...Measuring Health Care: A Reflection The past few decades have seen a growing interest in the use of healthcare measures to monitor and evaluate health system quality and performance. A measure is a summary statistic used to give an indication of a process that cannot be measured directly. For example, the quality of care a patient receives is difficult to measure directly, however, we can measure particular processes (such as adherence to protocols) or outcomes related to quality of care. The use of quality data has led to improvements in operations, finances, and clinical outcomes. This discussion will center on a few topics that are vital to health care measures and system quality and performance. The foundation of measures and reasons for their use will be discussed in great detail. We must understand the reason for using measures in health care and their relationship to providers, policy makers, and administrators. Another topic that is vital to the discussion of measures is the use of data to improve organizational processes and thus the outcome of improvements. Although healthcare institutions do not generally make use of quality data and measurements to improve their profit margins, there are many ways they can utilize such measures to enhance their organizational performances. Finally, the discussion will come full circle to show how solidifying the relationship between quality standards and operational and financial efficiencies will lead benefits in long-term strategic...
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...For the past two weeks, I have learned a lot about how to interact with others, how to take criticism, about how I personally deal with conflict, the importance of speaking up for myself and how my body language appears to others. The most significant event that allowed me to learn these lessons occurred on my day on labour and delivery. I was about to mix penicillin for a patient and the charge nurse was observing me and asking about how I would do it to get the correct dose. I miscalculated how to get the correct dose and the charge nurse seemed to get angry and said, “You are in third year, you should know this!”. Then she left the med room. My immediate reaction was to cry as I felt so many emotions in that moment. I felt abandoned because she left, stupid because I got the answer wrong and mad because of what she said. This experience taught me that not everyone that you have to deal with in the nursing profession is going to be nice. Whether it is patients or co-workers, there will be people that you just don’t get along with. From this I learned that you should do your best to get along with others but in reality, it may not work out in the end. The important thing is to try but don’t take it personally if the relationship doesn’t work perfectly. As in other aspects of life, in the hospital not everything is perfect. From this, I also learned how supportive most of the nursing community is. When I was visibly upset, numerous other nurses asked me if I was okay and...
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...Occupational Safety and Health Administration Azinna Kimball HCS/430 February 6, 2012 Norman Greene Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency in the United States Department of Labor. Many of the health care facilities were acquiring health and safety issues that led to the creation of OSHA. OSHA main mission is to ensure employees and employers reduce the job injuries, illnesses, death, drug exposure, blood borne pathogens, and safety. Enforcing OSHA regulations followed throughout health care facilities protects American workers. Every employee, employer or member who works should understand what OSHA is about. History of Agency The history of OSHA dates back into the 19th century. The act was signed into law December 29, 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon (Reflections on osha, 2009). OSHA main role is assuming safe and healthy working conditions for the men and woman exposed to any type of issues that could affect his or her safety or health. The OSH Act became effective April 28, 1971 (Reflections on osha, 2009). It was estimated that in 1970 around 14,000 workers were killed on- the-job (Shach, 2011, para. 4). OSHA has lowered the number in people killed because of their safety and regulations. OSHA covers all employees and their employers in the 50 states and territories and jurisdictions under federal authority (What does OSHA do? para. 2). OSHA began the start up phase in the most dangerous...
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...professional. • Write a 350-word reflection on your results from the Nursing Expertise Self-Report Scale and explain how you plan to use this information to improve your communication skills in health care settings. The Nursing Expertise Self-Report Scale and Reflection was an interesting assessment on my nursing skills. The questions that were asked in the scale were difficult to answer based on the grading scale. Overall it was a good reflection of how I approached my patients and utilized my skills. After completing the nursing scale, I realize that there are some things that I need to do different. For example, question number six mentioned, “Emotional attachment to get in the way of good care.” (Hansten, 2009, pp. 175-176) I feel that is a question that is difficult to answer because a nurse needs to have an emotional attachment to connect. The reason we became nurses is because we care for others and we want to care for their health. We came into this field with an emotional attachment. I will continue to treat my patients how I would like to be treated and show them the respect they deserve being under my care. Every nurse is different in how they treat and care for our patients. We all have procedures and guidelines to follow by as a health care professional, but we use our own instincts in other areas of care. Another question that came to mind was question number three. It states, “Quality nursing care results from strictly adhering to...
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... so the health quality and services are more available for everyone. However, if I compare between city and country side, I can see much difference between them. In the country side, many people suffer and died from inadequate of health care systems. Furthermore, there are another reasons for this, for example lack of facilities and equipment to do operation or surgery and also can be low income cause some people tend to stay at home rather than go to city to spend much money to get a better treatment . On the other hand, in the city, there are many hospitals and also have full of equipment to do big operation. Yet, they tend to have bad lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart attack because of their daily food. My father has passed away because of heart attack. The reason is He did not really care about his health condition; he smokes and eats everything that he wants. I think in Indonesia, people in the country side are healthier because of their good lifestyle diet. They eat food from their farm which is more natural and no junk foods. Besides, the environment is better than city which is many trees and fewer vehicles if we compare with city which is full of pollutions. For Australia, I know about their culture and lifestyle roughly. I can see that many people have party during weekend and some people do every night in a week in which way they drink alcohol and worse thing is they have a free-sex lifestyle. However, if I compare the health care systems between...
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...This essay will be a reflective account of an incident from practice based on Gibbs’ Reflective cycle; I will critically analyse the nature of the incident based on the best available evidence. This reflection will help to identify new skills and knowledge learnt as a result of the incident and the implications for my future nursing practice. Although I am aware many reflective models exist, I have chosen to use Gibbs’s reflective framework as it is a cycle and encourages me to think about what I would do differently next time. This clearly shows Gibbs’ awareness that a nurse will have a similar experience again. This reflection method supports Schon’s (1991 cited Issitt 2003) opinion that reflecting on practice after the event is the most effective way to maintain an improvement as a development can be made. As part of the UKCC Project 2000 pre registration nurses are expected to be able to reflect on practice experiences and reflection can help create holistic and flexible practitioners (Andrews et al 1998). For the purpose of the assignment I will use a pseudonym to protect the client’s identity in accordance with the law as stated by the Department of Health (2003), there is also an obligation stated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) to protect client confidentiality. This pseudonym is Sue. The first stage of Gibbs’ model is a description of what happened; whilst on a surgical ward I was caring for a lady post operatively who had a bilateral total mastectomy...
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... so the health quality and services are more available for everyone. However, if I compare between city and country side, I can see much difference between them. In the country side, many people suffer and died from inadequate of health care systems. Furthermore, there are another reasons for this, for example lack of facilities and equipment to do operation or surgery and also can be low income cause some people tend to stay at home rather than go to city to spend much money to get a better treatment . On the other hand, in the city, there are many hospitals and also have full of equipment to do big operation. Yet, they tend to have bad lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart attack because of their daily food. My father has passed away because of heart attack. The reason is He did not really care about his health condition; he smokes and eats everything that he wants. I think in Indonesia, people in the country side are healthier because of their good lifestyle diet. They eat food from their farm which is more natural and no junk foods. Besides, the environment is better than city which is many trees and fewer vehicles if we compare with city which is full of pollutions. For Australia, I know about their culture and lifestyle roughly. I can see that many people have party during weekend and some people do every night in a week in which way they drink alcohol and worse thing is they have a free-sex lifestyle. However, if I compare the health care systems between...
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...Community and Public Health Reflection Marcia La Bruyere NUR/405 March 11, 2013 Michelle Hogsed Community and Public Health Reflection Public health nurses integrate community involvement and knowledge about the entire population with personal, clinical understanding of the health and illness experience of individuals and families within the population. They translate and articulate the health and illness experiences of diverse often vulnerable individuals and families in the population to health planners and policy makers, and assist members of the community to voice their problems and aspirations. Public health nurses are knowledgeable about multiple strategies for intervention, from those applicable to the entire population, to those for the family, and the individual. Public health nurses translate knowledge from the health and social sciences to individuals and population groups through targeted interventions, programs, and advocacy (APHA, 2013). The community creates public health programs to reduce disparities in health care access, quality and health outcomes. They are designed to build capacity from within the community to enhance and sustain community health and wellness. Program services include cultural and language appropriate services for the population in their care. The community helps to ensure that vulnerable populations, with or without insurance, have timely and appropriate access to needed care. Some of the programs operate as independent non-profit...
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...Health Care Marketing Reflection HCS/539 November 11th, 2011 Martha Owens Health Care Marketing Reflection Introduction A successful health care organization in today’s current economy relies on a number of aspects in order to stay in competition with other organizations both familiar and new. One of the larger important aspects of these organizations is marketing. This paper covers one particular organization Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, or CHOMP. At Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, their marketing and communications department works hard to ensure that the strategic planning, marketing, and communication of the hospital are held to a high standard of quality. The department sets goals to be collaborative and provide the best customer service. This paper will look at the current techniques and strategies used by this department, how it affects consumer trends, and the positive/negative affects these techniques have on those employed. Current Health Care Marketing Techniques and Trends According to the Mary Barker, Director of the Communication and Marketing Department at CHOMP, there used to be this feeling that marketing was nothing more than advertising which many in health care frowned upon. I understand why this used to be the feeling, for when deciding to get into a career in health care I thought primarily about helping patients. I do not believe I ever saw health care or hospital services as something that...
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...accepted. Reflection allows a nurse to improve and advance their experiences.This essay aims to discuss patient abuse within aged care facilities and a nurses duty of care are two issues that allow a nurse to reflect and develop their practice skills and person-centered practice. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines elder abuse as a separate or continuous action, or where care is absent within a relationship that requires trust, resulting in physical and emotional violence towards the patient.(World Health Organization, 2018). Nurses hold a duty of care to their patients. They additionally carry a legal obligation...
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...Community Health Nursing Reflection NUR/405 August 7, 2012 Community Health Nursing Reflection According to Phyllis Meadows (2009), “Community health nurses are valued for their adaptability and willingness to provide care in many settings, including community health clinics, churches, homeless shelters, and schools,” (p. 19). Community health nurses aim to improve health outcomes and improve the infrastructure used to monitor and manage disease within the community. Healthy People 2020 has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time to improve health outcomes. Each community has unique needs and the role of the community health nurse is to work with and provide comprehensive care to patients within the community. This reflection addresses the role of the community health nurse with the participating family and their community in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. Community health nurses working in the Spring Mills, PA are faced with numerous challenges in this small rural community. Construction and manufacturing account for 42% of the industry of Spring Mills. With these professions comes increased risk of work related injuries and illnesses. Educational services account for only 3% of the industry, wholesale and retail trade account for 10%, accommodation and food services 15%, and 30% account for a combination of professional, scientific, and technical services. Community health nurses play a role in ensuring safety in the workplace by creating and implementing...
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...yReflection: Spirituality This reflection will follow Gibbs (1988) ‘learn by doing’ model to give an account of a personal experience that was faced during a practice placement. Spirituality has been chosen as the topic to reflect upon after the student (the author) was encouraged to address questions about the spiritual part of care, in which positive practice was felt. The incident in question involved a female patient who was suffering with severe depression following a traumatic event several years prior. A pseudonym will be used for the patient throughout this reflection to ensure confidentiality is maintained, and in compliance to the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2008) code. Difficult or traumatic events in a persons’ life may lead to questions about why something is happening or why something happens at all. Spirituality or looking for meaning in life is a personal thing that often becomes more important in times of emotional distress, physical and mental illness, loss, bereavement and the approach of death. For some people spirituality is a religious belief, but for others spirituality can be a source of inspiration or orientation in life such as appreciating nature (National Health Service, 2012) and (The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Furthermore it has been suggested that often it is not until a crisis or illness occurs that spiritual encounters transpire, in addition to physical and emotional experiences because the illusion of security is shattered...
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...Humanitarian Action: Reflections on Médecins Sans Frontières' Perception Project’ – Book Review [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] Dilemmas, Challenges, and Ethics of Humanitarian Action: Reflections on Médecins Sans Frontières' Perception Project’ – Book Review Introduction Ethics comprises key organisational elements in today’s world regardless of the job responsibility that describes oneself and this is why its evaluation is done and relevant implication studied in each sector and industry. Whether it is the provision of humanitarian aid or it is the manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs, there are certain ethical boundaries that are important to be mindful of so that they are not breached as it comes attached with severe negative consequences. In the light of this argument for the purpose of strengthening it, a book edited by Caroline Abu-Sada named ‘Dilemmas, Challenges, and Ethics of Humanitarian Action: Reflections on Médecins Sans Frontières' Perception Project’ will be reviewed. Discussion As obvious from the book title, Médecins Sans Frontière s' also known as ‘Doctors without Borders’ is used as the case study for the purpose of enlightening the audience of the ethical challenges and moral dilemmas in addition to the ethics that revolve around humanitarian action (Kramer, Soskolne, Mustapha and Al-Delaimy, 2012, a299-301). The prominent theme that characterises this book is the self-questioning regarding forces of health determinants and...
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...Reflection upon placement 1, Health Visitors 17/05/10 – 16/06/10 COMMUNICATION “Communication is the exchange of information with others. It is a process of sending and receiving messages. People communicate with signs and symbols, such as words, drawings and pictures. They also communicate with behaviour”, (Alvare et al, 2005:129). Communication is either verbal or non-verbal. Verbal communication is spoken. However, meanings can be interpreted differently due to tone, pitch and volume. Movements, facial expressions and posture displaying attitudes and emotions convey non-verbal communication. Therefore, the importance of effective communication in nursing cannot be overstated as miscommunication causes misunderstandings, misdiagnosis and even a lack of trust in the professional. In agreement with this, Walker et al state that interpersonal aspects of care are central to patient’s perceptions of quality of care. (2007:149). In this reflective essay, I will discuss the issues of prejudice and discrimination and how communication can convey both negative and positive attitudes. From my first clinical placement, I have learned how attitudes could have a profound effect on the level of care a client or patient receives. “Positive responses to cultural diversity include acceptance and knowledge, not bias or prejudice. A culture is a system of behaviours people learn from the people they live and grow up with. Each culture may have different lifestyles, religions, customs...
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...philosophy/belief.? My reflective submission signifies that a nurse is only a human being who cares for person to maintain his/her quality of life. However, it also represents essential responsibilities of nurse like assist the patient for their needs, educate the patient, promote health through caring and maintain quality of life. First and foremost problem is lacking of ideas for creativity to show on piece of paper. Nevertheless, another problem that encounters that I am not good at drawing on poster which makes this creative assignment harder for me. To overcome this I practiced lots of time and spend around five hours on just making sketch. Moreover, to gather more ideas I contacted my colleagues, friends and teachers. 3. Is there a role/place for creativity in nursing practice? Creativity plays an important role in in nursing practice it help to generate some new ideas and skills. Nurses those are creative in their practice accept the challenges very fast and handle them gently. Moreover, nurses are very busy sometimes due to workload and they often face some unexpected situations which really needs creativity for decision...
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