Due Tomorrow At 1:00 PM

Discussion Board #6

HCA 340

Discussion Board Assignment #6

Chapter 7–The Health Care Workforce and Chapter 8—Financing Health

Answer the following questions on Health Care Workforce/Personnel:

1. The majority of schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other professions and their teaching hospitals are heavily subsidized by federal and state funds. Many of those graduates, when they become health practitioners, feel no obligation to society for their publicly supported education. Do health care providers who reap the benefits of high compensation and social position have an ethical responsibility to repay taxpayers by meeting the needs of the medically underserved?
2. Technical advances in health care have spawned an ever-increasing number of specialty- trained personnel. More recently, however, hospitals and other institutions are promoting the cross-training of personnel so that they can perform multiple tasks and work more flexibly, based on institution needs. What are the implications of cross training, in terms of quality of care, costs, and efficiency?
3. Men comprise a small segment of the nurse population, although their numbers are increasing.  Given the good income potential of the nursing profession and continuing demand, what is your opinion about why nursing does not attract more males?

Answer the following questions on Health Care Financing:

1. Name one (1)  way each of the following has affected the costs of health care in the US?
   • The health insurance industry
   • Advances in medical care technology
   • Changes in U.S. demographics
   • Government support for health care
   • Consumer expectations
2. If we accept the premises that resources available to meet the costs of health care are finite, and that continuing to increase dollars allocated for health care expenses carries “opportunity costs“ for the nation and society, discuss your position on the following: As a national policy should we allocate a set level of resources and apply them to achieving “the greatest good for the greatest number” (necessarily leaving some out) OR should we adopt the individualist approach of “those who can pay get, those who can’t pay, don’t?”
3. From the patient perspective, what might be some of the positive and negative aspects of “disease management programs?”

  

Reflecting on Your Writing: Reading and Research Strategies

Beginning an essay can often be the most difficult portion. However, when separated into small steps, this process becomes well defined and much more manageable. During these first steps, any writing that takes place is likely to be minimal and rough. This is acceptable, as you realize you are in the prewriting stage and that you have more writing and revising ahead of you.

For this Discussion, you will reflect on your own approach to reading and how you have (or, perhaps, have not) used a strategy, such as note-taking, underlining, highlighting, etc., in the past to gather and assess the main ideas from a journal article. Based on what you have learned from the week’s Learning Resources, you will share your thoughts and experiences on reading and researching.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review      the Learning Resources on arguments and critical reading, and the      infographic on Analysis.
• Reflect      on your research process in relation to understanding an author’s argument      or main idea.
• You      may reflect on past or current examples of your reading and research      process.

By tomorrow 12-06-2017 8 AM, post a 2-paragraph reflection on your reading and research process, describing strategies that you currently use, as well as any strategies that you could use more effectively. (Note: You may choose to reflect specifically on your approach to this Discussion in relation to reading and research). Include at least 1 to 2-reference from the list below.

Required Readings

1) Walden University Writing Center. (2015i). Walden templates: General templates: APA course paper template (6th ed.). Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Note: Please submit all assignments using the above-mentioned APA Course Paper Template.

2) Laureate Education. (2015). [Infographic]. Understanding Arguments, Baltimore, MD: Author.

3) Walden University Academic Skills Center. (2017). Determining the main points of a reading. Minneapolis, MN: Author.

4) Walden University. (2015). Writing a Paper: Understanding Arguments. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/arguments

Online journal articles:

Grad Writing II: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/wcss6060 (see attached PDF article)

From the list of selected journal articles, choose and critically read one article in preparation for this week’s Assignment (see attached PDF for the selected article). 

Please note: You will use your selected journal article throughout the course.

Note: Walden Library Guides house a selection of journal articles listed in the resources sections for each week/module for which they are required. The citation of the reading is provided and below the citation it should state “Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.”

Required Media

1) Walden University Writing Center (Producer). (2014, January 13). WriteCast: Five strategies for critical reading (Episode 5) [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/writecast/005-five-strategies-for

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 11 minutes.

2) Transcript: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/transcripts/podcasts/ep005

 Support Groups for Stress Management

Article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/support-groups/art-20044655

Once you have read the article, answer the following questions.

1. What are the different structures of support groups? 

2. Name 5 benefits of support groups.

3. Name 5 risks and cons of joining a support group. 

4. What would be one question from the list that you would ask before joining and WHY? 

5. What are the red flags you should look for before joining?

  

 
 

1-  I can totally see where there would be tension between these two, especially in today’s world.  I am no expert on religion or science for that matter, but I do feel like some of the tension is unnecessary.  I feel that the two can work to benefit our patients by balancing them with the needs of the patient.  Let’s take my kids for instance, if they were sick with some known treatable disease there would be no other option in my mind to treat them with science and medicine that has been proven to work.  I wouldn’t only pray for them to get better and not do anything about it, but I would pray for them and do whatever was necessary to help my family deal with the stress and worry of a child being sick.  Here we have used them both to our benefit and they each serve a different purpose and effectiveness.  Thanks again for your post! 

 
 

2-My perception of the tension between science and religion is founded at first glance and then not when looked at more closely.  Science and religion can coincide in health care if respected for their own strengths and limitations.  I feel that a healthy balance of both can benefit our patients providing different needs when they’re needed.  I have seen with my own eyes CRP markers drop in an infant receiving antibiotic treatment and I have also seen an infant that wasn’t supposed to live by scientific probability actually make it and thrive with prayer being the only obvious intervention.  So, trying to single out one over the other as more effective than the other seems less beneficial than trying to work them both in when the patient requires such help.

I feel that science is good for some of the more usual cases and things we feel we can help with its information, and I also feel that we can use religion to help a patient with their mental aspects of  healing.  We can quantify an improvement in a patient through lab levels and such, but it’s hard to do the same with religion and how a patient uses that tool as comfort or however they use it in their lives.  “Some observational studies suggest that people who have regular spiritual practices tend to live longer. Another study points to a possible mechanism: interleukin (IL)-6. Increased levels of IL-6 are associated with an increased incidence of disease. A research study involving 1700 older adults showed that those who attended church were half as likely to have elevated levels of IL-6. The authors hypothesized that religious commitment may improve stress control by offering better coping mechanisms, richer social support, and the strength of personal values and worldview” (NCBI, 2001).  In this example we see the benefits were surveyed to be founded, but the exact workings aren’t exactly known.  The great thing about science is that usually we have some tangible results that are repeatable and there’s safety to be found in that.  The great thing about religion is that we can have faith in whatever we believe in and that’s all that’s needed.  It’s our faith and belief that drives the comfort in religion.

I understand how people will want one to win over the other and I feel that it depends on the person and how they view it.  I feel that there doesn’t need to be this tension because they both can serve separately but benefit the patient when both are utilized.  If you have multiple tools in the box, why not use a variety of them and pick whichever is most appropriate for the task at hand?  Each tool has their own specialty and doesn’t mean one has to be better than the other or tension between the two, they just need to work for the purpose they’re intended. 

Reference

Puchalski, C. 2001.  The role of spirituality in health care.  Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305900/

 

 
 

3-I was able to develop a greater understanding of the tension between science and religion based on the article, the role of spirituality in health care and the lecture notes this week. I have always believed in God and often pray in silence for my patients or families in the Peds ED. Many times, it will be for something as small as obtaining an IV on a patient that has been deemed a “hard stick.” However, what I refrain from doing is addressing my patients’ spiritual beliefs throughout their stay. My thoughts include “what if they don’t believe?”, “will they be offended?”  Today there is often tension in any conversation. Politics, healthcare, beliefs in God, what to post on your social media account, etc.. Everyone has an opinion but verbalizing that opinion can cause tension with your closest family member. Specific to healthcare in the West, scientism and relativism has exacerbated the perceived tension between scientism and religion (“Worldview Foundations of Spirituality and Ethics”, 2018) . If we base all healthcare beliefs off scientism and relativism, there is no room for hope or belief that God (or the patient’s higher power) has any room for preforming a miracle or comforting the patient in their time of need. As Puchalski (2001) said, “Healing can be experienced as acceptance and peace with one’s life. This healing, I believe is at its core spiritual.” Patients need to understand the science and reality behind any diagnosis, whether acute or chronic. However, they need the opportunity to heal as a whole person which includes their spirituality. “It is critical that we as physicians and health care providers listen to all aspects of our patients’ lives that can affect their decision making and their coping skills” (Puchalski, 2001).  

I believe that it is important to have a balance between science and religion without the tension. One were our patients can express their spirituality and we can be honest with our professional knowledge and offer our presence and compassion at the same time.  

Reference:  

Puchalski C. M. (2001). The role of spirituality in health care. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) , 14 (4), 352-7.  

Worldview Foundations of Spirituality and Ethics. (2018). Retrieved from https://lc-ugrad3.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?operation=loggedIn#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks.html?viewPage=current&operation=innerPage&currentTopicname=Worldview Foundations of Spirituality and Ethics&topicMaterialId =a52bac38-a38a-4edc-8747-efe8f3c85261&contentId=6775b54b-52b8-4bb1-b4de-a5bd34e39a90&