each would perform in a specific patient care situation. For example, a 66 year male is hospitalized with an open wound on his leg. The wound is positive for MRSA and the patient is diabetic. The associate degree nurse dresses the wound properly, and teaches the patient how to take care of the wound. She helps manage the patient’s diabetes and teaches him how to manage it at home. The patient is discharged home with instructions and prescriptions. He is re-admitted a week later with high blood sugars and a worsening leg wound. The same patient is cared for by a nurse with a BSN. During his stay the nurse dresses his wound properly, and manages his blood sugar levels. During her time with him, the nurse questions the patient about his family and his home. Through casual conversation she discovers the patient lives alone, but his daughter lives close by. She also learns he is unable to clean his home properly, but he is adamant about staying there. With the patient’s permission, the nurse contacts the patient’s daughter to learn more about the challenges the patient faces in caring for himself. After talking with the daughter, the nurse discovers the patient has not had an eye exam in 5 years and his vision is poor. He does not follow a diabetic diet and prefers to eat out rather than cook at home. Armed with this new information, the nurse talks with the patient. She tactfully points out his vision problems and poor diet choices. The patient admits he needs new glasses, but cannot afford them. He admits to having trouble seeing the numbers on his insulin syringe. He also states following a diabetic diet is too difficult so he doesn’t bother. The nurse takes this information to the hospital’s case management team and together they get home health care that will help him with his dressings. They also manage to find help to clean his home and funding to get him new glasses. The nurse then makes an appointment for the patient for diabetic teaching provided by the hospital. Prior to discharge the nurse teaches the daughter how to change the wound dressing and how to give insulin injections. She encourages the daughter to go with  the patient to diabetic education classes. The BSN nurse did more than just discharge the patient. She used the metaparadigm of nursing model to treat the patient as a whole. The metaparadigm consists of person, environment, health, nursing and how they all interact with each other. (Gunther, 2011). She recognized the patient was an individual person with individual health needs. She discovered his physical and environmental challenges and learned how they were affecting his health. Utilizing the information she obtained she found the patient the appropriate help for his situation. The associate degree nurse is certainly capable of taking care of patients in almost any healthcare setting. However, healthcare is changing rapidly with increased acuity and short lengths of stay and nursing must change with it by producing more professional, well-educated nurses. References Creasia, J. L. , Friberg, E. E. (2011). Pathways of Nursing Education. In M. Iannuzzi, R. Richman (Eds. ), Conceptual foundations: The bridge to professional nursing practice (5th ed. (pp. 23-26). [PageBurst]. Retrieved from www. elsevier. com Fact sheet: Creating a more highly qualified nursing workforce. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. aacn. nche. edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nursing-workforce Gunther, M. (2011). Theories and frameworks for professional nursing practice. In M. Iannuzzi, R. Richman (Eds. ), Conceptual foundations: The bridge to professional nursing practice (5th ed. (pp. 97-99). [PageBurst]. Retrieved from www. elsevier. com Lane, S. H. , Kohlenberg, E. (2010). The future of baccalaureate degrees for nurses. Nursing Forum, 45(4), 218-227. doi:10. 1111/j. 1744-6198. 2010. 00194.

The Sexual Expression of Women in Thomas Hardys Writing Essay

The Sexual Expression of Women in Thomas Hardy's Writing The nineteenth-century woman was defined by her adherence to submission and resistance to sexuality. She was portrayed by most writers as a naive, accepting figure with strong concerns about living up to the prescribed societal ideals for a respectable woman. The women in Jane Austen's novels offer a clear representation of the nineteenth-century woman. Austen refuses these women any sexual expression and focuses more upon their concern with marriage and society. Thomas Hardy resists Austen's socially accepted depiction of the female with his radically independent heroines. Hardy redefines the role of women in his novels, focusing on sexuality. By emphasizing the physical aspect of femininity in his unorthodox representation of the sexual female, Hardy threatens the Victorian model of women. Sexuality is evident in Far From The Madding Crowd when Bathsheba unknowingly admits her passion to Sergeant Troy. "If you can only fight half as winningly as you can talk, you are able to make a pleasure of a bayonet wound!" Baths...

Black on Black Violence Essay

Black on black violence has been on the rise in the recent years. 1 in 146 black males are at risk of violent death, whereas the ratio for white men is 1 in 189. What do we mean by â€Å"Black on Black crime? † It may be described as anytime a Black person inflicts violent harm on another Black person. The effects of this violence in the Black community are tremendous. Violence is very much part of what it means to be Black in America. Another issue in America is putting the wrong people on death row. Most of the time it is just to a guilty verdict so the prosecutor’s family can move on. This is exactly what happened in the case of Walter McMillian who was accused and found guilty of murdering a Ronda Morrison by gunshot. In this passage I will explain some of the black on black violence seen in America, talk about some of the excerpts from Les Payne and Glenn Loury’s argument, and explain McMillians trial plus the racial inequality he experienced. Jesse Jackson once said in order to have a safer living environment you â€Å"must get the guns off the streets†. It was said that in LA County that African-Americans have a 1/29 chance of being murdered while whites are only a 1/186 chance. So why are blacks at such a greater risk than whites? One explanation can be the black on black violence that is occurring in our society today. Of the violence that blacks do use it has been reported that 94% of it is used on other black peoples. Early on in life is where the kids look up to their peers and want to do what they do and act how they act. And this sole factor is the reason the violence in communities is on the rise. The role models in these young black kids’ lives are often drug dealers or gang members and this can be attractive to the youth. They see all the material items these dealers and gang members have and they want it too. But what these children do not understand is the means that these older role models obtain these goods. A woman named Mary Ross is a member of LA County and she said you have to fight in order to make it in these poorer neighborhoods. She said that she applied for a job and so did a white woman. Mary claims that the white girl got the job just because of the color of her skin and not the skills she would bring to the job. So she feels the only way to live her life is by stealing and robbing from others. When she does fight Mary says she will not stop until she sees a lot of blood. Currents TV also interviewed her husband Anthony Carter. He says that there is anger on the streets that leads to this violence and that there is a lack of opportunity and blatant discrimination on the community’s part. The vast majority of the people living in poor neighborhoods are law abiding citizens but because of where they live they are sucked into the violence. Frankie Lee Randolph, a 24 year old, was one of these law abiding citizens who was caught in the cross fire of a violent black community. He was in the service, had a good job and a good family but one day he was just stabbed to death for no apparent reason. These families who do obey the law want police protection but not the police brutality they see often. Being poor and having low self-esteem could lead to a lot of the violence and anger in those communities. It seems the higher up you are in society the more informed decisions you make. The people in poorer black communities feel as if their lives are being attacked so they need weapons for protection. They are surrounded by violence so you need to be prepared for the unexpected. The people of these neighborhoods feel as if they need to take action before the action comes at them. Then and only then do they feel like they are in control. Experiencing violence increases the likelihood that a person will use violence against someone else later. So violence in the community is like a snowball rolling down a hill in an avalanche, getting larger as it goes along, sweeping up more and more in its path. Violence is a self-perpetuating problem. Next, the Currents TV switched into an interview with Glenn Loury and Les Payne. Loury brought up the issue of blacks choosing their own destinies while Payne brought up the issue of a psychic genocide. Loury said that blacks can educate themselves and make their own lives better; it was their personal responsibility. He says we need to give them the means but also lead them down the right path. There is more weight on protecting the majority of the law abiding citizens and more effort to help the violent minority. Loury then goes on to say that behavior and home life lead to this violence and people make their own choices, whether they be good or bad ones. He basically sums up his arguments by stating the black communities need to advance their own interests and to get their act together and take care of yourself and who you take care of. Les Payne began his argument by explaining to us that black are made to feel inferior to the white race; what he calls a psychic genocide. How are these kids going to get educated? That is an American problem. It is a public problem for this country. There isn’t any shortcut to it. There’s no easy answer to it. Payne states that black life is becoming cheapened and there is a very fine line from those who are successful and those who are not. He then says that drugs are destroying the community when they are being brought in. Drugs lead to violence, mistrust within the community, and a lack of supervision on the streets. It’s got to deal with the laws, the institutions that influence our people. We have to talk about it as an American community. Finally, I will touch upon the case involving Walter McMillian. It was alleged that McMillian went into a cleaners and robbed and murdered the clerk there, 18 year old Ronda Morrison. McMillian says he was at home doing a fish fry that day. The arrest came after seven months where police had no leads at all until Ralph Myers, a white man with a long criminal record, came forward. He was arrested for the murder of another young woman in Alabama. Meyers was interrogated about Ronda Morrison’s murder and eventually stated that Walter McMillian, a 46-year-old black man from Monroe County, had killed Ronda. Two other witnessed corroborated parts of Myerss story. Meyers described the way the body was positioned and supposedly gave strong details about the scene of the crime. But investigators said that his testimony was wrong and that the body was never moved because there was a distinct dust on the floor that was undisturbed. There were no finger prints, ballistics, and no physical evidence whatsoever. Meyers stated that he drove McMillian’s truck to the store and then began hearing popping sounds from inside. Meyers then went inside and saw McMillian over the body with money in his hands. The state needed a corroborator for Meyers’ statement to hold up by law. Bill Hooks was this man. He said he drove by and saw McMillian get in passenger side at cleaners with Meyers as driver. Hooks knew it was his truck because his truck had been lowered. McMillian said it could not have been his because he got his truck lowered six months after the murder took place. Plus McMillian and a friend both said that it could not have been his because his truck had no transmission in it, so it was not even able to start. Defense lawyers said that Hooks got assistance from the cops for the incriminating statement. This assistance included getting released from jail, having his charges dropped, and $5,000. Near the end of the trial prosecutors brought up the issue of McMillian â€Å"running around† with a white woman. McMillian was sentenced to death row for six years before being released after the truth came to light. There were many issues of racism and inequality during the investigation and trial. First of which was the false statement given by the three witnesses. Prosecutors told him his testimony would give him a reduced sentence. DA Chapman indicted Meyer’s based on perjury where he gave a false statement while being in oath. Witnesses who had testified against McMillian admitted that they had committed perjury. Next there was the fact that there was no evidence that would incriminate McMillian at all. No physical evidence, no fingerprints, and no ballistic reports. It was as if the court just wanted to find someone to place the blame. All they had was the testimony of three individuals. More often than not this would not be enough for a trial, but because of the implications, murder of white woman and alleged killing of a black man, it was enough for Alabama courts to try. McMillian later said that he was convicted because he was with a white woman and because his son also married a white woman. In addition, it became clear that the prosecution had hidden exculpatory evidence, including the existence of a witness who had seen the victim alive after the time at which the prosecution contended the crime had occurred. The defense asked that the trial be moved from Monroe County because of all the publicity surrounding the case. The judge agreed to move the trial from Monroe County to Baldwin County, which had a substantially smaller percentage of black people in its population. There was also the fact that the jury in the trial recommended a life sentence for McMillian but the judge overruled this recommendation and sentenced him to death. McMillan said he never doubted his innocence would come to light, but when asked whether he has faith in the justice system, he responded: â€Å"No. Not at all. â€Å"

Essay about Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely - 1561 Words

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton said that â€Å"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† This has been seen numerous times throughout history. From Hitler’s ideological world and his slaughtering of six million Jews in attempt to reach it, to Mohamed Suhato’s embezzlement of somewhere between fifteen and thirty five billion US dollars, which then led to the complete collapse of Indonesia’s economy; the world has set gaze upon some nefarious dignitaries. Clive Cussler has completely agreed with Lord Acton and his famous quote in the novel Sahara. The antagonists in this story become totally deleterious in there lust for absolute power, which leads to the deaths of innocent soldiers, the crippling of his country through†¦show more content†¦Bloodthirsty, with revenge on his mind after being bested in his first confrontation with the protagonist, he now knows completely what his opposition is capable of. With this intellige nce now resounding in his mind, he orders a lacklustre group of soldiers to execute the hero and company, stating that â€Å"if you fail to exterminate the group of individuals who were aboard that speedboat, you will all pay with your life† (Cussler 235). However Kazim’s subpar military officials never stood a chance against the protagonist. Kazim seems to get more blinded with keeping his position of power as he progresses. Towards the end of the novel he has the protagonist and the UN special response team surrounded in an old fort. Completely and utterly crippled by the need to maintain his role as Dictator of Mali he ignores the fact that the people inside the fort for the most part are highly trained special operation soldiers and his army consists of men who have seldom had to use their guns. Throwing strategy out the window Kazim sends his soldiers at the fort in waves ordering that â€Å"Any man that stops moving forward is to be shot on spot, no one expects you to survive. Die with honour† (Cussler 490). The UN troops mowed down Kazim’s soldiers with ease. This loss of life was completely unnecessary on Kazim’s part as he had the whole Malayan military at his disposal. Nevertheless, blinded by rage and corrupted by powerShow MoreRelatedPower Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely1475 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† Over the centuries, this famous saying voiced by Lord Action has been analyzed and dissected numerous times by historians and philosophers. Some individuals say that power does not corrupt, it only attracts the corruptible. However, to judge fairly, past and current events accurately depict the ideology that power corrupts absolutely, and has convinced me, that its meaning holds true. 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The power that corrupts the characters plays an extensive role throughout Shakespeare’s play, King Lear. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power that Lear offers them. Edmund’s corruption comes from the trust of his father. Absolute power corrupts absolutely with the characters, because once have full control, they are so cold that they will do anything to keepRead MoreKing Lear - Power Corrupts798 Words   |  4 PagesPower is the ability to manipulate and control whatever one desires; to do what one pleases to do without answering to authority. The power that corrupts the characters plays an extensive role throughout Shakespeares play, King Lear. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power that Lear offers them. Edmunds corruption comes from the trust of his father. Absolute power corrupts absolutely with the characters, because once have full control, they are so cold that they will do anything to keep the