My Developing Role as a Mental Health Nurse with my Schizophrenic Essay

My Developing Role as a Mental Health Nurse with my Schizophrenic Patient - Essay Example My client, Greg, had all of these in varying degrees at different times. According to Javitt & Coyle (2004), "Scientists have long viewed schizophrenia as arising out of a disturbance in which brain cells communicate using a signalling chemical, or neurotransmitter, called dopamine" Schizophrenia is fundamentally a physical disease of the brain like Alzheimer's. With schizophrenia, people experience a slow continuing deterioration as they get older, like Alzheimer's, but it is more commonly thought of as a neuro-developmental illness, present at birth, affecting neurological development, and becoming manifest in late adolescence (Javitt & Coyle, 2004). For many individuals, schizophrenia is a severe and enduring illness. While nurses need to understand the symptoms of the illness in order to provide specific care and treatment, it also is important to find out how people with schizophrenia embody the illness. Capturing this knowledge will help nurses to provide more appropriate care to these individuals. Assessment. Greg is the son of a wealthy businessman well-known in the community. He has two sisters but many half-brothers and half-sisters. The problem of Greg is that he is not on the legitimate side of the family. His mother happened to be the former housemaid of the Don. When Greg was young, he had heard all the stories about his father, but everything is hazy now. He had tasted of the good life that some fortune was able to bring just after the Don died. He now has no father but just his mother and two sisters who briefly had enjoyed all the money could bring. Still, their mother would take some trips to the wealthy side of the family and ask for help, but there is a time giving had to stop. While the first family was kind to them, the differences in not being legitimate made early marks in the mind of Greg and his sisters. But it was Greg who tried to work hard to be acceptable as the Don's son. Skinny and sickly as he was, he did everything worthy to be counted. He learned music, did much reading, engaged in philanthropic pursuits, and did some advanced schooling. Greg had worked his way to college and was able to have his name engraved in the school's board for having topped the national teacher's board exam for the year. One of his sisters found her own way through life by holding on to odd jobs, just as the mother did. The other sister became stricken with chronic lapses of schizophrenia much earlier than Greg, and clearly refused to make her own way through life. To her, she is the Don's daughter who needed never to work very hard. After taking his bachelor's degree, Greg had enrolled in a masters' program, then finally to a doctorate degree. There was no stopping with his climbing socially to improve himself. However, he was not able to finish this last degree. It was when he could not anymore stay sane with all the responsibilities. He was stricken hard with schizophrenia - one that came and went but never away. It seemed that he had it all the time, while trying to go to school. Meanwhile, her schizophrenic sister had died. Nursing Diagnosis. One critical fact of schizophrenia to realize is that it interferes with self

Private International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words - 1

Private International Law - Essay Example In the resolution of cases of conflicts of law, problems arise when the different nationals have different rights and claims under their own laws, and at times the law of the place and the law agreed upon in a contract add a third or fourth consideration as to which set of laws shall apply in settling the case. There are three important determinations to be made prior to even beginning to address the substance of the case. The first is that of jurisdiction, and the second is the choice of law, and third is the matter of enforcement of the judgment. In this essay, only the first two shall be considered. Jurisdiction refers to the power to legislate or adjudicate with effect. It is the first question to be decided in a dispute involving a foreign element.1 Proceeding to hear a case without the proper jurisdiction is fatal to the case under that tribunal, and can only be remedied by a change of venue. The second important consideration is that of the choice of law. Once the English cour t has accepted and affirmed jurisdiction, it has then to determine what system of law must be applied to the dispute, pursuant to which the rights and liabilities of the parties shall be determined.2 There are two contexts of jurisdiction – territorial jurisdiction, and power jurisdiction.3 The first, territorial jurisdiction, pertains to the determination of which persons are within the reach of the courts of England, as claimed by English law. Contrary to the term’s implied meaning, this jurisdiction may extend beyond the physical boundaries of England and Wales (where this law is applicable), where English nationals over which the English legal system claims jurisdiction may sojourn outside the geographical territory of England and Wales. The second context in which jurisdiction may be taken refers to the power jurisdiction, that is, the situations and circumstances where the English courts may actually gain power to adjudicate a particular case involving persons wh o are within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.4 In order for an English court to gain competence over a case, said court should gain both territorial and power jurisdiction over the case. In private international law, the characterisation of issues subject of claim is the prerogative of the court of the forum.5 The case of Brian First claim: The consignment of biscuits from Bleagh Spa The claim of right in this case is one that arises out of contract. A contract of sale for Italian biscuits was drawn between Brian and Italian food supplier Bleagh Spa for the delivery of biscuits specified to be Italian. Instead, Bleagh had delivered Liechtenstein biscuits, which were unsuitable for the purpose for which they were bought, as such products should be sold in an Italian restaurant as Italian fare. This constituted a breach of the terms of the contract which specified the goods to be Italian. As such, Brian had a claim of right against Bleagh, one that constitutes a dispute of t he fulfilment of a contract that is of a commercial nature. . Jurisdiction As to the domicile of the parties, it is specified that Brian is domiciled in the U.K., being a British national and living within the U.K. as permanent resident. Bleagh Spa, on the other hand, is an Italian business organisation, and in the absence of other information, is presumed to be domiciled in Italy. The conflict of laws problem therefore arises between the

Buddhism in East Asia Essay Example for Free

Buddhism in East Asia Essay Many people will choose Confucianism as the most important factor in understating East Asian culture. Confucianism, indeed, is crucial in understanding the culture. However, one should not overlook the influence of Buddhism on Confucianism and many areas of East Asian culture. Buddhism, one of the world’s oldest religions and a philosophy, is shared by East Asian countries, thus in order to fully appreciate the East Asian culture, one should learn about Buddhism and its significant influence on the culture. This paper will discuss Buddhism shared by East Asian culture and how the religion played an enormous role in shaping the mindset of people affecting their culture. Buddhism started approximately in the 6th century BCE, starting with the birth of the Buddha in India. The religion then spread through Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia (Keown). Among many branches of Buddhism, Mahayana has been diffused from first west, north, and east throughout East Asia (Skilton). The fundamental principles of Mahayana are liberation from suffering and the belief in the existence of Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is someone who achieved Nirvana, the state of being free from both suffering and the cycle of rebirth (Keown). One can find a carved wood elongated figure of Bodhisattva Guanyin (1999. 13. 0003) from Spurlok Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL . In this wooden figure, Guanyin is barefoot with hair wrapped in knot, wears ornate robes and holds a basket with flowers (Spurlock Museum). One can also find a photo of Bronze Seated Buddha in National Museum at Kyongbok-Kung, Seoul, South Korea (1986. 27. 0017) in Spurlock Museum . These are an important artifact and a photo because one can easily find very similar artifacts of Guanyin or Buddha in China, Korea, and Japan. It shows one how Buddhism was shared by East Asian countries (Yu). Upon first encountering Buddhism, many Chinese scholars regarded it as merely a foreign religion. This caused Buddhism to transform itself into a system that could co-exist within the Chinese way of life. Thus, filial devotion, one of the most valued by Confucianists, in Buddhist teachings became the core texts in China. It further strengthened the Confucian value by claiming that the salvation of an individual was a benefit to the society and family. Therefore, Buddhism could spread well in the Chinese population (Chen). From this point, Buddhism spread to Korea and Japan, and Buddhist ideology began to merge with Confucianism. This caused many Confucian scholars to redefine Confucianism as Neo-Confucianism (Chen). While Neo-Confucianism adapted Buddhist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists strongly opposed Buddhism. Nonetheless, Buddhism offered Confucianism important ideas such as the nature of the soul and the relation of the individual to the cosmos, ideas not explored by Confucianism (Chen). Again, Neo-Confucianism was spread through Korea and Japan, and they were all deeply influenced for more than half a millennium (Chen). Moreover, many other indigenous religions and philosophical systems in East Asia integrated the ideas and teachings of Buddhism, so it came to be a natural part of living. In conclusion, the teachings of Buddhism not only influenced in shaping the mindset of East Asian people, but also affected their philosophy of life.

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy Social Work as a profession is heavily influenced by political rhetoric and ideology albeit there has been a shift in governmental philosophy from the beginnings of the profession. Due to Neo-Liberal ideas commonly adopted by the main political parties in the United Kingdom, social work services are beginning to be based on free market principles. Social work and social care services have seen an increase in privatised quasi markets. The role of the social worker in all of this is one that can be contested and is certainly not static; it is a profession that I believe should attempt to be diverse and fluid. The aim of this essay is, to discuss too what extent there is a social work role beyond ‘the rationing of scarce services and managing of poor people’ (Ferguson and Lavalette 2013:108) This will be achieved by looking the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy and what it means for social workers in a statutory children’s and families team before draw ing a conclusion. I intend to highlight the importance of early intervention as laid out in GIRFEC and what this means for social workers. GIRFEC also emphasises the importance of joint up working and I intend to highlight some of the failings of this and the tensions this creates for social workers on the front line. Finally, I will look at how GIRFEC is being put into practice by drawing on research from the Institute of Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS); Changing how we work: a case study in East Lothian. Firstly, however it is important to briefly explore the beginnings of policy implementation and how todays austerity measures effect policy being put into practice. Social work services go back over one hundred and fifty years but it was during the late 1960s that it became apparent that a framework of legislation was needed. This resulted in the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The Kilbrandon report 1964 was a major driver in this act along with the white paper Social Work and the Community 1966. The Kilbrandon report called for the introduction of children’s hearings and ‘introduced a new way of dealing with what were described as children who were in need of compulsory care’. (Fabb and Guthrie 2007:150) Smith and White (2008:21) add that ‘the thinking of the Kilbrandon Committee was strongly educational, reflecting longstanding views that social wellbeing and social cohesion through education should be the ambition of the system.’ The Kilbrandon report is still one of the most significant policies in relation to social work practice. Ferguson and Lavalette (2013) highlight how austerity measures and welfare reform mixed with the marketization of social work services is impacting on the social work task. Neoliberalism is an ideology now adopted by the main political parties in the United Kingdom and is a take on classic liberal beliefs such as ‘free trade and the free market’ (Hoffman and Graham 2009:) Neo-liberal theorists believe that the role of welfare should not lie with the state and they ‘question the need for the majority of publically funded, state delivered, or state regulated institutions that, taken together, comprise a welfare state.’ (Ellison 2012:) This can be seen in society today in many ways, for example, with the introduction of universal credit and benefit capping both making an attempt to reduce welfare costs. This could also explain the ever growing involvement and use of the voluntary or third sector in social work services. GIRFEC: The aims of the policy GIRFEC was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2008 in an attempt to improve the way in which work is undertaken by professionals working with children and their families. The policy was developed after a string of recommendations and reports surrounding child protection, one of which being It’s everyone’s job to make sure I’m alright Report of the Child Protection Audit and Review(2002: 1) which highlighted the importance of ‘a Scotland in which every child matters’. Another significant report was my turn to talk? (Scottish Executive 2006:), which highlighted that ‘child-related professionals and decision makers across Scotland have both moral and legal obligations to encourage and support children’s participation.’ I believe that this push for child participation will in turn promote active citizenship for children. From these reports and others it was clear that new policy guidance was necessary and so GIRFEC was adopted. GIRFEC aims to co-ordinate the services’ children receive as well as managing the consistency in the delivery of these services. The Scottish Governments guide to getting it right for every child (2012:6) states that ‘it is the bedrock for all children’s services’. Putting the child at the centre of the services they receive is high on the agenda throughout and the policy puts a high emphasis on multi-agency working and the importance of early intervention. The policy was created in respect to ten core components and has a strong set of values that were developed from the Children’s Charter 2004 which ‘reflects the voice of children and young people and what they feel they need, and should be able to expect, when they have problems or are in difficulty and need to be protected.’ (Scottish Government 2004) The wellbeing wheel, my world triangle and resilience matrix, together known as the National practice model, are assessment tools used within GIRFEC to effectively manage and analyse the information required for a child’s plan. The wellbeing wheel consists of eight indicators of wellbeing that ‘are the basic requirements for all children and young people to grow and develop’ (Scottish Government 2012:10). These are: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. (SHANARRI). Deep rooted in this, is the four competences from the Curriculum of Excellence: a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. I consider the combination of well-being and the curriculum for excellence to be a strong indicator for the push for multi-agency work that is evident throughout the policy. GIRFEC: A drive for early intervention and multi-agency working and the tensions these bring. Early intervention is one of the key themes running throughout the policy. The Changing Lives Report of the 21st Century Social Worker Review illustrates a four tiered approach to early intervention, incorporating the social workers role. (Scottish Government 2006:31). It stresses how social workers are involved in the early stages of intervention and how as crisis situations develop, other universal services step back. I wonder how involved we really are at tiers 1 and 2 and believe this will vary between local authorities. The Scottish Government(2006:31) state that, ‘social workers have a significant contribution to make at tiers 1 and 2, supporting and informing the delivery of services both within social work and across partner agencies.’ However, McGhee and Waterhouse (2011:1097) contradict this by arguing that: ‘for social work, early intervention has taken on a different meaning from that at tiers 1 and 2 †¦ early intervention begins at tier 3 and concerns individuals who already present significant vulnerability and risk and who are beyond the remit and capacity of universal services.’ This points out that early intervention may frequently be the responsibility of health professionals and education. However, early intervention at tiers 1 and 2 is perhaps what social work should be about it with its professional values pushing towards social justice. The Highland ‘s children services practice guidance (2013:11) ‘emphasises the critical part played by health and education services in supporting the development of all children. Difficulties or concerns are identified at an early stage and steps taken to ensure that additional help is available when needed. Help is given as quickly as possible and in consultation with children and their families.’ This backs up what McGhee and Waterhouse argue early intervention is like for social workers; their idea that social workers are not involved at tier 1 and 2. Another Key theme to shape GIRFEC is that of the importance of multi-agency working. Although GIRFEC calls for a push towards a better system of multi-agency working it is not something that is new to the literature. (Wilson et al 2011) Multi-agency became high on the political agenda after the death of Victoria Climbie who ‘was slowly tortured to death despite the involvement of four social service departments, three police child protection teams, health agencies and voluntary agencies.’ (Marinetto 2011:1164) An inquiry into Victoria’s death highlighted the breakdown between professional organisations and called for better co-ordination between services and organisations. With the importance of professionals working together and sharing information stressed here it is no wonder that it is such a key feature in policy documents. The principle behind multi-agency working sounds simple; ‘professionals with different backgrounds, from different intellectual dis ciplines and with different roles work together to provide care and support to service users and people around them.’ (Payne 2007:146) However, for social workers there are tensions to be considered. Atkinson et al (2005) looks at research carried out into multi-agency working and highlights eight challenges; fiscal resources, roles and responsibilities, competing priorities, non-fiscal resources, communication, professional and agency cultures, management and training opportunities. Some of the problems identified within these areas were that there was no financial support and many workers did not know what was being asked of their individual role between them and the rest of the multi-agency team. There were often different primacies amongst the different professions leading to conflict. As a social worker it is imperative that I aim to overcome these tensions and difficulties. In regards to GIRFEC, I expect that the introduction of the named person will help coordinate the multi-agency approach although lack of funding and resources is something that is always going to be a threat to the smooth running of a statu tory children and families team attempting to work alongside other professionals under the GIRFEC framework. The Audit Commission (2009:3) states that ‘Effective joint workingneeds active leadership and purposeful relationship management.’ The report highlights how working together in multi-agency teams is not without risk and that difficulties can arise if the agencies have not developed effective relationships. Strong leadership seems to be a key theme throughout the literature. The Scottish Government (2010) states that ‘Partnership working requires leadership at all levels and across services. In order to make partnership working effective, leadership needs to be the responsibility of everyone.’ If this is adopted and everyone is clear on what their roles and responsibilities are it should enable an effective way of working. How can we implement GIRFEC into practice? In October 2012, IRISS worked alongside East Lothian Council to enable them to implement GIRFEC. The sub group working together involved social workers, police, child protection, the third sector, education and health. Collins (2013:) states that she had ‘initially conceptualised this project as a means to help an organisation reflect on and improve their use of evidence, however, as the project progressed it became evident that the lessons really centred around how a multi-disciplinary team can learn to work together well and change the way they work.’ So here we have a positive example promoting the practice of multi-agency working, however, arriving at this conclusion was not easy. The study points out that in the beginnings people were reluctant to the prospect of the group – ‘We don’t even have the same beliefs.’ (Collins 2013:5) The next problem to address was that when it came down to it, people didn’t fully understand the best way to comprehend GIRFEC- ‘The problem is interpretation of GIRFEC. Some people are putting ‘safe’ at the top of the pyramid. But safe is not the only thing. It doesn’t have to be the most important.’ (Collins 2013:7) These difficulties are only to name a few, but as the group moved onward planning strategies were implemented, based comprehensively on reflection which the group named ‘the action research cycle’ (Collins 2013:16), with successful results. Conclusion Going back to Ferguson and Lavalettes quote, it would be ethically undermining to say that social work is about rationing limited resources and welfare management and that the GIRFEC policy aims to tackle every aspect of a child’s well-being with a multi-agency approach. Although as previously highlighted, the importance of multi-agency working is not new to the literature, within GIRFEC there is a drive for a more effective method in which universal services can work together in partnership with a thrust towards early intervention, although it may be argued that social workers are being locked of this. To an extent, I agree with this and believe that austerity measures are influencing this and together with welfare reforms and an ever growing number of families living in poverty then at present social workers roles may be changing but I am uncertain at present as to say to what extent. What I am certain of is that the service users within a statutory children’s and fam ilies team will be effected whether it be through the ever increasing cost of living and proportion of them relying on low income wages or through local authorities having to cut funding to specialised services and protects.

College Not Apart from ‘Real World’ :: Education Learning Essays

College Not Apart from ‘Real World’ â€Å"Welcome to the real world.† It is the phrase that most people quote when greeting college graduates, aside from â€Å"you have been preapproved for a credit card,† and it is quickly becoming redundant and, quite frankly, annoying. No doubt, it often is said with love and affection, easing off of the lips disgruntled office workers, perhaps wishing they could escape back to those â€Å"safe† college years when Ma and Pa were sending checks in the mail and their only worries were how they were going to get the keg into their buddies’ dormitory. To those poor souls, college represents the days when the world was reduced to barbecue, bad beer and homecoming football games. Well, college isn’t how they remember it. Things aren’t the way they used to be. My recent alma mater is an institution nestled in the foothills of Montana, with an enrollment of fewer than 1,000. We had our share of barbecue, bad beer, and football games. But, unless my memory already has been glossed over by nostalgia, we had plenty of â€Å"the real world† as well. One of my classmates was killed in a drunken driving accident and was listed in my commencement program as a posthumous graduate. The dormitory halls were filled with tales, both speculated and official, of sexual and physical assault. A young man visiting our campus during an athletic-related weekend was assaulted, urinated upon and threatened. He later refused to file charges because he was embarrassed to go public. There were many students, both male and female, who were seriously contemplating suicide, and there was at least one â€Å"accidental† overdose that later was classified as an attempted suicide. Also rampant were cases of drug and alcohol abuse, students with eating disorders, and students facing chronic depression. And there were students struggling with the everyday pressures that plague us all: bills that were overdue, friendly phone calls from collectors and part-time jobs that paid the minimum wage. My first year on campus, I lived across the hall from a 47 year old man who had lost his job after 25 years of hard work. â€Å"Sent back to school† because his services weren’t needed anymore, he found himself far from his family and his dreams of early retirement. There were students suffering from learning disorders, students who were married, students with children, students who were single mothers – the list is endless.

Basics of Ghost Stories :: Ghost Story Stories Ghosts Essays

Basics of Ghost Stories INTRODUCTION The ghost story writer has to attract the reader's attention straight away. The way story begins is important and often links with the rest of the narrative. The opening of a short story must try to engage the reader quickly. I think all ghost stories should always have a lot of suspense in it, to create anticipation and excitement. Some symbolic object/place for example a knife, a key must play a major part in the narrative. The story should also have lots of detail to get the feeling as if the reader is there to create different types of atmospheres, such as horror, terror, and excitement. They should also have a mysterious end, to make the reader go away thinking about it. Most people are interested in ghost stories because of the thrill and horror that is in it. Ghost story's challenges us to see how much of the paranormal we can take onboard and because it is a story they can always back away from it if it gets too unnerving. I have read "Wish Master", in which a demon awakes from an ancient pot that is destroyed in a robbery in a museum. Then the demon goes around asking people for their wishes and he always does something opposite to fulfil the wish. Ghost stories always seem to be set in lonely or isolated places. The language writers use to describe settings in ghost stories are usually quite unpredictable because there is a lot of descriptive use of imagery to paint a specific kind of picture for the reader. Ghost stories gained prominence in the Victorian period and a lot of classic stories were written during this period. They were written to entertain and feed the imagination of the populace who were intrigued by stories of the supernatural. Atmosphere is mood the writer is trying to create in a story. It is important because it builds a good impression on the reader. It is created through the use of language tools: such as similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia. The atmosphere of the story is developed right from the beginning. It largely depends on the writers purpose/intentions. So you do expect different kind of atmosphere to be created in both of these stories because in the "The Signalman" Charles Dickens is trying to scare the reader and in "The Deadfall" Ted Hughes is trying to get a message across. Atmosphere is important in building tension in the story, which I believe is vital for a ghost story. In 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens the narrator meets a lonely signalman. At first he seems to be scared of him.

Crucible Reading Response

Crucible Reading Response The Crucible is a play based on a society ruled by theocracy. Danforth ‘s statement of â€Å"–a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it , there be no road between† clearly demonstrates the Puritan’s prospective of seeing everything in black and white. Arthur Miller’s purpose of writing co.uk/the-crucible-fear-causes-irrationality/">The Crucible was due to the close resemblance between the Salem Witch-trails and McCarthyism. They are both human tragedies that are driven by human fear.In The Crucible, Danforth and others suspect a person is either with the Devil or with God. There’s no doubt of witchcraft as God doesn’t tell lies. Likewise, people during the McCarthy period have been viewed as black or white too; if you don't support jailing the â€Å"communists,† you must be one of them. This view may secretly denied by people at that time, but the hysteria is like a snowball rol ling down a mountaintop, it became unstoppable.Like Danforth said: â€Å"-reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now† (124), there is too much risk in try to put an end to the execution as people will start to doubt the government and the Church. During our thousand years of existence, mass hysteria always occurred. When those in authority make a wrong decision, people are forced to go along with it or they will be marked as traitors of their society. McCarthyism and the Salem Witchcraft established that the authority are entitled to be the only rightful opinion.