What do you do when you notice a peer is depressed? Would a person be able to recognize the signs of suicidal ideation or talk with them about it? It seems like it would be an easy thing to recognize and then know the appropriate counselor or person to send them to seek help. Then why does an average of “1 person every 13.7 minutes” (McIntosh and Drapau, 2012) commit suicide? In the United States, over 38,000 deaths occur annually (American Association of Suicidology, 2010). Those are only the suicides that are fatal, an additional “959,100 people annually experience non-fatal suicidal attempts” (2010 SAMHSA study). If suicide is the 10th common cause of death for adults, (American Association of Suicidology, 2010) why aren’t we as professionals able to assess for and making healthy interventions to stop this needless tragedy?
Working in the medical field is very stressful, a study reported that over “170,000 nurses, doctors…suffered from mental health problems each year” (Timmins & Kaliszer, 2002). A study on different types of professions showed that nursing school rated more stressful than medical, law, psychological degrees.During nursing school a student must not only deal with the clinical stress that all medical personnel deal with but also the student aspect. Clinical stressors include fear of mistakes, dealing with death and dying and handling emergencies. But, the most stressful part of nursing school according to studies done were actually the academic challenges that were placed on students to continuously perform academically in addition to the clinical challenges they are being placed in. This intense amount of course work and lack of free-time leads an increased level of unnecessary stress and thereby dec...
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...eory, research, and clinical applications. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(3), 255-262.
SAMHSA 2010 study (2012): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] (2012, January). Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings, NSDUH Series H-42, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 11-4667. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.
Timmins, F., & Kaliszer, M. (2002). Aspects of nurse education programs that frequently cause stress to nursing students–fact-finding sample survey. Nurse Education Today, 22(3), 203-211.
Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress Management Techniques: evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Science Journal, 5(2), 74-89.
White, L. (2014). Mindfulness in nursing: an evolutionary concept analysis. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 282-294. doi:10.1111/jan.12182
Transitioning from academic nursing student to Registered Nurse/New Graduate Nurse (NGN) within the healthcare environment is a challenging task for many NGNs. They may encounter a number of challenges, such as the following: transition shock, professional isolation, lack of clinical experience, stress, lack of a support network and cultural incompetence. At the end, this essay will discuss the rationale for developing my two most important goals for the next twelve months. I presume the transition from academic nursing student to Graduate Nurse will be challenging and rewarding. In their findings, the researchers Doody, Tuohy & Deasy (2012) stated that for a successful transition NGNs need to be competent in a range of domains: interpersonal skills, managing workloads, providing health information, communication, and prioritising care delivery.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings [Data File]. Available From http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11Results/NSDUHresults2011.htm
Liehr, P, Marcus, M, Carroll, D, Granmayeh, K L, Cron, S, Pennebaker, J ;( Apr-Jun 2010). Substance Abuse; Vol. 31 (2); 79-85. Doi: 10.1080/08897071003641271
Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health: summary of national findings. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm
The field of medicine is a continually evolving field. There are developments in medicine made daily that affect both medical professionals and patients. While the positive progress of medicine offers many obvious advantages, it is important that the knowledge of everyone involved with health care grows with these advancements. With the evident importance of nurses in the healthcare setting, the education of nurses is clearly significant. There are many problems in the nursing field that are associated with the inability to set standards at the entry level (Jacobs et al., 1998). The writer believes that the nursing degree should always be advanced to a bachelor’s degree, and then fostered with continuing education courses. Furthermore, the bachelor’s program should place an importance on forming a good knowledge foundation and then building clinical skills. Ultimately the writer believes a highly clinical and critical thinking bachelor’s program is the best educational preparation for an entry level nurse.
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
Recent literature reports that there is a nursing shortage and it is continually increasing. Data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) projects that the shortage, would increase to 260,000 by the year 2025. AACN (2011) also reported that 13% of newly registered nurses changed jobs and 37% were ready to change within a year. A study conducted reports that there is a correlation between higher nursing workloads and nurse burnout, retention rates, job dissatisfaction and adverse patient outcomes (Vahey & Aiken, 2004). Among the nurses surveyed in the study, over 40% stated that they were suffering from burnout while 1 in 5 nurses intended
Santos, S., Carroll, C., Cox, K., Teasley, S., Simon, S., Bainbridge, L., … & Ott, L. (2003). Baby boomer nurses bearing the burden of care: a four-site study of stress, strain, and coping for inpatient registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(4), 243-250.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Office of Applied Studies). Treatment Episode Data Set(TEDS): Highlights-2003. National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services, Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2003.
Hans Selye said, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” Stress can cause it’s victims to suffer from emotional and physical anguish. If stress occurs for prolonged periods of time with little to no reprieve it can result in serious and sometimes fatal health problems. It is ironic that stress can lead to major health concerns, yet some of the most stressed people are those in the healthcare profession. According to an article from the Nursing Standard, stress is a leading cause of illness and depression among nurses (Jones-Berry, 2013). Several studies have shown that there is a direct link between stress, depression and illness and often times nurses fall victim to this link because of poor work environments and a lack of appropriate sick leave to tend to their own needs. Research has shown that stress amidst nurses is directly related to depression and illness; therefore, hospitals need to take actions necessary to decrease stress and promote well-being among their nursing staff.
Center, N. D. (2004, April). Drug Abuse and Mental Illness. Retrieved Febrauary 9, 2011, from Justice.gov: http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs7/7343/7343p.pdf
Due to working with people around in the university Colorado hospital, I believe I am equipped, ready, and determined to dedicate my life to this high level of responsibility. The leadership opportunities allowed me to develop and practice certain characteristics required for nursing. In the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit it has trained me to overcome emotional discouragement, be patient, be attentive to others’ needs before my own, be available for others, build and maintain relationships, organize events, and manage my time under a busy schedule. Moreover, knowing the competitiveness and rigor of nursing school, it has motivated me to maintain disciplined study habits to precede my goal to become a nurse. While working in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit for two years, my experience at this hospital became the most rewarding and enjoyable. The level of complexity and the demand of taking care of the patients in the hospital contributed to my strong passion and urgency to continue to grow my knowledge and help patients. I am fortunate enough to say that all my hardships, triumphs, and various experiences have contributed to my desire and determination to meet the demands of the nursing
... Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2012): ERIC. Web. The Web. The Web.
...urt by this problem every day. But unlike most problems in America, this can be prevented. And it is being prevented with the help of such groups as the American Association of Suicide Sociology and The Suicide Prevention Group. Also local schools are developing stress questionnaires, so that they can evaluate their students on their stress and see if anyone may be suicidal. But it needs to go further than that. Parents, teachers, and other mentors need to be aware of any suicidal adolescents. They need to be aware of the signs, and educate themselves on how to deal with a suicidal teen. We can't just rely on organizations and the government to watch our own children, it is our responsibility, each and every one of us.
Suicide has become a critical, national problem and the extent of this is mind-boggling. Suicides have been proven to be one of the leading causes of death among college students. According to Webters dictionary “suicide is the act killing oneself on purpose”. It derived from the Latin sui, meaning “self”, and caedere, which means “to kill”. But this is just a definition, because an actual suicide holds different meanings to people such as tragic, shocking, a relief, a cry for help, a shame, heroic, the right choice, punishment, revenge, protest, anger, a mistake, desperate, hurtful and many more. But why do people, like college students who have their entire future ahead of them, simply give up hope and turn their heads away from life and commit suicide. There are several causes of suicide, recent incidents of suicide on college campuses, warning signs from a suicidal. I blame the Constitution and the United States law for not taking any hard initiative on the subject of suicide. I also impose the choice of the media, which is reflecting and portraying suicide towards a wrong direction. However most important questions remain: can the growing epidemic of suicide be solved, what are communities doing about it and what can they do to help?