Impact of Stress on Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Impact of Stress on Nursing - Essay Example The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as "the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them" (Murray, 2005). This essay takes into consideration the negative effects of stress to which nurses may be prone. It also presents strategies for nurses to that can reduce the level or types of stress that nurses encounter. A number of negative effects of stress have been identified. Patterns of extreme or high stress may lead to the fight-or-flight response (Selye, 1976) and psychological and physical illnesses or many times its symptoms (Cropley and Steptoe, 2005; Neilsen et al, 2005). There are also situation where stress results in extreme discomfort (Drew, et al., 2005), exacerbation of age-related declines in memory (Vendras, et al., 2005), low quality of life (Lustyk, Widman, Paschane, and Ecker, 2004), and premature death (Robinson, McBeth, and McFarlane, 2004). Today with the increasing pressure and stress on the nursing staff, it is estimated that first-year retention rates for new graduate nurses is only between 40% and 65%. In terms of numbers as many as 6 out of 10 new nursing grads leave nursing practice within one year of graduation (Rosebrough, 2005). It is important to understand the impact of stress and ... If we try to categorise the type of stress faced by nurses it can be said that physically, the job of a nurse is often demanding with high levels of muscular-skeletal stress, culminating in many aches and pains. Mentally, nurses are required to be alert and 'on the ball', making calculations for medication and responding to important questions from patients and relatives. Emotionally, the impact is felt when nurses involve themselves in empathising and helping people and working in an environment where there is pain and sadness. Additionally, the context of work may be characterised by resource constraints, poor staff support and organizational change, which add to the energy expended. Too much stress and burn out brings the discomfort of finding the nursing staff struggling (Murray, 2005). Strategies of Stress Management Nursing is the profession of serving others and it is very important that nurses maintain a balance between work and other personal activities. Since most of the nursing staff work on shift basis it is important to use leisure time to recharge and energise themselves. There are several strategies for stress management and among these the coping strategies and relaxation techniques are simple, effective and helpful in controlling anxiety levels, depression and anger. Besides, there are a range of interventions that can reduce stress in nursing. According to a recent review cognitive behavioural interventions and relaxation or the meditation strategies are effective in bringing down personal levels of stress (Mimura and Griffiths, 2003). Cognitive-behavioural interventions are intended to help people live longer, feel better and avoid having self-defeating thoughts. These interventions help nurses to

Introduction to the Law of Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to the Law of Evidence - Essay Example However, in case the police arrive at a crime scene and there is no suspect within the site, then the police officers have to conduct a thorough investigation of the crime scene and look for any possible links that could lead to the identification of the real suspect. In most occasions, the police dust for fingerprints at the crime scene in order to discover who was at the scene of crime and perhaps try to identify the key suspect(s). Additionally, in the recent past, police officers have been dusting the crime scene for ear prints even thou there has been heated debate on the reliability or accuracy of ear prints as evidence to a similar extent as fingerprints. In this regard, the National Training Center for Scientific Support for Crime Investigation in the United Kingdom has been a compiling a database for ear prints in order to prove that ear prints are not similar and hence, they can be equally used as evidence (Dennis, 2013). This present essay aims at providing answers to prob lem questions that are based on a case study that revolves around the law of evidence. 1. Whether the prosecution can rely upon ear prints and fingerprints as evidence To begin with, Smith and Gordon (1997) described evidence as a piece of information that aims at proving or refuting facts that have been presented. In law, evidence provides a basis for understanding what happened at a particular time. In the writings by Dennis (2013), he wrote that law of evidence is â€Å"the body of rules that determine whether and even how a piece of evidence can be used as a means of proving a fact.† Moreover, the law of evidence regulates what can be legally admissible in the court of law for the purpose of proving or refuting facts that have been presented in a given case and even, on occasion, how the court should consider the evidence that has been presented. In normal police investigations, police officers always try to discover who was at the crime scene, before, during, and after a crime has occurred, which could range from murder, burglary, or even rape. In order to identify the presence of somebody in a particular crime scene police officers look for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample. Calladine et al. (2003) described DNA as â€Å"a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions that are used in the functioning and development of all living organisms. Police investigations rely on DNA samples, which can be obtained from blood samples, hair, fingerprints and even ear prints, because they are purely identical or interlined to one single person. Berry and Watson (2003) clarified on this point by stating that it is only DNA samples of identical twins that may match to a greater extent but ordinarily DNA are restricted to one particular person. Based on this knowledge, prosecutors greatly rely on DNA samples to prove the presence of a particular person at a crime scene and hence, relate him or her with the crime committed. In the present case study, police off icers carrying out investigations into the death of Jeremy Spring dusted the deceased apartments for fingerprints and ear prints in order to identify the likely suspect, who murdered Jeremy Spring. Henry Wynther’s fingerprint and ear print sample were found within the apartment but the fingerprint sample had only six matching ridge characteristics while the ear print only showed gross features. With reference to the writings by Ramsland (2013), it can be stated that the prosecution