Hand Hygiene Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hand Hygiene - Research Paper Example 98) Recent statistics underscore the seriousness of this practice as about 80,000 people die annually because of infections that result out of poor hand hygiene. (p. 98) Description of Literature on the Subject Hand hygiene is considered part of the fundamental healthcare standards for health care providers. It is expected, hence, that it is sufficiently covered in the corpus of medical literature, particularly in health care service. To verify this, several medical references were exhausted, ranging from medical standards, disease treatment and control, best practices in the industry, to medical guides for professional health care, among other related sources. A special attention was given to those nursing-related references. The investigation of the literature revealed a comprehensive and detailed academic works that have been undertaken according to scientific and medical standards. All in all, the literature is credible, authoritative and complete. Effective Hand Hygiene The book , The Foundation of Nursing (2005), explained that hand hygiene includes â€Å"hand washing (using plain soap and water), antiseptic hand wash (using antimicrobial substances and water), antiseptic hand rub (using alcohol-based hand rub), and surgical hand antisepsis (using antiseptic hand wash or antiseptic hand rub preoperatively by surgical personnel to eliminate transient resident hand flora). (White, p. 527) Numerous sources are one in explaining in detail the procedures by which the previously outlined hand hygiene procedures can be effectively carried out. Gregory and Mursell (2010) summed them into the following guide: 1. All wrist and hand jewelry should be removed prior to hand-cleansing. Cuts and abrasions must be covered with waterproof dressings. Finger nails should be kept short and free from nail polish. 2. Hand washing techniques involve three phases – preparation, washing and rinsing, and drying: a. Wet the hands under running tepid water BEFORE applying cle aning preparations. b. Hand wash solution must come into contact with ALL of the surfaces of the hand. c. The hand must be RUBBED together for between 10 to 15 seconds paying particular attention to the tips of the fingers, the thumb and the areas between the fingers. d. Hands should be rinsed thoroughly before drying. 3. When decontaminating hands using an alcohol hand-rub, hands should be free of dirt and organic material. The hand-rub solution must come into contact with all surfaces of the hand. (p. 231) Current Practice Even though hand hygiene requires very simple procedure and supposedly form part of the standard routines of medical professionals, its compliance rate is as low as 50%. (Creedon 2005, p. 208-216) Mayers’ (2009) work was more detailed and dismal in depicting this statistics. He found that compliance with hand hygiene and proper glove use ranged from 9% to 25%. (p. 1284) Indeed, according to Dixon’s (2008) research, staff members do not wash hands e nough, at the right time to employ optimal technique and that efforts at interventions such as education and training in order to increase compliance are not overly successful. (p. 247) Several reasons are given why medical service providers fail to practice proper hand hygiene besides sheer neglect. Some of these are listed below: 1. dermatitis and skin problems, which affect that frequency of

Benefits of Systems Thinking

Benefits of Systems Thinking INTRODUCTION Systems thinking is a well organised approach of understanding the dynamic relationship between components of a system, so that we can make better choices and avoid unintentional consequences. It’s a conceptual framework for problem-solving which understands and considers the problems in their entirety (Hall, 1999 and Senge 1990). In other words, it can be defined as a view which looks at the ‘system as a whole’ first with its fit and relationship to external environment being a primary concern as compared to the constituent elements that make up the system (Morgan, 2005). It can be used to understand how systems work and how individuals can deal with them, while looking for patterns of interaction and underlying structures which shapes the systems behaviour. As system is a combination of several parts people who understand systems thinking keep one eye on the big picture (i.e. system as a whole) and one on the detail (i.e. constituent’s components), as the y recognise that problem in one part of the system can impact other parts and forces patterns of behaviour in the system that lead to crisis (Morgan 2005). Systems view is a way of positioning and looking into an organisational or systems issue where system boundaries are to be set to determine what parts are contained inside the system and what parts are considered external environment. The environment will certainly influence the problem solving capabilities of the system, but it’s not the part of the whole system (Ackoff, 1971). Outcomes will depend heavily on how a system is defined because system thinking investigates relationships between various parts of the system and its external environment (Montano et. al, 2001). ADOPTION OF SYSTEMS THINKING A number of methods, tools and principles cover the concept of systems thinking with a common goal of understanding relationships within the system, as systems thinking works on the hypothesis that there are certain evolving properties of systems that do not exist when systems are disintegrated into individual parts. For example consider a driver who is constantly hitting red lights on the road. If the driver is only noticing one part of the system i.e. red lights, then he will simply decide to speed up to in-order to make the next light before it turns to red. But, if he considers other parts of the system i.e. his car, condition of the road, driving style and the distance between two lights, he will notice that every time he tries to speedup to make a light, it changes to red. His speed is tripping the lights to force him to drive slower. So if he is observing this pattern, he can simply reduce his speed to drive thorough all green lights. In systems view, the focus spreads in a variety of different directions compared to the conventional linear style of thinking. It focuses on processes, patterns and relationships and their flow and movement and puts much emphasis on understanding the effects of the interactions in the system as opposed to putting efforts to predict the outcomes (Morgan, 2005). It’s argued that the emphasis on systems view should begin when a project is started and should continue till the final lessons have been learnt even after completion (Stewart and Fortune, 1995). Advantages of Systems Thinking Adopting a view of system thinking can complement conventional styles of research in projects in certain ways: It suggests different levels of analysis and synthesis for different kinds of problems, ranging from the simple activity levels to the more complex hierarchical levels. Systems thinking complements reductionism (the principle that everything can be reduced to its individual parts), analytical analysis (breaking down a system to its smallest components), cause and effect thinking (environment-independent, linear but without feedback loops, closed and defined boundaries), complete determinism (illusion of control) with complexity (a sub-system of larger network), blended structure (explaining the whole system in terms of functions and inter-relationship between parts), circular contributing effects (explaining external environmental influences, performance and feedback) and belief in uncertainty which leads to probabilistic thinking (Schiuma et.al, 2012). It provides a conceptual framework which utilizes different theories, tools and techniques like the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), which helps in constructing a holistic, reliant perspective and practise aimed at disclosing the relationships characterizing a system (Joham et al., 2009 and Pourdehnad, 2007). Such approaches use a non-linear model where different elements are connected through cyclical rather linear cause-and-effect chains. This shows how a system is structured and also shows the nature of interactions among components of the system, which helps in understanding the behavioural patterns characterizing the system under investigation (Schiuma et.al, 2012). Having a reductionist thinking tends to push the project towards a closed systems view of the environmental i.e. the different phenomenon could be explained as individual and isolated events, which shows that the system and the context are separate, deterministic and predictable. In addition, the casual relationship between different elements is linear in the sense that A affects B which affects B, so such a approach can be used as a process or procedure to track and access results and performance on a operational level rather than on a broader system level. Project managers can use systems thinking to assist them in the scoping of a project where the project and its relationship to the environment are examined to underline potential risk areas and also to look at the project performance and thus to facilitate organizational learning (Stewart and Fortune, 1995). Disadvantages of Systems Thinking Although adoption of systems thinking/view is beneficial in some aspects while executing consulting projects, there are still certain problems which are associated with this approach. Some of them are as follow: Concept of systems thinking totally ignores or much worse destroys the most important aspects of human systems, for e.g. the interconnections or inter-relationships amongst and between the constituent sub-systems (Morgan, 2005). The project and its sub-tasks are totally ignored. Reductionism is no longer appropriate for dynamic projects which comprises of mostly human activities. It encourages fragmentation and isolation of the project which causes undue concern with the individual project activities or sub-systems. This method is makes us smart in micro-level thinking with regard to projects whereas on the other hand it’s allowing us to be dumb on the macro-level analysis. Under this thinking the project management loses the capability of making sense of how and why things work in a certain patter/manner. Reductionism can’t be implemented in every project. It tries to deal with the issues of the project one at a time, which leads to the problem of backing up which make things much worse. Also it is not helpful in dealing with multiple or delayed causality, as it is leading us to the simplistic way of thinking where individuals instead of focusing on the core problem focus on ‘either-or’ choices and blame mentality (Morgan, 2005). The simple approach to cause and effect can’t be implemented in consulting projects with high level of complexity, as it can’t keep up with the complexity of the project. As systems thinking focus on dealing with symptoms of the problem, interventions aimed at fixing things can end up sometimes making things better in the short run but worse in the long term. The over-reliance on reductionism will create an imaginary environment in which individuals think that prediction and control are the usable approaches to deal with complex projects. Endless varieties of tools and frameworks would be applied to ensure project success and when all such things fail they will try to explain the causes of system failure using the reductionist explanations of personal failure, resistance to change etc. So, the cycle goes on repeating itself and people, organisations get trapped into fixes which are doomed to fail. Having a systems perspective enables the project to exert control over people and its processes. But such a view tends to act against innovation and adaptation which are fundamental qualities for long-term effectiveness. Adopting a systems view can threatens some of the established policies and procedures in managing consulting projects, for e.g. in areas like monitoring and evaluation, performance management and assessment. Most of the practitioners have doubted its operational use, as it has not provided specific answers to the cases when the system has encountered problems. Some of its ideas such as emergence can be unattractive with project management teams, who are constantly under pressure to give results in short run. Systems view can also have a disengaging effect on people and organisations that are used to a structured system where projects are planned and targets are met. So, adopting a system thinking view can increase the effect of uncertainty in project consulting and management rather than reducing it. System thinking can also be demanding in terms of intellectual resources as it requires multi-disciplinary approaches to handle wide range of issues and patterns. It requires a significant investment in terms of skills, organisational structure where people are trained across a series of interrelated issues to make systems thinking work, because if they give up on the practise of systems views they will probably get back to much easier conventional approaches (Morgan, 2005). Conclusion The implications of systems thinking can be far reaching as it’s not clear how it will fit with other methods of analyzing situations. Questions will be asked about its contribution to monitoring and evaluation as the some of the sub-systems may be inadequate in generating data needed for analysis which leads to reluctance in trusting the conclusions (Morgan, 2005). Though it’s best in synthesis, it needs help in terms of practical analysis, so the question arises that can it supplement present methods of doing things or does it have to replace them in some way? In conclusion, adopting a systems view can contribute in planning and controlling the complexity and uncertainty by embedding flexibility in consulting activities. When implemented and aligned properly, systems view can alleviate the flaws present in the existing frameworks to produce a more general framework which includes both prescriptive and descriptive elements (Montano et. al, 2001). Also, it facilitates the links between project management initiatives and the strategic goals and objectives of an organisation helping in maintain a clear vision of what is being done and why it is being done (Ackoff and Emery, 1972).

Chinese Women Essay -- China Chinese Culture Essays

Chinese Women Traditional Chinese society was patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal. In this male dominated society, sons were preferred to daughters, and women were expected to be subordinate to their fathers, husbands, and sons. Because marriages were arranged, young women and men had virtually no voice in the decisions on their marriage partner, resulting in loveless marriages. Once married, it was the woman who left her family and community and went to live with her husband’s family, where she was subordinate to her mother-in-law. In some cases, female infants were subjected to a high rate of infanticide, or sold as slaves to wealthy families. Men were permitted to take as many wives as they wished and bound feet, which were customary even for peasant women, symbolized the painful constraints of the female role. Chinese women were considered second-class citizens and were subject to the wishes and restraints of men. The basic unit of Chinese society, the family, was male dominated. The oldest living male ruled the patriarchal Chinese family. As the head of the family, the grandfather or father decided whom the children and grandchildren would marry. Because the Chinese practiced a patrilineal system, ancestry was only traced through the male side of the family. When a woman married in the patrilocal system, she was no longer a member of her own family and was sent to live with her husband’s family. Her mother-in-law was to be considered her own new mother and her authority was absolute (Major 107-109). â€Å"Her rule could be benevolent but, far more generally, is reported to have been harsh and autocratic in the extreme, leading at times to suicide (Tregear 120). Daughters, whose long-term contribution to their families was limited, were valued much less than sons. Traditional Chinese philosophy was that, â€Å"raising daughters is like raising children for another family† (Major 109). After O-lan delivers her first daughter, in the novel The Good Earth, she says to her husband Wang Lung, â€Å"It is only a slave this time – not worth mentioning† (Buck 65). Sometimes daughters were sold as servants or prostitutes, or even killed in order to give sons a better chance for survival in times of stress or prolonged famine. During a time of great famine, O-lan, wishing to do what is best for husband, suggests selling their daughter, â€Å"If it were only ... ...his women’s feet and associates small feet with attractiveness and sex (Buck 169-180). Chinese women had no choice but to comply with this torture. â€Å"It was a social convention of long standing and a girl was disgraced if she came to maturity with unbound or large feet† (Latourette 84). When a girl reached the marriageable age, she had better hopes of marrying well if she had bound feet. It was seen to be a reflection on her parents’ ability to raise her properly. Mothers told their daughters that a woman’s attractiveness resided more in her character than in her face or body. Bound feet showed discipline and respect for the Confucian idea of a â€Å"mindful body.† Furthermore, small feet showed refinement and class, which reflected back on a woman’s family (Vento 4). The disgusting display of sexism in China has been immensely reduced by the Communist regime. However, the situation is still far from ideal. Although concubinage and footbinding have been outlawed, the woman’s role is still considered to be in the home. As Soren Kierkegaard once said, â€Å"the present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased.† With a little luck, the cure will be discovered soon.

Wayne Williams Case Study Essay Essay

On July 28 1979, a woman found two males bodies alongside a road. This later was named the â€Å"Atlanta Child Murders†. Between 1979 and 1981, a total of 20-30 African-Americans disappeared in Atlanta, Georgia. They were mostly murdered by strangulation or asphyxiation. A whopping 29 homicides were proved to be linked to the same killer. Police did not have a huge amount of forensic evidence to track down the killer. They only had the evidence of fibers from the bodies and clothing of the victims. The fibers were unusual ones. Some of the fibers were yellow-green nylon and some had a cross section shape to them. The fibers apparently were used in rugs or carpets. In February 1981, the killer began dumping bodies into the Chattahoochee River. The victims found were completely or almost completely in the nude. Supposedly, the killer was watching media coverage of the killings. That helped him modify his methods to get rid of the fiber evidence on the victim’s bodies. Police then started to watch and search bridges along the river. This is all in an effort to catch the killer possibly doing his methods of dumping a body. Early on the morning of May 22, 1981, a police patrol heard a splash in the river. That caused Police to stop and check out what they heard or saw. They found a station wagon on the James Jackson Parkway Bridge. They found out the driver was 23-year-old Wayne Williams. Wayne Williams was a music promoter. He was questioned by police, but was then allowed to leave after a polygraph test, which came back inconclusive. On May 24 1981, the body of Nathaniel Cater was found from the Chattahoochee River about a mile from James Jackson Parkway Bridge. A single strand of yellowish- green nylon fiber was found on his body. A search warrant for Williams’‛ house was given to police. They found carpet similar to the yellow-green fibers found in the early victims in his house. They had to be conclusive enough to tie Williams to the murders. The police needed to demonstrate that these carpet fibers were not normally found in houses throughout Atlanta. Police found in his home a book detailing how to ‘beat’ polygraph tests. They also found statements from colleagues working in Williams’ studio stating he had been seen covered in scratches around the time of the murders. Chemists at DuPont also the world’s largest producer of fibers helped the FBI. FBI analysts passed the fibers through a device that  stretches fibers giving it optical properties. This allowed the FBI to trace these fibers to a Georgia carpet manufacturer. over a 12 month period from 1970 – 1971 the factory only made 16,397 square yards of carpet of this certain fiber and color which was English Olive. Police did some calculations and found out that the probability of finding a room in the metropolitan area of Atlanta that had carpet in that shade was 1 in 7,792. Wayne Williams was thought to be linked to 28 to 30 killings. Police and prosecutors decided on a plan to focus on just two cases, which were the Nathaniel Cater, and Jimmy Ray Payne cases. Those bodies were semi-nude and where recovered from the Chattahoochee River on April 27, 1981. In the latter case, police had also found a fiber on the shorts of the victim, which were similar to fibers found in Wayne Williams’s station wagon. Chevrolet gave details on the number of pre- 1973 vehicles with this type of carpet in them. Police found out that only 680 out of 2 million registered cars were carpeted with this type if carpet. That meant the odds of the victim encountering this fiber from any other car than Williams’‛ were 1 in 3,828. Even though not all this evidence may be enough to convict someone of murder, consider that the odds of both events happening was 1 in 29,827,776. The fiber evidence was the key to all, which was determined. On 27 February 1982, Williams was found guilty of the murder of two victims. Those victims where a Nathaniel Carter and Jimmy Ray Payne. He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. Even though he was not charged with additional counts of murder, it was suspected that Williams was responsible for more of the Atlanta murders. He remains in prison at the age of 58 to this day.

Financial Crises Essay

I have literally found a solution for all Americans struggling to mitigate their personal financial crises this day. They cannot just sit back expecting the government and business to work wonders. It is time for them to take personal responsibility for the economic downturn. Orwell (1945) was correct when he wrote that â€Å"All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others,† actually referring to human beings whom scientists refer to as animals. Throughout the history of humanity, people have generally known that they were created equal. And yet, there have been separations, discriminations, dissimilarities, and inequalities, for the reason that God, Nature or Evolution – depending on what we choose to believe in – did not grant equal abilities, talents, and gifts to all human beings. Some men are richer and more intelligent than the others. Some are born deaf, dumb, and blind. And, some must rely on income support because they just cannot beat poverty on their own. Then there are those who neither care that others remain poor nor hold themselves back from buying things they may or may never actually use – simply because it is fashionable in our consumer society to purchase unnecessary things as these objects make the individual who purchases them appear as though he or she belongs to a high socioeconomic class (Twitchell). As though this is not ridiculous enough, our consumer society enjoys humorous advertisements about products rather than people as the source of all personal satisfaction (Kilbourne). No wonder the divorce rate is high, compounding personal misery during the current economic recession. Undoubtedly, advertising is a hallmark of capitalism. In other words, it is a representative of Mammon. We generally assume that we cannot imagine a world without advertisements because ads represent the human need to enjoy life to the fullest with the best of food, clothing, etc. But, Kilbourne’s article, â€Å"Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,† reminds us that this need does not have to exist beyond our changeable minds. Yes, it is possible to imagine a world where publicity is meaningless. In this view of the world, everybody must be satisfied, without some of the people envying others, some others enjoying chocolate cake, while the rest grieve because they did not get a piece. Most importantly, in a perfect world we would not have to hoard in order to appear rich and famous to the others. Rather, we would be content with ourselves without feeling the need to impress others with our higher incomes, statuses, etc. If we are able to change our mindsets in our consumer society, we would not even have to save up to attend classes in â€Å"happiness institutes† (Schumaker). This would definitely lighten our personal financial burdens through this economic mess confronting our nation. Moreover, regardless of what we possess at present – if we honestly long to get through our personal financial crises – what if we try to share the little that remains with us, be it our skills or funds, with those that are less fortunate? This seems like yet another scientific technique to change the mindset of the consumer society. It is all possible, after all. This is America. Let us get through our personal difficulties with the American Dream formula! It has worked. It still works. It would always work. Sincerely, Name References Kilbourne, J. Jesus is a Brand of Jeans. Chapter 11: Consumer Society. Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. London: Secker and Warburg. Schumaker, J. F. The Happiness Conspiracy: What does it mean to be happy in a modern consumer society? Chapter 11: Consumer Society. Twitchell, J. B. Needing the Unnecessary. Chapter 11: Consumer Society.