Discussion Posts

Discussion 1- 2 (Aging – Reply to the following classmate post in (200 words)

Danaivis’ Post: (200) words reply

The end of life care is an important topic that most people evade. The purpose of life care is what we as healthcare providers do; it’s the care we give people when they have an advanced or progressive condition and leads the person to their final days. I have seen patients at the end of life, and I also have seen coworkers that avoid giving care to those patients who are dying. As a CNA I have had only two patients at the end of their life where one of them suffered from dementia and passed away during my night shift. I think every single patient deserves the same care with respect, love, and compassion from their healthcare providers. We have decided to get a carrier where the patients’ accommodations are in our hands. It was sad and devastating to be there and see how my patient was passing away, how quietly she was at her last couple of days. She used to yelled and fight me to not let me give her the care she needed, and another night she used to sing me songs while holding my hand. Patients like this are complicated, but when you love what you do, you get to enjoy them and their mood changes. It was horrible to see her life disappearing. However, I was rewarded by being able to try to keep her comfortable, turning her head and putting pillows under, keeping her dry and warm and be there to say goodbye. There are no significant changes to make when someone is dying. We have to give the care needed with love and compassion as we are supposed to do for any other patient. We have to care for our patients as we would like people to do for us or we would do for our loved ones.

Gloria’s Post: (200) words reply

The goal of palliative care is to relieve the suffering of patients and their families by the comprehensive assessment and treatment of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual symptoms experienced by patients. As death approaches, a patient's symptoms may require more aggressive treatment. As comfort measures intensify, so should the support provided to the dying patient's family. After the patient's death, palliative care focuses primarily on bereavement and support of the family. Palliative care focuses primarily on anticipating, preventing, diagnosing, and treating symptoms experienced by patients with a serious or life-threatening illness and helping patients and their families make medically important decisions. The ultimate goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family, regardless of diagnosis. Although palliative care, unlike hospice care, does not depend on prognosis, as the end of life approaches, the role of palliative care intensifies and focuses on aggressive symptom management and psychosocial support. As a nurse working on the night shift I enter the room of a patient newly diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. In the still darkness of the night, the terrified patient asks me, "You don't think I will die of this, and do you?" this kind of question is always very difficult for me to answer but, According to (Kass &Hughes 2003) Effective and compassionate communication is the foundation of palliative nursing care. Clinical assessment and attention to physical symptoms and psychosocial concerns, responses to suffering, listening to expressions of loss and grief, and recognition of ethical or spiritual concerns are all contingent upon good communication. The need for better understanding of end of life care has never been greater than in today's healthcare climate. Providing compassionate end of life care that is appropriate and in accordance with the patient's wishes is an essential component of nursing care. As nurses it is our ethical responsibility as caregivers to have active discussions with patients and family members and to consider race, culture, and their basic understanding and knowledge of advance directives. The power of advocacy removes barriers to achieve the patient's desired outcomes at the end of life care (Hebert & Moore 2011). Developing active listening and effective communication skills can enhance the nurse-patient trust relationship and create a healing environment which is very rewarding as a nurse.

References:

Hebert, K., Moore, H., & Rooney, J. (2011). The Nurse Advocate in End-of-Life Care. The Ochsner Journal, 11(4), 325–329.

Kass-Bartelmes BL, Hughes R, Rutherford MK. Advance care planning: preferences for care at the end of life. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2003. Research in Action Issue #12.

Discussion 3 Aging (2- 3 pages )

This Discussion venue provides an opportunity for you to earn a maximum of 5 points to be added to either your mid-term or final exam grades - your choice - but you must tell me that choice BEFORE you take the final exam. :-)  Here is a list of terms taken from your text. Choose 6 of the terms and incorporate them into a short 2-3 page story about "Helen."  You may make Helen as young or old as you wish. You may place her anywhere in the country or the world.  YOU create Helen and her story, using 6 terms CORRECTLY.

You will receive points based on your understandings, empathy, and creativity. Have some fun!

Terms:

ageism, Baby Boomers, Social Security, health literacy, presbycusis, cognitive health, early-onset Alzheimer's, Patient Self-Determination Act, anticipatory bereavement, age-in-place, spirituality, senior center, Area Agency on Aging, the Hispanic paradox, neglect, NORC's, CCRC, ECHO

Discussion 4 –Anthropology (250 words)

1. Explain integrative and exploitative theories of social hierarchy, and give examples of each.

2. Describe the origins of “race” as a biological and social concept.

3. Explain why “race” as a biological concept is a myth, and give examples of how “race” as cultural and social construct continues to reproduce and justify social inequality.

Discussion 5 – Anthropology (Reply to David’s Discussion post with 200 words)

Integrative aspects of social hierarchy is the view that there are class levels and that they are inevitable and necessary for the functioning of society. It is due to the development and modernization of western culture. The development of agriculture brought about the need for specialization of skills which grew to become different classes through society. The classes can be seen through the people who are in charge of the largest parts of the whole of a products production. Those in charge of the largest parts of the product are paid more because their decisions effect the most amount of money with the largest responsibility. To qualify for that money you need to show you can pick or manage the people under you unless you made the company. In that case your success shows itself. In regards to past racism if you didn't believe the qualities of a person of a race were equal to your race then you would never trust them over parts of the product. I think there may be some people like that today but I think generally it's personal judgments on character not race. I also think there may be selective employment in regards to where you went to school or how you grew up that maybe on paper make you a bad chance to bring success to a company. In the idea of both race and of selective employment I think the sad part is the group identity that is put as a label on an individual without considering their individual character. I think there is conflating of character judgments with racist judgments sometimes and I think this does an injustice to both sides. This I believe leads people to consider the statistics of bad character as being representative of themselves instead of considering the strengths and opportunities that may be right in front of themselves. People I believe need to recognize the strengths they have so they can work to prove their character through their strengths which can only help improve the image of their schools and community. This applies to all the great minorities that have risen through from horrible beginnings. When the people allow a community to debase itself the statistics in the community are easier to read than the time it takes to get to know an individual. I don't think the problems are as much about color of skin as they are lack of emphasis on family and individual value for themselves and their ability. I believe this is illustrated in the correlation of, young single parents and poverty.

The Exploitative Theory describes the classes and strata in society as being because of the desire to exert power over the other leading to the oppression of the lower class and working class.

Race has always been dealt with through the divisions among people in regards to their physical characteristics including, skin color, eyes, lips, head and skin. This was given support by what was falsely claimed to be scientific evidence of the inferior state of Africans and natives by Samuel Morton. Morton claimed to have proven that brain size determined intelligence and then fraudulently produced skulls of Africans, whites and natives to prove his point. But in future studies his study was debunked and people like Nina Jablonski did studies that went on to prove race to be the myth biologically. Nina’s study showed that skin color was determined through environmental adaptation to sunlight and reproductive needs and not any evolutionary distinction.