My Sisters Keeper Essay Example for Free

My Sisters Keeper EssayIn My Sisters Keeper, Jodi Picoult weaves a gripping tale of pathos, humor, and love. As thirteen-year-old Anna Fitzgerald struggles to define herself as a person apart from her infant Kate, Picoult exposes the universal truths of human relationships. Life is full of choices and consequences. Love demands risks and leave self-examination and sharing. As the characters unfold, in their own words, the importance of communication emerges as a unifying theme. Kate Fitzgerald is dying of acute promyelocytic leukemia. A kidney transplant is her only hope. Annas parents assume without question, that she will offer her kidney.Aware that she was conceived to be a genetic match, and ongoing donor for Kate, Anna wants a chance to live her own life. Though she loves her sister dearly, Anna retains Campbell Alexander, seeking medical emancipation, knowing that without the surgery Kate will die. Thus begins the saga of seven lives intertwined in ways none could ever h ave imagined. Anna forces a legal opposition that compels each character to examine the relationships in their lives. Sara Fitzgerald has focused obsessively on Kates medical needs, unwittingly ignoring the needs of other family members.Brian, a firefighter, finds respite from his familys ills on the job, and in the stars, which become a metaphor for life. Jesse, eighteen, is the family misfit. Unable to help Kate, he is wracked by guilt. A rebel, he becomes an unlikely healing force. As the judicatory proceedings swirl around Anna, all involved are forced to reckon with the ghosts of their pasts and the paths they have chosen. Picoult addresses the ethics of the situation only tangentially. The ending is superbly crafted, literally pulling the reader into the text. This is a cosmic tale about relationships and endurance, and the ability of love to change lives forever.

Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform

medical Malpr guessice and civil wrong ReformKristen AddingtonAccording to research conducted by a team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about 10% of deaths per year in the United States are caused by health check errors (Sternberg, 2016). This makes health check errors the third leading cause of death in the United States, heart infirmity being the first, and cancer the second (Sternberg, 2016). The medical errors for this study were defined as lapses in judgment, skill or coordination of care mistaken diagnoses system failures that lead to patient deaths or the failure to rescue dying patients and preventable complications of care (Sternberg, 2016). 10% is a decent percentage that should not be ignored. Tort straighten in the area of medical malpractice has many arguments for it and against it. Many think the tort system causes an undue financial burden on the medical system, others think that those harmed by medical errors deserve compensation and perhaps the m edical system should be looked at.Medical Malpractice ProofNegligence is defined as the breach of duty that all persons should act reasonable and with a reasonable amount of care with others (Lau Johnson, 2014). Medical malpractice is a category of the negligence tort in which medical professionals commit negligence (Lau Johnson, 2014). Therefore, medical malpractice is a specific type of negligence. The following must happened in order to make a claim of medical malpractice the duty owed by the defendant to the complainant must be established, proof that this duty was breached must be shown, proof the defendants actions caused this breach and lastly the damages sustained by the plaintiff must be shown (Lau Johnson, 2014). Medical professionals have a duty to perform medical care to their patients. If an error is made during their medical care that causes injury or death to a patient, their duty has been breach. Proof of this error and that it was the doctors responsibility must be shown. The injury or death must be explained as a result of the doctors error.Medical Malpractice DefensesDefenses for any type of negligence are assumption of risk, contributory and comparative negligence and the unplayful Samaritan Law (Lau Johnson, 2014). Assumption of risk notes that the plaintiff knowingly imitation risks in the duty that is being performed (Lau Johnson, 2014). Comparative and contributory negligence means the plaintiff was at least partially responsible the negligence of duty (Lau Johnson, 2014). The Good Samaritan Law covers those who are trying to help others (Lau Johnson, 2014).Tort Reform for Medical MalpracticeFrom the research I conducted, tort reform is less of the issue and medical reform is where the focus should be. According to the article by Chad Terhune, the cap of $250,000 in California is not relation to inflation and should be closer to $1 million (2016). It besides seems the errors that are happening are not tracked nor is much bein g done to fix the issue at hand (Sternberg, 2016).ConclusionMedical malpractice set up hundreds of thousands of people a year. Tort reform in way of limits and making it more difficult to make a claim do not requirement to happen. Instead the effort needs to be put into reforming medical care and practices.ReferencesDoroshow, J. (2009, Nov. 9). Medical malpractice tort reform-we are already suffering and dontneed more. Retrieved from http//www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-doroshow/medical-malpractice-tort_b_350573.htmlWord Press. Tort Reform The loss of the civil justice system. Retrieved fromhttps//kourtneyplmr14.wordpress.com/colin-gourley/Kenney, K. (2009, Aug. 9). Fixing health care reform requires tort reform. Retrieved fromhttp//www.npr.org/sections/money/2009/08/fixing_health_care_requires_to.htmlLau, T. Johnson, L. (2014). The legal and ethical environment of business. Washington, DC prostrate World Knowledge Inc.Olsen, S. (2003, January 27). Statement of Scott Olsen regardi ng his son Stevens medicalmalpractice story. Consumer Watchdog. Retrieved fromhttp//www.consumerwatchdog.org/feature/statement-scott-olsen-regarding-his-son-stevens-medical-malpratice-story-january-2003Sternberg, S. (2016, May 3). Medical errors are third leading cause of death in the U.S. USNews. Retrieved from https//www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-03/medical-errors-are-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-usTerhune, C. (2016, December 30). Top Republicans say theres a medical malpractice crisis.Experts say there isnt. The Washington Post. Retrieved fromhttps//www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/12/30/top-republicans-say-theres-a-medical-malpractice-crisis-experts-say-there-isnt/?utm_term=.9fbd69c92a86

Nursing Research Methods: Article Critique Essay

Nursing inquiry Methods Article Critique EssayTitle Factors think to schoolman success among nurse savants A descriptive correlational statisticsal seek needSamina Iqbal KanjiThe clause under critique is a quantitative research study titled as Factors related to schoolman success among care for students A descriptive correlational research study published in the year 2013. I will be critiquing this article correspond to the provided guideline. Title of the study under concern is unambiguous, thus capturing the population and phenomenon of interest. Addition each(prenominal)y, the abstract is structured and is providing info under separate headings.The troubleThe described problem is of great importance to nursing, because increased nursing shortage is posing a threat to the health industry in terms of competency and quality of fretting by the nursing staff. The police detective has critically dismemberd the signifi goatce in terms of the relation between the academic success and its effects on the fill-in of existing nursing staff The purpose of the research has been explained and the study will fulfill its purpose by providing an insight to the nursing education system to start changes in curricula for improved results. As prior knowledge round the variables has already been discussed with other students therefore to precede the level of inquiry a quantitative move up is used as the purpose is to know about the correlations. There was no operational definition mentioned explicitly about the research variables however their correlation with academic success has been buy the farmn in other contexts. There was no explicit problem statement present in the introduction however, data linkages were made following the immense to narrow approach. Thus, provide an insight in to the nursing practice. The researcher has acknowledged the limitations of the study in terms of example bias, low generalizability and distinguishable results at measure due to the spiritual component. There were no explicit assumptions described however one tolerate infer from the introduction that giving an answer to the factors affecting academic success deal in long run help in combat the effects of nursing shortage. canvass of the litThe review provided in the study was comprehensive, logical and critically analyzed, hence gave sequential information ranging from the admission of the nursing students, factors important for their academic success, associations between different factors and academic success and finally the botch of the study i-e correlation of factors with academic success of nursing students. The relationship of the literature review to the research purpose is unambiguously evident by using a funnel approach. In addition, most of the references were taken from the year 1982-2012. Those with old references were explicitly supported by their presence in the latest literature. The review consists of almost all of the theoretica l work, though if empirical support could have made this review stronger. Besides, almost all of the researches were from primary sources and were paraphrased adequately. The information provided in the review clearly gives a way for conducting a new research moreover, researcher has also acknowledged this chess opening at the end of the literature review i-e there is a gap of researches done for the improvement of academic success of nursing students.Protection of human rightsThe proposed study has been designed to lessen the effects of issues occurring as a result of nursing shortage i-e decreased quality of care, decreased number of competent nurses, and increased rates of nursing students turnover. Besides, the results of this study will non solitary(prenominal) affect the whole health care system, but it will affect the professional growth and academic success of individual nursing student. The evidence of volunteer informed consent has been mentioned explicitly that was se nt to participants via electronic medium. There was no evidence present explicitly for coercion. As the have was done conveniently, therefore, participants were not invited during periods of mellow stress rather they were asked to fill the research questioners in their own time. There was no way to identify about the identities of study participants as their data was structured anonymously on survey monkey software and also provided with numerical codes.. There is an explicit evidence of study review by Institutional Review Board (IRB).Theoretical/ abstract FrameworkThe researcher has not acknowledged the use of any theoretical / conceptual framework. According to Burns and Grove (2010), descriptive studies do not require any theoretical framework as the purpose is still to explore and describe phenomenon. The researcher may have conceptualized by looking the effects of different variable on the academic success. According to Burns and Grove (2010), at times elementary concepts a bout the variables make the conceptual frameworks and are present at the start of the study but are not acknowledge by the researcher and are referred as implicit frameworks. The research problem flows from the background knowledge. Concepts such as nursing shortage, student attrition, and academic success are briefly described.HypothesisThe researcher has not stated supposal explicitly. However, there absence is justified in Polit and Beck (2012) that the purpose of descriptive correlational design is to describe the nature and relation between different variables and hypothesis generation rather than concluding about casualty. However, on the other hand, Coughlan, Cronin and Ryan (2007) suggest that correlational designs approaches the relationship either via hypothesis testing of answering research question. But, researcher has not explicitly mentioned about his study research question also which could be a negative critique. Academic success in this study serves as the babeli ke variable, however emotional intelligence psychological empowerment resilience and spiritual easybeing plays the part of independent variables respectively. As it as a non-experimental design, therefore predictions cant be made about the intervention or control group.SamplingThe researcher wants to generalize the study findings to all the nursing students, and has described it well. The seat population is appropriate according to the research problem and resource limitation, as it would have been actually difficult to cater all nursing students keeping in mind the cost constraints, human, and material resources. The researcher has clearly defined the selection process that is convenient sampling and snowballing via professors of the universities. The sampling method used fits very well with the level of inquiry and research design. This point was supported by Polit and Beck (2012) that in descriptive correlational studies the purpose is to explore the initial relationships betw een variables without knowing about the conclusions therefore, self-selection or convenient sampling methods are use. Moreover, as the researcher is unaware about the existence of relationship in nursing students therefore choosing this sampling dodging would be cost effective. There are no potential sampling biases explicitly described in the study. However, according to Rebecca (2010) one of the limitation of convenient sampling is selection bias itself, therefore potential biases could have been existed. The researcher has used power analysis to calculate sample size. However, according to Rebecca (2010), the acceptable standard for cypher power analysis is alpha 0.05, moderate effect size, and power of 0.80. The researcher has used very small power therefore sample is not sufficiently large to generalize it to the whole population. The generalizations can be made cautiously to the nursing students. There were no control groups present, however, exclusion criteria is used to v erify a representative sample. There is no evidence of minimizing sampling error yet if large sample size was used then it could have been minimized.Research tropeThe design used for this study is a non-experimental design named as descriptive correlational study. This design comes under the category of level II studies and according to Rebecca (2010), correlational studies are used when the researcher wants to answer about the relationship between the variables whose nature has been described either by prior researches or literature synthesis. After going through the article and other literatures, researcher has selected an appropriate study design. One could say that researchers have already been done on students in addressing the relationship of this variable as the researcher acknowledged its absence in nursing students therefore it was a wise decision because stressors could be different for students with different programs. There is no discussion about the effects of extraneo us variables and their control, however he has discussed the application of regression to analyses unique predictors however he was not thriving with the regression models. The information provided in this study can permit the study replication in other nursing universities. Moreover, as this was a religious university, therefore replicating the research in non-religious universities could give better understanding about the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and academic success.Data CollectionThe data solicitation instruments used by the researcher were MayerSaloveyCaruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Spreitzer mental Empowerment Scale, Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), and the background information of the participants. There were selection reason described, they are explained sufficiently. The research instrument by their characteristics showed congruency with the research question.. The researcher has described the use o f different types of validity (face, content, discriminant, incremental, convergent) for each of the instruments where possible. Moreover, to ensure the reliability, the researcher has run reliability coefficients. According to Polit and Beck (2012), ensuring the validity and reliability of an instrument is important for the quality and results accuracy of the study results. The results of these tests of validity and reliability are adequacy for their usage as they are analyzed for both showing stronger correlations separately. Since the reliabilities of the instruments were stronger ranging from 0.85 to 0.91 respectively and they were valid therefore they were suitable to for use with the study sample keeping in mind the four factors to be analyzed via them.Quantitative AnalysisThe researcher has used descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and percentages) and Pearsons correlation using the PASW statistics 18 to analyze the data. According to Coughlan, Cronin and Ryan (2007), descriptive studies results are analyzed via descriptive statistics. Moreover, according to Polit and Beck (2012), correlation between two variables is described through correlation procedures mainly through correlation coefficient. Therefore, the analysis methods fit with both the level of inquiry a research design. The level of measurement in this study for all variables is quantitative ratio in nature. According to Polit and Beck (2012), Pearsons correlation coefficient are used when the variable under study either belong to interval or ratio level of measurement. The link between the data analysis and findings has been made clear unambiguously by the researcher. Moreover, the researcher has used Pearson correlation(r) and p value to show the degree of relationship and statistical analysis for each variable, and described them very clearly altogether to show the relationship logically. At times researcher has gone beyond the data to learn the result, for example in meas uring emotional intelligence the researcher has analyzed the differences between graduate and undergraduate students by the type of stressors. The statistical result is very well presented in the text but numerical presentation could have been better in the form of showing all results and statistics altogether. The provided results by correlation coefficient and p value are giving enough evidence about the correctness of the results. There were no graphical displays shown by the researcher, however according to Polit and Beck (2012), correlation relationships can be shown through scatter plots.Conclusions and recommendationsThe results of the data analysis were unambiguously explained in terms of the research purpose for undergraduate and graduate students separately. Through this the reader can make decisions about the correlation between different factors affecting academic success easily. The generalization of these findings can be questionable due to small sample size and conven ient nature of the design, thus posing a threat to external validity. The results of the findings can indirectly affect our patients as such factors could lead to students retention thereby welcoming more qualified nurses to provide competent care to the patients. There are no risk identified by the study findings however, such results could provide an insight to the nursing educators in renewing the curriculum to bring positive long-term results. In the discussion section the researcher has given recommendation in the light of literature and study findings for improving teaching strategies. Moreover, future researches for academic planning has also been proposed, however no such discussion has been made about nursing practice. Though the study needs cautious generalizations in terms of small sample size, still can give insight for replication, experimental studies for future policy makingReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American psycho logical association (6th ed.). Washington, DC American Psychological AssociationBurns, N., Grove, S. K. (2010). Understanding nursing research Building an evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.Coughlan, M., Cronin, P., Ryan, F. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research.Part 1 quantitative research. British Journal of Nursing, 16(11), 658-663Keele, R. (2010). Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice. Jones Bartlett Publishers.Polit, D.F. Beck, C.T. (2012). Nursing research Generating and assessing evidence fornursing practice (9th ed.). Philadelphia Lippincott Williams Wilkins

Depression: A Problem in an Aggregate of Atoms? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Depression A Problem in an Aggregate of Atoms? The man who sees his neighbor only as an aggregate of atoms can non have the same conception of his real self. He thus arrives necessarily at a fundamental contradiction. - F. Husemann (1) Throughout history, depression was thought of only as a flawed character condition. Fifty years ago, pharmaceutical treatments for depression did not exist. A major breakthrough occurred in 1974, when a information by scientists at Eli Lilly and Company concluded that a cause of depression is a chemical imbalance manifested by a malfunctioning serotogenic system (2). umpteen researchers and doctors asserted that depression is not a moral weakness, nor mental sloth, but a true brain disease that can be successfully tempered (3).The treatment took the form of a series of drugs which are collectively known as antidepressants. Most of the literature on these drugs takes a one sided approach on what causes depression and how a single action molecule can treat it. At the same time, a good deal the same article, asserts that depression is a whole tree trunk illness that affects a persons physical and mental health, taking hostage of his/her whole existence (4). One molecule must have the powerfulness to treat this condition, successfully alleviating all bad thoughts, curing the physical troubles that go along with it, and in effect, correcting the state of depression. But like with eitherthing in life, it is just not that simple. Any inquiry into the depth of the nervous system has to begin with the understanding of its complexity. Many accounts of depression and the working of antidepressants, view human beings as aggregation of atoms and often fail to recognize the real self, which must at least encompass the complex and often incomprehensible interactions of those atoms. Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous artists, asserted that every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. In the study of the nervous system, and how it is affected by various chemicals, the act of creation can be viewed as the uncovering of the truth. But this inquiry has to begin with the recognition of our lack of understanding, that is, we must destroy our prejudices of the certainty of our knowledge. In the following paper I go away point out our current awareness of the state of depression and how and why antidepressants are thought to work. Also I will present some of the contradicting issues which get from implications of what we know and what we do not know about the state of depression and the medium of its conduction - the nervous system.

Transplantation: Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Essay -- Health Medi

Transplantation Treatment of Parkinsons DiseaseParkinsons disease (PD) is a slowly-progressive disease which last robs its victims of voluntary motor control. The disease manifests itself as a series of symptoms which include bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and impairment of postural reflexes (Fitzgerald, 1992215). It is a result of a passage of neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Chemotherapy, in the form of drugs such as levodopa and carbidopa, has been effective in alleviating many of the symptoms in the early stages of PD however, with increasing losses in the number of cells in SNpc, such therapy becomes more and more ineffective. New therapies, using selegiline (deprenyl) and antioxidants (tocopherol or Vitamin E) focus on halting the progression of the disease by potentially salvaging surviving SNpc cells (Ahlskog, 1990). A more aggressive approach in the treatment of PD has surfaced in recent years. Researchers are experimenting with the prospects of tran splanting tissue directly into the afflicted areas of the central queasy system (CNS) of PD patients. In both animal models of PD and humans, marginally successful transplants have been performed using adrenal chromaffin cells and fetal neurons. Genetically-altered, dopamine-producing tissues are currently existence proposed as an alternative in transplant therapy of PD. As techniques become more refined, such brain-grafting may be the panacea for not only PD, but in any case for other debilitating diseases such as Huntingtons disease and Alzheimers disease. According to Fitzgerald (1992215), the cardinal pathological feature of PD is loss of neurons from the substantia nigra. Most of this loss occurs in the SNpc, of which approxima... ...zgerald, M. J. T. Neuroanatomy Basic and Clinical. London Bailliere Tindall, 1992. Freed, C. R. et.al. 1992. Improved drug responsiveness following fetal tissue implant for Parkinsons disease. Neurochemistry International, 20 321S-327S. Freed, C. R. et.al. 1990. Transplantation of human fetal dopamine cells for Parkinsons disease. Fetal Human Transplant, 47505-12. Freed, W. J. et.al. 1991. Brain grafts and Parkinsons disease. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 45261-7. Hurtig, H. et.al. 1989. Postmortem analysis of adrenal-medulla-to caudate autograft in a patient with Parkinsons disease. Annals of Neurology, 25(6)607-13. Kordower, J. H. et.al. 1991. Putative chromaffin cell survival and enhanced host-derived TH-fiber innervation following a functional adrenal medulla autograft for Parkinsons disease. Annals of Neurology, 29(4)405-12.

the way the media influence our lives Essay -- essays research papers

Are we influenced by the media, if yes how much? Sociologist and Psychologist contemplate that question often. The media has been charge of do violent behavior, negative racial stereotyping and negative body perceptions mostly among young girls. No one drive out deny that the media has an effect on society, but is the media still giving society what he or she wants? Has the media taken away our ability to think for ourselves critically? We argon constantly feed information from the watchwordpapers, television news and weekly news magazines most of us believing without question because we believe the source credible. In 1989 while jogging in central park a women was brutally attacked raped and beaten. I remember the incident well because it was all oer the news, in papers and magazines for months. Five teens Hispanic and African American were accused of the crime. I remember the newspaper articles and reporters on television referring to the teens as an angry wolf pack. The word allegedly was absent form all conversation over the incident. The media convicted the teens before the trail began. I believe because of all the negative exposure from the media the teens didnt have a s directballs chance in hell. All five of the male child were convicted and served time for the attack on the central park jogger. Thirteen years later, a man named Matias Reyes who was not related to the crime at all is now coming forward from behind bars and saying, you know what, by the way, Im the one who did it. And the five teenagers who served time, they didnt do it. And the DNA that was taken from the victims body at the time of the attack matches Reyes. Reyes also confessed to an identical crime two days earlier in the same area of the park. The lawyers who defended the teenagers are now saying we were never told about a lone, Predatory rapist prowling that same area of the park just days before the jogger was attacked. The police and the prosecutors may have withheld that information so that they could expedite the conviction of the teens as they sometimes do. I still believe that the media despite of the limited evidence help in the conviction of five youth. The media depicted the teens, as angry mobs and wolf packs constantly to the earthly concern this is not an isolated incident the media does all the time.In fact adjudicate and attorneys are blaming the media for destroying a persons righ... ...lated study of emotions. In this study, research assistants acted abusively toward some of the subjects. Later, when they were put in apposition to retaliate, both those who had been provoked and those who had been receptive to violent films (but not provoked) showed an increase in hostile behavior. Although men were more aggressive than women overall, exposure to violent films influenced the behavior of both sexes equally. (Miller, Michael Craig). Although some research can link violent behavior directly to the media our society crave violence in mo vies unison and in newspapers. Should the media be more amenable when entertaining the public? As for the movies television and music the argument can always be if you dont like it dont go to see it or simply change the channel. That would set well with adults argument, but how about children. The media often states that parents should regulate what their children are watching on television and what music they are listening to. In and age where there are more single parent households and latchkey kids I believe the media also has to be more responsible as to what type of programming is assessable to children between certain hours.

Mechanisms of Originality: Comparing Language Systems to Neural Systems :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Mechanisms of Originality Comparing Language Systems to Neural SystemsWhen I was a boy I felt that the role of rhyme in poetry was to compel oneness to find the unobvious because of the necessity of finding a word which rhymes. This forces novel assocations and almost guarantees deviations from routine chains or trains of thought. It becomes paradoxically a sort of machine rifle mechanism of orginality ... ---- Stan Ulam, Adventures of a Mathematician In a previous paper, I began exploring a comparison between language and DNA based on their function as information systems. In this paper, I would like to consider some of these issues further, as well as extend the comparison to the queasy system. The conversation was structured near the five essential characteristics of DNA these atomic number 18 stability variation reproducibility the ability to store information and the ability for that information to be read. For this paper, Id like to centre just on the criteria of stabilit y by looking at what some researchers are saying now about the structure of language and the structure of the nervous system. One complication which is intrinsic to any kind of discussion like this is that the parallel lines one tries to pursue are only parallel in places lastly they do overlap, and often they are indistinguishably tangled. The most obvious and forbidding example is that language is itself a product of neural function thus, when one gets to the root of how sentences are understood and generated, the comparison to neural performance becomes moot, because in fact it IS neural activity (highly specialized and probably not easily generalized neural activity at that). Similarly, any discussion about the origins of language is also by definition a discussion of the evolution of the brain. I mention this only because I think that while the risk of chasing ones own tail is very real, the observations which arise from a consideration of the places where the two structures p arallel one another (in an extremely introductory way) are sufficiently interesting to warrant the attention. The simplest way to think about structure is in terms of building blocks or discrete units. With language, the most sanctioned units are either letters or phonemes (9) the next level of organization is words following words are series of words (which in western sandwich languages are usually sentences). Interestingly, meaning is not acquired until letters have made the leap to words.