Research Topics: Cardiac Units

Particular Problem Such as Diabetes

Hi, I haven’t decided my topic but the teacher asked me to choose either of these e.g., care of client with a particular problem, such as diabetes, renal failure, etc.; time management; a legal/ethical practice issue; use of a particular model of care, etc.). i suggest you to choose time management with any disease like cardiac units( time management in busy units). i have attached marking guide with this. In Assignment we need to tell why i want to improve that particular topic like give example (reflection) of clinical practical’s in hospitals). i am looking forward for your further feedback. Need to identify an area of nursing practice (e.g., care of client with a particular problem, such as diabetes, renal failure, etc.; time management; a legal/ethical practice issue; use of a particular model of care, etc.) Need to: â€¢ Identify the nursing practice area in need of improvement; â€¢ Outline the relevance of gaining competency/further knowledge in this area (why want to improve that like give example of clinical practical’s in hospitals). â€¢ Describe how this practice improvement relates to the NAMCO competence standards for practice of registered nurses(20002) www.anmc.org.au â€¢ Provide two primary research articles that assist in developing their knowledge/competence in the area of nursing practice improvements that I have nominated â€¢ Evaluate each article in terms of how the research process and findings can inform their knowledge/competence in the nominated nursing practice area in need of improvement. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Particular Problem Such as Diabetes

Hi, I haven’t decided my topic but the teacher asked me to choose either of these e.g., care of client with a particular p...

Time Management in Busy Units Like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Busy Units like Cardiac Units   Introduction             Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death among the peoples in New Zealand. The pathology of this disease is important to take note off, as further understanding would provide medical professionals and citizens alike to increase awareness and prevention as well. It has been reported that of the cardiovascular diseases, coronary artery disease is the major cause of death, followed by stroke, which is the greatest cause of disability in older people, and accounts for 33% of life years lost between 45 and 64 years of age (“Cardiovascular Disease”, 2005). In addition, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, with 40% of incidence among the population in New Zealand, and with more than twice as high in men as in women (Hay, 2004). Risk factors or causes of such an increase rate of cardiovascular diseases include the significant changes in the diet and lifestyle of many individuals in New Zealand, brought about by industrialization, urbanization, development in the economy and society, and globalization of the food market. Such changes in diet and lifestyle result to decrease in physical activity, intake of nutrient-poor food, and increase incidence of smoking, taking alcohol and other substances, resulting to obesity, increased blood sugar levels and blood pressure.             Given this problem at hand, this assignment will discuss the Pathophsiology of cardiovascular disease. In addition, three studies will be presented, which would provide evidence for the use of Lipex, as an effective health intervention in reducing major heart complications and total mortality. The summary and findings from these three studies will be reviewed in the context of the New Zealand population.   General Pathophsiology of Cardiovascular Disease             It has been reported that research on cardiovascular diseases is one of the most developed areas of inquiry in the study of behavioral influences on health (Krantz et al., 1983). In this regard, to be able to further understand the use of Liptex as a health intervention for CVD, its pathology and physiology must first be understood. Cardiovascular Disease or CVD encompasses a number of dysfunctional conditions of the heart, arteries, and veins, which are responsible for supplying oxygen to the vital organs and systems in the body. Some diseases associated with cardiovascular diseases include atherosclerosis, congenital heart disease, coronary heart disease, hypertensive heart failures, inflammatory heart diseases, and valvular cardiomyopathy. Such diseases of the heart are mainly caused by plaque or fat build up in the blood vessels, which obstructs the flow of blood to all parts of the body. Obstruction of the flow of the blood in the blood vessels leads the heart to pump more blood, causing stress and excessive effort.             The occurrence of cardiovascular diseases is predominantly caused by the excessive build-up of fats or plaque in the blood vessels. Chilton (2004) reports the significant link between lipids and cardiovascular disease, such as coronary heart disease. This particular study suggests that the significant increase in the density of lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels increases the risk of major coronary events. Total blood cholesterol above 200 mg/dl, LDL cholesterol above 130 mg/dl, HDL cholesterol below 35 mg/dl, and lipoprotein a) level greater than 30 mg/dl are indicators of problematic cholesterol (“Cardiovascular Disease: Facts, Disease Prevention and Treatment Strategies”, 2007). In this regard, it is best to take note of blood cholesterol levels in order to reduce the risks for cardiovascular diseases.  Aside from high cholesterol levels, there are other risk factors or causes of cardiovascular diseases, which must be taken note off, in order to increase prevention and awareness. Some of the uncontrollable risk factors include heredity, age, and sex. Some have higher risks of acquiring cardiovascular diseases than others due to the high tendency of inheriting it. In this regard, prevention and awareness for such individuals must be more efficient. Another uncontrollable risk factor is age, as the older a person gets, the more he or she is susceptible to cardiovascular disease. This is because due to aging, blood vessels tend to be more damaged and brittle. The third uncontrollable risk factor is sex. Men are more likely to acquire cardiovascular diseases than women are in general. This is maybe due to the collective risk factors, from which men are more susceptible. On the other hand, Controllable risks factors include obesity, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and stress. Diabetes is a disorder associated with the excess of glucose or blood sugar levels in the body. Diabetes is one risk factor of cardiovascular disease because the high levels of sugar in the blood catalyze the build-up of cholesterol in the blood vessels. The build-up of sugar and cholesterol in the body is caused by obesity and sedentary lifestyles, which means that an individual lacks the opportunity to do vigorous exercises, which would reduce cholesterol and sugar levels in the blood. Smoking and stress are also risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, as nicotine in cigarettes and tobaccos contribute to the narrowing of blood vessels, while stress increases heart rate and blood pressure levels. From this, it can be perceived that the continuously changing environment contributes significantly to the exposure of individuals to such risk factors.   Conclusion             In the point of view of a person with lesser risk to acquire cardiovascular diseases, it can be perceived that the motive and intention for making stations more highly available to consumers is one good way of reducing the risks and the incidences for cardiovascular diseases in New Zealand. However, it must be realized that over-dosages and inappropriate use and intake of such drugs may present adverse effects and complications on the part of the user. In this regard, the use and intake of such drugs without the prescription or guidance of a physician or medical professional may present unwanted side effects and other diseases on the patient. Instead of making the lives of the patient easier and more convenient, the over-dosage of the drug may lead the patient to undergo more complicated and tedious medical processes for further examination and diagnosis. As such, what can be done in order to provide understanding of the drug, of the disease, and of the situation be through provision of effective and proper education and communication with the patients and all those who have increased risks for having cardiovascular diseases. In this regard, the society would have the opportunity to obtain relevant and appropriate information about Lipex and other stations that may provide them with good health. In addition, this can be taken as a good opportunity for the government to dissipate the information of the need for New Zealanders to engage in diet and exercise in order to live effectively and healthily in the society. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Time Management in Busy Units Like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Busy Units like Cardiac Units Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes ...

Time Management in Busy units like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Cardiac Units               Today’s generation has led to different and a variety of improvements and developments in terms of the treatment of specific diseases. One of such diseases is heart or coronary disease, which serves to be one of the fatal diseases ever to hit humankind. Aside from heart bypasses and the use of complicated instruments in the treatment of heart or cardiac diseases, heart transplants and even genetic engineering have been used in order to make heart patients survive the ordeal. However, due to further sophistication and advancement in medicine and technology, a number of changes in cardiac disease treatments have been recently discovered. In this regard, the role of nurses in terms of providing healthcare is crucial and indispensable.   Changes in Cardiac Nursing             It has been reported that the nature of cardiac nursing is changing, as new development in cardiology and cardiac surgery has been implemented, and such changes must equip nurses in order to adapt to the new changes. The development of medical treatments for cardiac arrest gave birth to the coronary care unit or CCU and coronary care nursing. The advent of coronary artery bypass surgery saw the setting up of the cardiac intensive unit or CICU, while the introduction of thrombolytic therapies and interventional cardiology has resulted in shifting the focus of coronary care nursing to infarct size reduction and the prevention of infarction in patients with unstable angina. With the development of these specialized units, an extra dimension was added to the traditional role of nurses, which involves their expertise and development in terms of the use of high technology equipments. A nurse not only had to be versed in his or her traditional skills in patient management, but also had to deal with the utilization of rapidly advancing technology that such units housed. In order to do this, specialist training courses were developed to be able to provide nurses the technical knowledge, in order to operate the equipments and to effectively nurse patients or clients in this new environment (Wallis and McVeigh, 1997).             In this regard, the changes in terms of the implementation of cardiac nursing and changes in the treatment of patients suffering from cardiac problems must become aware to the nursing profession. The specialist training courses provided to nurses would be one good way to increase and develop the knowledge of nurses in terms of providing healthcare to cardiac patients. However, aside from providing additional knowledge and skills improvement to nurses, another way of allowing them to provide needed care to cardiac patients is through effective and efficient time management. This is because time management involves prioritizing the needed things to do, and planning and organizing the activities and priorities that must be done by a nurse in order to render effective and efficient services and healthcare to his or her patients in the cardiac unit. Effective time management practice is needed by nurses because aside from the mentioned use of time management, another crisis faced by nurses in line with the changes in cardiac nursing is the fact that they lose control in terms of assisting their patients and his or her spouse through providing relevant information as a form of education. Information giving is said to be one way in which the nurses provide structure to patients and their spouses regarding the development of the disease. This information giving is sometimes very extensive and at other times very brief, but is always tailored to the needs of the patient or relative. Previous research has identified the provision of information and teaching patients about their illness, as key components of caring, particularly in the CCU (Wallis and McVeigh, 1997). However, the upsurge in the number of patients admitted in CCUs enable cardiac nurses to lessen information giving, thus, lessening the chance for them to provide therapeutic communication to patients and relatives. Thus, in this sense, a particular nursing care model that involves effective time management must be used.   Use of Nursing Care Model and Relevance             In relation to the use of effective time management, a particular nursing care model can be used, which can be an effective way of addressing the changes in cardiac nursing. This nursing care model is the Nursing-Sensitive Indicator Model, which involves indicators that are sensitive to the input of nursing care. The Nursing-Sensitive Indicator Model would allow nursing professionals to build collaborative relationships with hospitals, develop reliable methods for data collection, engage nurses in quality-related activities, build a database for nursing-sensitive indicators, and educate all consumers of care about nursing (Foley, 2001). The different nursing-sensitive indicators include a mix of registered nurses and unlicensed staff caring for patients in acute care settings, total nursing care hours provided per patient day, pressure ulcers, patient falls, nosocomial infection rate, patient satisfaction with overall care, patient satisfaction with nursing care, patient satisfaction with pain management, patient satisfaction with educational information, and staff nurse satisfaction (“Patient Care Services”, 2008). In this sense, in order for a nursing practitioner to be able to do such activities and aim for the satisfaction of his or her patient, the nurse must be able to utilize effective time management. One example in relation to this is the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR system to a patient having a cardiac arrest prior to defibrillation (Jacobs et al., 2005). Another example of a clinical trial is to provide therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest (Bernard, 2004). In both examples of clinical trials, time management of the nursing practitioner is needed the most, as time is the fatal enemy of the person, who relies on the effective technique to be used by medical and nursing practitioners for survival.             Using the model mentioned, it can be perceived that a particular nurse would be able to acquire and develop skills and knowledge regarding the nursing practice, particularly with the changes in cardiac nursing. This is because through the model, along with time management skills, the nursing practitioner would be able to set his or her priorities, in relation to the needs of the patient and the relatives. In this regard, the nursing practitioner would be focusing and aiming for quality customer or patient service that would involve providing needed education for the patient and the relatives, and providing conventional healthcare to the cardiac patient. Aside from this, setting the priorities of nurses in relation to nursing healthcare and education would allow him or her to gather relevant data regarding the condition and needs of the patient. As such, the nurse would be able to relay the relevant information to other healthcare practitioners, who can provide adequate services to the patient. This is related to the ANMC competence standards, as the use of the nursing care model also involves the wholistic development of the nursing practitioner through policies and complex projects that would be used in order to address related issues.   Evaluation of Research Articles             The article written by Wallis and McVeigh (1997) emphasizes the role of nurses in both caring for cardiac patients and in developing their technical skills in relation to the use of high technology equipments. The article presents an understanding that through changes in cardiac nursing, time management would be instilled in nurses, as the nurses would have to learn new technologies while caring for cardiac patients at the same time. The second article is related to the Nursing-Sensitive Indicator Model, which is said to improve healthcare delivery and financing attitudes in medical institutions. This is because the model aims at the improvement of three critical points, namely, patient-centered outcomes, nursing-centered intervention measures, and system-centered measures (Norma and Kizer, 2005). In this regard, the time management skills of nurses come in handy, in order to address such issues effectively.     References Bernard, S.A. (2004). “Therapeutic Hypothermia after Cardiac Arrest”. The Medical Journal of Australia, 181(9): 468-469. Foley, M.E. (2001). “Nurses: Assuring Quality Care for all Populations”. A New Association for a New Millenium, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, 1-56. Jacobs, I.G., Finn, J.C., Oxer, H.F. and Jelinek, G.A. (2005). “CPR before Defibrillation in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Trial”. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 17, 39-45. Lang, N.M. and Kizer, K.W. (2005). “Nursing-Sensitive Quality Performance Measures: A Key to Health Care Improvement?”. AAACN Viewpoint, Mar/Apr, 1-5. “Patient Care Services”. (2008). Massachusetts General Hospital, 1-13. Wallis, M. and McVeigh, J. (1997). “Recent Changes in Acute Cardiac Nursing: Implications for Education and Administration”. St. Vincent Hospital.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Time Management in Busy units like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Cardiac Units Today’s generation has led to different and a variety of improvements and developments ...

Time Management in Busy units like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Busy units like Cardiac Units

Time Management in Cardiac Units Today’s generation has led to different and a variety of improvements and developments ...

Time Management in Cardiac Units

Time Management in Cardiac Units

Time Management in Cardiac Units Today’s generation has led to different and a variety of improvements and developments ...

Top