Rewards and Challenges of a Career in Nursing

Rewards and Challenges of a Career in Nursing Rewards and challenges of a career in nursing Nursing is often portrayed as a glamorous job and a career that many aspire to pursue. Like any other profession, a career in nursing has rewards and challenges. Nurses have the opportunity every day to make a difference in peoples lives, to connect on a personal level with another human being, and to be part of a profession that has stood the test of time throughout the ages. Nursing is currently facing a crisis of a shortage of trained nurses. Hospitals and medical facilities must address the issues of nurse retention and increasing job satisfaction in order to overcome this crisis. Many professions claim to make a difference in peoples lives. However, there is no guarantee what extent that difference will be. The opportunity to truly make a difference in someones life is one of the many rewards of nursing. A typical day of a nurse is filled with long hours of physical, mental, and emotional work. The role of a nurse varies from providing wellness education to healthy individuals to caring for sick or hurt individuals to caring for clients at the end of their lives. A nurse must constantly be at the top of their game intellectually, ready to meet the challenges of client care and make life and death decisions in a split second. This is not an easy job and can leave one exhausted and drained at the end of the day. One nurse stated, It feels great to go home so tired but knowing youve made a true difference in someone elses life (Nursingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s top, 2000, p. 42). Through long hours of hard work, nurses are able to go home at the end of the day knowing that their caring touch and compassionate service truly impacted the clients with whom they interacted. Nursing is a hands-on profession, and the ability to relate to and connect with another human being on a personal, intimate level is rewarding. It is a sign of trust and respect from the clients being cared for. Clients are vulnerable and often in situations that are uncomfortable and awkward. In order to provide quality client care, nurses must interact and connect with their clients on a personal level and show they truly care for their well-being. According to Riley (2008), caring is essential for an effective nurse-client relationship and guides the way for developing a level of hope and trust between the nurse and client. Nurses show they care not only by tending to physical needs but by spending time with the client and taking time to understand their needs and the wishes and desires of the client and their family. For many nurses this human connection (Nursingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s top, 2000, p. 42) is the main reason they have chosen a career in nursing. From Florence Nightingale to the battlefield nurses of World War II, the profession of nursing has stood the test of time and will continue to do so as long as there is pain and suffering in the world. This everlasting nature of the service nurses provide is rewarding to those who continue the legacy of providing compassionate care and nurturing through pain and suffering (Nursingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s top, 2000). There is no end in sight for the need of additional nurses. Zurmehlys research (2008) projects a 29% increase in the demand for nurses between 2000 and 2020. As the population continues to grow and the number of senior adults continues to rise, so does the need for more nurses (Buerhaus, Staiger, Auerbach, 2003). The profession of nursing has changed throughout the years to meet the needs of the culture and the increasing demand for new nurses continues to carve out the legacy of the future of nursing. In any rewarding career, there are also challenges to overcome. Nursing is no exception. The 21st century is facing a nursing crisis that is not new to the profession: a shortage of qualified nurses. The current nursing shortage has roots in the late 1990s (Buerhaus et al., 2003). Much research has been directed at identifying the cause of the nursing shortage and how to fix the problem. As the general population continues to age, so does the population of nurses. In 2002, it was estimated that nearly one-third of working nurses were over the age of 50 (Atencio, Cohen, Gorenberg, 2003). This trend continues today and is a major contributor to the nursing shortage as more nurses are retiring and fewer nurses are entering the workforce. Factors such as job-related stress, physical demands, administrative responsibilities taking away from client care, high nurse-to-client ratios, insufficient monetary compensation, and lack of continuing education are making it harder to keep and retai n qualified nurses (Albaugh, 2003). In order to maintain the highest level of client care, addressing the shortage of qualified nursing personnel must be a priority. Retention of nurses is key in reducing the current shortage. With the rise in median age of nurses over recent years, hospitals are challenged to find ways to keep older, more experienced nurses and ways to attract and recruit new, younger nurses. Physical demands of the job are often to blame for nurses choosing to leave the profession. Facilities must make changes to decrease the physical demands placed on the nursing staff. Tampa General Hospital implemented a program in 2002 that created a lift team. These specially trained personnel were on-call specifically for the purpose of lifting and moving clients. This initiative reduced the physical demands on the nursing staff and allowed them more time to provide quality care to their clients (Runy, 2006). Inadequate compensation also affects retention of nurses. Nurses want to be compensated appropriately f or the work they perform and also to receive incentives to remain, including monetary recognition, retirement and benefit packages, and longevity compensation (Zurmehly, 2008). A hospital in Texas has attempted to retain veteran nurses by offering longevity bonuses bi-weekly beginning after 10 years of service (Runy, 2006). Nurses, particularly older nurses and working parents, often find themselves trying to juggle work and home responsibilities. Runy (2006) describes how flexible and creative scheduling allows nurses to work around their schedule and maintain some balance between career and personal activities, which leads to improved job satisfaction and retention. Job satisfaction plays a role in the nursing shortage crisis. Dissatisfied nurses are leaving the client care setting or are choosing to leave the profession altogether. The solution to increasing job satisfaction, which is directly related to increased retention, can be accomplished by improving work conditions for nurses (Atencio et al., 2003). On-the-job stress leads to physical problems and decreased work performance. Clients today are older, sicker, and have multiple medical problems compared to in the past. These changes contribute significantly to work-related stress. Nurses often feel that they must constantly rush from one task to the next due to unrealistic workloads and high nurse-to-client ratios (Riley, 2008). Hospitals must address the concerns of working conditions and implement change to develop places nurses want to work. The best place to start in addressing working conditions is with nurses. Nurses are on the front lines day in and day out and are the experts on wo rking conditions and what must be done to improve them. Nurses want to work in places that enable them to provide quality care to clients and want to have a say in the processes that directly affect their job (Runy, 2006). Job satisfaction is increased as nurses receive training in multiple disciplines. With clients presenting with multiple comorbidities and diagnoses, it is essential that nurses have the knowledge and the skills to provide care to these clients. Continuing education should be available and all nurses should be encouraged to learn new skills and keep up-to-date with current trends and changes in technology and medical care. Finally, job satisfaction among nurses increases when they work in an environment where they feel part of a team, validated, and receive real-time feedback relating to the care they provide. Management involvement in the day-to-day work environment builds unity and motivates the nursing staff and is an essential component of job satisfaction and retention (Albaugh, 2003). Although nursing is demanding, physically challenging, and requires a lot of hard work, nurses are rewarded by making a difference in the lives of their clients, developing trusting relationships with other people through connecting and caring, and being part of a professional legacy that has stood the test of time. The profession is in the midst of a crisis due to the shortage of qualified nurses. To overcome this crisis, medical facilities must address the issues of nurse retention and job satisfaction in order to provide quality client care and continue the legacy of nursing that was set in motion so many years ago.

Caged Birds Without a Song

Written within the nineteenth century, both Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, use symbolism within the play to illustrate how different the roles were between men and women during this time. Reputation and public appearance were viewed as intrinsic forms of value within nineteenth century marriages, as though they were solely the backbone of the marriage’s success. Women were viewed as subordinates, mere extensions of their husbands, creating a strong theme of male dominance that echoes equally throughout both plays. Incidentally, in direct correlation to their false presumptions and patronizing mannerisms toward women, in the end, the men are ultimately responsible for their own fall. In Trifles, the concerns of women are considered to be mere trifles, unimportant or of any value to society, which men are ultimately controlling. The play opens at the Wrights’ home a day after Minnie Wright either did or did not killed her husband. The sheriff, Mr. Peters and his wife, the county attorney, and Mr. Hale with his wife have arrived at Wrights’ the home to find evidence proving Minnie’s guilt or innocence, while she’s being held in prison for the murder. Then men repeatedly comment on the unkempt conditions of the Wrights’ home, particularly the kitchen, implying Mrs. Wright must have been unstable because a home is such disarray is outside their perception what a women’s role entails. It’s during this scene Mrs. Peters calls attention to the exploded jars of fruit preserves, understanding the hard work involved in canning preserves, and Mrs. Wright’s concern that the cold weather would cause her jars of fruit to freeze and burst. â€Å"She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break† (Glaspell 322). The Sheriff’s response is, â€Å"Well can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves† (Glaspell 322). The men view her concern as trivial and unimportant in comparison to the trouble Mrs. Wright is facing. In A Doll’s House, Nora, the protagonist, like other women during this time, was considered property of her husband, Torvald. Women were not allowed to own any type of property or borrow money without the co-signature of a man. Nora’s role as a woman was to take care of the children and make sure everything was perfect within the household. Torvald treats Nora like a small silly girl and believes his wife only focuses on trivial matters. He views her as his prize and at no point does he see her as an individual to be considered equal in their marriage. He continuously coddles her and implies she is a secondary element within their marriage. He calls her his â€Å"squirrel† and â€Å"little lark† in a seemingly affectionate manner, yet the implications of these pet names are somewhat derogatory and imply her abilities are simply to scamper about carefree. He lectures Nora on how to spend their money wisely because to him she does not possess an intricate understanding of business principles. In the weeks leading to Christmas, Nora spent her evenings alone working. Torvald assumes that his wife is using the time spent during these busy nights making trivial family Christmas ornaments and other holidays treats. In reality, Nora is working on side jobs she has acquired for money to repay a loan she illegally acquired during a time Torvald was critically ill. She spends eight years of his or her marriage together trying to keep this scandal secret and repay the loan entirely before anyone had the chance to find out. She knowingly plays into Torvald’s patronizing mannerisms because she knows that he is more concerned with how their marriage looks in public than actually understanding the implications of her actions. Viewing the women as extensions of themselves, in Trifles the men express no desire to see the world through Minnie Wright’s or the other two women’s’ point of view. At first, both Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale seemed apprehensive about Minnie’s guilt and which side of the law to be on. It is only after Mr. Hale’s comment, â€Å"Well, women are used to worrying over trifles†, that you feel the women start to draw together in unity. (Glaspell 322). His words imply that women are lacking the common sense and mental focus to pay attention to the important things at the same time suggesting that the men should expect such a character flaw as status quo because they are only women and therefore deal everyday in small, unimportant details. The men venture off in search of evidence proving the guilt of Minnie Wright while the two women are left alone in the kitchen to gather some of the personal items she has requested. As the two women engage in conversation, they begin to reminisce about the woman who they once referred to as â€Å"friend. † A short time into this task they discovering an empty, damaged birdcage. Unsure of the cage’s purpose the women begin hypothesizing why it would be in the Wrights’ home. During their discussion Mrs. Hale states, â€Å"She—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself—real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and –fluttery. How—she—did—change† (Glaspell 328). Upon further investigation the women find the bird, a canary, wrapped in a piece of silk tucked away in Minnie’s sewing box; it was dead, someone had wrung its neck. Again thinking of Minnie, Mrs. Hale states, â€Å"No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird—a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too† (Glaspell 329). Of course, the canary is what ultimately proves Minnie Wright’s guilt, but because the women are able to acknowledge what makes this discovery so significant, they empathize with Minnie, and without ever voicing their decision to do so, they never tell the men. The concept that women are viewed as an extension of their husbands is also seen in A Doll’s House, when Torvald learns of Nora’s deception and illegal loan. He says to her, â€Å"Oh, what an awful awakening! In all these eight years—she who was my pride and joy—a hypocrite, a liar—worse, worse—a criminal! How infinitely disgusting it all is! The shame! I should have suspected something of the kind. I should have known†¦. all your father’s flimsy values have come out in you. No religion, no morals, no sense of duty—Oh, how I’m punished for letting him off! I did it for your sake, and you repay me like this† (Ibsen 245). Torvald continues this rant as he attempts to sort out what actions he should take next, â€Å"This thing has got to be hushed up at any cost. And as for you and me, it’s got to seem like everything between us is just as it was—to the outside world, that is. You’ll go right on living in this house, of course. But you can’t be allowed to bring up the children; I don’t dare trust you with them†¦ from now on happiness doesn’t matter; all that matters is saving the bits and pieces, the appearance† (Ibsen 246). He is so consumed with himself and how the implications of Nora’s actions affect him that he is completely blind to the fact she now understands how he truly views her, incapable. It is this defining moment in which Nora boldly states, â€Å"When your big fright was over—and it wasn’t from any threat against me, only for what might damage ou—when all the danger was past, for you it just as if nothing had happened. I was exactly the same, your little lark, your doll, that you’d have to handle with double care now that I’m turned out so brittle and frail. Torvald—in an instant it dawned on me that for eight years I’ve been living here with a s tranger, and that I’d even conceived three children—oh, I can’t stand the thought of it! I could tear myself to bits† (Ibsen 252). Nora then decides she will no longer carry on this martial masquerade and leaves Torvald for good. As stated above, in both Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the men are ultimately responsible for their own fall in the end. The men maintain their view of women being subordinates and they are often dismissive regarding anything involving even the general realm of women. Each play uses symbolism within the context to illustrate just how different the roles of men and women were during this time and how reputation and public appearance were viewed as intrinsic forms of value within nineteenth century marriages.

The Criminal Justice System - 1700 Words

In order for the Criminal Justice System to effectively deter crime, it is imperative to understand what causes crime, understand why crime exists and why offenders engage in criminal behaviour. In the 18th century criminologists such as Jeremy Bentham, Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria and Cesare Lombroso all established criminological theories, in an attempt to achieve this goal. The most influential theories are known as the Classical and Positivist perspectives. Both of these theories have had a long-term influence on the current Criminal Justice System. Which were so significant throughout the 20th and 21st century because they introduced effective new strategies for the system to implement in order to deter criminal and deviant behaviour. However, both of these concepts are restricted by their inability to regard important aspects of the alternative theories. In order to highlight the influences and long-term impact on contemporary society, the key concepts of each theory will be outlined before delving into the influences and limitations, concluding with the long-term impact on the current system and understanding of crime and offending. The idea that criminals make the conscious decision to participate in deviant behaviour with knowledge of the benefits and consequences emerged from Classical Theory in the enlightenment era. Classical Theory emphasises the concept of free will and the presented choice to abide by the law. Classicism argues that humans within society areShow MoreRelatedJustice Systems And The Criminal Justice System Essay1248 Words   |  5 PagesThe criminal justice system is a complex and often uncoordinated system that operates by enforcing the law and seeking justice across countless jurisdictions. It is comprised of many separate agencies including agencies at the federal, state, and local level. 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First a case starts with law enforcement officials, who investigate crime and gather evidence to identify and use against the assumed suspect. The case then proceeds to the court system, which evaluates the evid ence to decide if the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the defendant

Famous Quotes About Money

As the song from 1966 hit musical Cabaret says, Money makes the world go round. Its no wonder there are so many songs, poems, and musings about money and its impact, good or bad. It affects our daily lives like few other things.  Everyone from philosophers (who typically have no money) to politicians (who know where all the money is hidden) has an opinion about money. Benjamin Franklin The man whose face appears on the American $100 bill had a lot to say about money.  Benjamin Franklin, one of Americas founding fathers, was a strong advocate for paper currency for the American colonies. His 1729 treatise  A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency† became something of a blueprint for establishing a separate American economy. Here are a few of Franklins financial reflections: A man  may  if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose to the grindstone. Remember that time is money. He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting. Movies and Plays Love may conquer all, but many a plot has been driven by a characters need for money; whether trying  to get it, keep it or lose it.   Gordon Gekko from Wall Street: Greed,  for lack of a better word, is good. Tony Montana from Scarface: In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women. Tennessee Williams in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof: You can be young without money but you cant be old without it. Comedians, Writers, and Philosophers Some people believe you cant be happy without money, some think you cant be happy with it. But its a ripe source of material for anyone with a sense of humor or a sense of irony.   George Bernard Shaw: The more I see of the moneyed classes, the more I understand the guillotine. Henny Youngman: Whats the use of happiness? It cant buy you money. Oscar Wilde: When I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is. Dorothy Parker: Money cannot buy health, but Id settle for a diamond-studded wheelchair. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce? Cicero: Endless money forms the sinews of war. Groucho Marx: It frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.