Applied Workplace Practice Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Applied Workplace Practice - Personal Statement Example The second part, on the other hand, will be dedicated to my three-week journal. In this light, each weekly journal shall narrate the critical happenings I have encountered and how my team and I were able to come up with sound solutions to solve them. Emphasis will also be placed on the essential insights I have gathered in relation to business management and people empowerment. Jim’s Cleaning is dedicated to â€Å"providing its Franchisees with the safest workplace practicable, taking into consideration state legislative requirements, information from current Australian Standards and industry best practice† (Jim’s Cleaning Group, 2012, p. 1). Safety, therefore, becomes the core value of Jim’s business operations. In this regard, the company has concretized this vision by developing strict guidelines on safety, as embodied in its health and safety policy that outlines safe work methods and procedures to protect not just the lives of the client being serviced, but more importantly of the employees working. It is in this mindset that the company also recognizes the need to ensure that its operations do not place the community at risk of injury, illness, or property damage, in order to also ensure the preservation of the surrounding environment (Jim’s Cleaning Group, 2012). Jim’s Cleaning believes that the realization of these goals rely heavily on the concerted efforts of its franchisors, franchisees, and employees. Thus, constant communication and coordination is being strictly implemented throughout the company. It is through this emphasis on the proper alignment and enforcement of operational health and safety (OHS) that the company was able to develop its standard procedures and processes. For one, Jim’s Cleaning ensures to render proper induction and training to its newcomers for them to understand their

Materials Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Materials Development - Assignment Example A wool carpet manufactured using this innovative system is a completely natural and biodegradable product. At the end of its useful life the entire product can be shredded and turned into organic material, which can then be used, for example, as fertilizer for growing plants. The work has been carried out for the Netherlands companies Bond Textile Research, Best Wool Carpets and James, which own the four patents on which this new biological technology is based. The so-called "cradle-to-cradle" model has been central to the work done by the team led by Tzanko Tzanov, a researcher with the Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology Group at the Universitat Polità ¨cnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTechs Terrassa Campus. The outcome is an enzyme-based biological technology that paves the way for three Netherlands companies to manufacture carpets that are much lighter, sustainable, biodegradable, and 100% recyclable. At the end of their useful life, the carpets can be used as fertiliser or subst rate for growing plants. The system saves a great deal of energy, completely closes the biological cycle for wool, and significantly reduces the final cost of carpet products. Universitat Polità ¨cnica de Catalunya (UPC). (2011, July 13). Innovative system for producing carpets.  ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 12, 2014 from

Skills Development for Child Nursing Course

Skills Development for Child Nursing Course Provide an in-depth reflective account that demonstrates how learning, during the three years of the child nursing course, has been achieved in relation to two areas of your practice which has informed and enhanced your development towards qualification as a Childrens Nurse. Introduction Reflection is a vital component of the development of nursing competence and reflexive nursing practice. Although reflection functions on many levels, including the personal level, in allowing student nurses to review experiences and incorporate them into their internal schema, one of the most important levels of reflection is the process of asking questions about practice, and through asking those questions learning about the self in practice, and the role of the nurse (Bowden, 2003). Reflection is an important aspect of developing competence in practice, as well as developing practice itself (Durgahee, 1998; Gustafsson and Fagerberg, 2004). Some authors view the ability of the nurse to reflect on practice and in practice as a fundamental component of providing truly holistic and client centred care (Gustafsson and Fagerberg, 2004), while others view reflection as a self-limited, flawed and biased practice which is of little or no use to developing nursing professionalism (Jones, 19 95). I believe that reflection, if properly used and structured, provides powerful insight into the self, into practice, and into the ways in which competence and practice develop over time and through experiential learning. Therefore, I have concluded that to make reflection effective and useful, it is important to use a reflective model, such as that of Gibbs (1988), which I have chosen for this essay. Although there are limitations to Gibbs’ (1988) model, particularly in applying it to the requirements of this essay, it provides clear guidance and useful questions to ask about the experiences that contribute to the reflective process. I have adapted this cycle to suit the processes and analyses of this essay, and so, while two cycles of reflection are outlined below, the conclusions are developed collectively. For the purposes of this essay, the final stage of the cycle is to be found within the Appendix (see Appendix 1), and thus the Action Plan is adapted to become the P ersonal Development Plan. The purpose of this essay is to engage in an in-depth, detailed process of reflection on two areas of practice and learning that have been important to me through my studies in the three year child nursing course. Using a reflective cycle to guide and direct the reflective process, I will explore the process of professional development, towards competence and expertise, in relation to Benner’s (1984) stages of development, examining the nature of competence in each designated area of practice. The first chosen area of practice is the skill of managing an intravenous infusion, because the use of intravenous infusions and the provision of intravenous medications is an important component of many clinical paediatric nursing scenarios, and the management of intravenous access and infusions is particularly problematic when nursing children. The other area of practice and nursing professionalism chosen is communication, with a particular focus on the development of communication skills with staff, in relation to the nursing handover within the acute hospital environment, and the development of communication skills with patients, using the example of providing health education and promotion for a patient with Type 1 diabetes. I have chosen to focus on specific examples of communication skills in practice because these relate strongly to my own experiences, and also allow for a deeper and more critical analysis of practice and my own development. This will also allow for a more co ncrete development of a personal development plan to encompass identified development needs and actions to achieve these during the first six months of practice as a Registered Children’s Nurse. The focus on critical analysis allows for the development of a skill of great value for my professional practice, deconstructing practice and reviewing it in the the light of other knowledge (Burns and Bulman, 2000). However, because of the complex nature of practice, and the reflective processes which question feelings and thoughts as well as actions, the reflective process is complex (Wilkinson, 1999). Thus, although there are two issues being reflected upon, they are drawn together in one discursive thread which signposts the learning and development, the acquisition of professional understanding, which signifies the transition from novice to competent practitioner. Discussion 1. Clinical Skill Development: Intravenous Infusion and Medication Management in Children’s Nursing Practice. Description: What Happened. During the three years of nurse training, the development of the skill of managing intravenous infusions, either of hydration solutions or of medications, was one which I developed almost from the beginning, when it was taught as a clinical skill in the university setting. The typical approach to teaching clinical skills was to provide the students with a lecture on the relevant theory, complemented by a practical skills session to apply the knowledge in a simulated environment, utilising mannequins. Every acute ward area of my clinical practice involved the care of patients with intravenous infusions, which included caring for children while the intravenous cannula was inserted, and then monitoring and care of the intravenous cannula site, and of the infusion itself. This skill was therefore not only a basic skill for nursing competence throughout my training, but also an important opportunity to promote health, prevent infection, and was fundamental to other aspects of care and tre atment. Over the three years, I first learned how to set up an intravenous infusion, safely and in a sterile manner, how to check the infusion, and how to check the infusion rate manually (ie, without the use of an infusion pump, although infusion pumps are standard best practice in children’s nursing). During clinical practice, I learned how to support a child during the cannula insertion, monitor the site, check the infusion and infusion rate, set up and check different types of infusion pumps, and how to change the IV line (which must be changed regularly). I also learned complementary skills such as drug and dosage calculations for infusions, and fluid balance calculations, both of which required numeracy skills Feelings: what were you thinking and feeling? Throughout my training, management of intravenous infusions was stressful, but in particular, the associated aspects of care were challenging. Supporting children who have intravenous infusions is problematic, particularly as the experience is often painful and distressing for them. Carrying out drug calculations was terrifying at the beginning of my training, and even by the end, despite increased competence and confidence, I would still have more than one colleague check calculations and dosage rates, and check infusion rates on pumps, to ensure I had made the correct calculations. I felt very lacking in confidence in this area. I also felt that while I focused on safety aspects of IVI use, including risk management and prevention of infection via the IV site, other colleagues did not seem to pay so much attention to this aspect of care. Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? It was good that I identified important aspects of this clinical skill, and the complexities of practice surrounding it. What was not so good was the lack of transparency in colleague’s practice, particularly in my earlier clinical placements. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? I became aware during my reflection on this element of my learning that it was very much something which became assimilated into the almost intuitive elements of nursing competence (Benner, 1984). This was because apart from the elements of the process which had been identified as distressing for the child, such as cannula insertion and removal, managing the IVI had become ‘second nature’, and checking the line, site and rate of the pump were activities that the qualified nurse carried out without any overt signifying of the action, as part of her interactions around the patient/bedside. Thus, making this overt was almost counter-intuitive. Certainly, it appeared to me that many staff did not record these observations every time they were made, and that they did not always communicate these observations to others, including me, as a student. As a student, a learner, I was required to take more time over such observations, to note their significance, and to evaluate their place within my nursing work. I was required to develop specific skills around the use of IV infusions and the management of whatever medication or fluid was being infused. This was a protracted learning process, which developed throughout the three years. I learned the importance of this for my practice. â€Å"Possible complications associated with short peripheral venous access include infiltration of infused fluids (nonvesicants) into the surrounding tissue, extravasation of vesicant medications or blood into the surrounding tissue, and phlebitis† (Hinkle and Hadaway, 2006 p 122). The clinical skill here also, therefore, included the component of determining when such complications had occurred. I also had to learn to observe for infusion reactions, which could range from mild to severe (Hinkle and Hadaway, 2006). Competency can be viewed as behaviours which are achieved or approved of in relation to the completion of a task, and competency is described in relation to that task (Gonczi, 1993). However, developing competence in IVI management is much more than simple task proficiency, and this may be true of much of professional competence in nursing (Preston and Walker, 1993). Not only does it appear that no single clinical requirement can be reduced to single task, but also, competence in that task may be affected by other contextual factors, including the presence of others, and how their contribution or lack of it can affect performance of clinical actions (Ashworth and Saxton, 1990). If we view competence as the ability to manage any situation holistically, making use of collaboration with colleagues (Meretoja et al, 2002), then even this process of reflecting on a clinical skill is very limiting, because the skill alone does not signify the whole of the learning process associated with th at area of practice throughout my training. One of the important elements of learning around this particular skill, however, was the gradual recognition of my own competence, which was signified most clearly when I no longer become ‘overt’ about assessing the IVI and monitoring it, but carried out this activity as part of my practice, almost automatically. Here, the skill had many facets, but this kind of ease was never achieved with the drug/dosage/infusion rate calculations. Numeracy competence is important for nurses, and nurses are required to demonstrate acceptable levels of numeracy in order to qualify (Bath et al, 1993). However, this was an area I struggled with, not because I had ever considered I had difficulties with numeracy, but because applying numeracy to clinical situations seemed to make drug calculations much harder. Over time, I found that if I visualised the calculations myself first, and wrote them out longhand, then checked them with a calculator, I usually reached the right conclusion, which showed that my own learning style influenced my ability to come to the right answer(Bath et al, 1993; Galligan, 2001). Hinchliff (2004) descrives Bloom’s (1972) learning domains, and this learning experience, throughout the three years, involved all three areas: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. In relation to the cognitive domain, I learned knowledge to underpin practice, consolidated this knowledge over time. In relation to psychomotor skills, these were about the practical ability to carry out necessary procedures and actions, including running fluids through an IV line, identifying, choosing, priming and setting up the correct line for the correct infusion pump, and the skills around removal of the cannula and dressing of the cannula after insertion, along with changing an IV bag. The affective domain refers to the attitude formation, which can be seen above to be about a positive attitude but an internalisation of much of the knowledge and practice to the point that aspects of these procedures became almost innate. It became apparent that this clinical skill could not be viewed in isolation, and also incorporated a great deal of discussion with the family and the patient, and in the case of most children, informing them of the need to take care of the IV line, and educating them about infection control, thus engaging them in their own care and in their own health promotion (Long et al, 2008). Prevention of trauma to the IV cannula or site, and ensuring maintenance of patency of the cannula and line, are important in minimising the amount of times the cannula needs to be resited, which is desirable because of how distressing this procedure is for most babies and children (Thomas, 2007). I became aware of this after viewing resiting of cannulae in a number of patients, most often due to either traumatic accidental removal. 2. Professional Skill Development: Communication in Practice: The Nursing Handover. What Happened During the three years of training, communication was identified as a professional skill, and it soon became apparent that this skill formed the basis of the majority of nursing actions and roles. Because of the complexity of communication in nursing practice, during this reflection I chose to focus on one aspect, that of providing handover for a designated patient, or group of patients, under my care, to the nurse taking over care. Engaging in this activity was a significant aspect of my development. Initially, in the first clinical placements, I observed this taking place, but did not really understand all the components of the process. Over time, I was encouraged by mentors to provide the handover report myself, and I found this demanded communication and information processing skills perhaps unique to the process and to the situation. I discovered that I needed to know the terminology and abbreviations used, the format of the report, and to remember the patient information and pr ovide a comprehensive report that did not omit important elements of care. During the initial experiences of this, I did miss out elements of care, but was always supported by a mentor who could augment my limited report and ensure patient needs were communicated. However, by the end of my clinical experiences I was expected to provide reports myself, and I did so, but became increasingly aware of the limitations of this form of communication, and of how it had become ritualised in practice (Strange, 1996). Understanding the nature of this element of communication became an important element of my learning, perhaps because I had found it so difficulty initially Feelings: what were you thinking and feeling? During successive experiences of handover, I came to a growing realisation that the format and nature of the handover report was not only extremely ritualised (Strange, 1996), but also constituted a unique form of communication, with certain expected behaviours and standardised formats. However, I started to feel, quite early on, that information was not necessarily being fully communicated, and I found myself increasingly frustrated with the process, because instead of providing a comprehensive report, it was more a kind of focused tick list of tasks, which did not really relate to my concept of holistic approaches to nursing care. I found myself learning how to give a ‘proper’ handover but wishing I could give a ‘good’ handover. Evaluation: What was good and bad about the experience? The good aspects of this experience were the fact that I was able to identify what was happening, and able to realise that I was frustrated with the process of handover, and the way it had become habitual. This prompted me to explore the evidence base surrounding this important aspect of nursing communication, which then enhanced my understanding. However, to cite what was bad about the experience, I must focus on the limitations of the process, because it made me feel that the handovers were, quite often, inadequate, and very limited, reducing patients to a list of problems and actions. Having said this, it also became apparent that handovers conducted at the patient’s bedside were an entirely different entity, and that communicating at the bedside included the patient and their family in the handover, and made them much more holistic and comprehensive. But it may not be appropriate to do this in all situations. Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Developing professional skills is part of the complex acquisition of nursing competence, and this process can be viewed as an apprenticeship of sorts (Benner, 1984). Much of the professional competence that is assessed during nurse training is related to the standards set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2004), and are realised through a process of learning, negotiation and assessment which predominantly occurs through clinical practice. While a lot of this learning is directed and planned, development is through experiential processes, as in this case, in the development of the required verbal communication skills for providing ‘handover’ report. This emerged as a significant area of practice for me, particularly in relation to responsibility and autonomy after the transition from student nurse to staff nurse, because of the different expectations of the latter role. While in relation to performance, clinical skill and professional skill, the senior studen t nurse and the newly qualified staff nurse are similar, in relation to role and responsibility, and expectation, there is a sudden shift and competence takes on new meaning for the newly qualified nurse (Wade, 1999). Thus, I can see that my concerns about the nursing handover, and my ability to provide an appropriate, comprehensive report, were very clearly linked to this notion of responsibility, because a poor handover could impact on patient care (Sexton et al, 2004). The nursing handover report is a process which involved the communication of key information about patients on the ward, care plans, actions and imminent needs, and about the stage of their care journey (McKenna, 1997). It usually occurs as a communication between nurses at the point of shift change (McKenna, 1997), but it can also take place when a patient is transferred from one clinical area to another. According to Hopkinson (2003) the nursing handover is an important and significant activity in the hospital setting, relating to the proper management of care and the provision of continuity of care (Kerr, 2002). Although handovers have the same basic function, I have observed that they can vary from ward to ward, but that within each location, they seem to have a certain format or shape. While in some areas tape recorded handovers are used, in others, the staff provide a handover at each bedside. More commonly, handover occurs in a designated room (to ensure confidentiality), and may then in some circumstances be followed by a ward round to introduce the next shift to the patients and their family. It is important to include the family in this communication, because most sick children are accompanied by a parent or carer during their stay in hospital, for a large proportion of the time. The nurse may either hand over the care of one patient, a group of patients, or the entire ward, if they have been the nurse in charge of the ward for that shift. This requires that the nurse providing the report must have a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the patients, their needs and diagnoses, trea tments, and any pending results or procedures. Not only is it a process of communicating this information, it is also the time when colleagues might ask questions about care, and therefore also serves to demonstrate what the nurse has achieved, or not achieved, during the preceding time period, and tests the nurse’s knowledge of the patients. Yet some evidence suggests that handovers are limited and undermined by forumulaic approaches to providing the information, by incomplete communication, use of cryptic terminology, jargon and abbreviation, and can require that nurses have ‘socialized knowledge’ in order to understand them (Payne et al, 2000). Thus, it can be difficult for the student, or even the newly qualified staff nurse, to fully understand this communication because they perhaps are not fully socialised into the clinical area. Terminology and units of language may acquire different significance in specific areas of practice (Payne et al, 2000). Another identified limitation is the tendency to prioritise biomedical and physical aspects of care, reducing the patient to their disease and its treatment (Payne et al, 2000). The handover forms the initial part of the process of care planning for the nursing staff taking over care, although this is supplemented by a thorough examination of the patient records, and discussion with the patient and family. Having observed and participated in such processes, it is understandable that this communicative act developed some significance for me in relation to professional development, particularly in relation to future practice as a qualified staff nurse. Competence takes on new meaning at this transition (Amos, 2001; Ashworth and Saxton, 1990), because it signifies the point when I have to become responsible and accountable for my own actions, with no one else to cover any inadequacies or mistakes (Gerrish, 2000). Because it is viewed as a fundamental component of good quality nursing care (Pothier et al, 2005), ‘getting it right’ is understandably important. Handover can be viewed as a communicative act from a number of perspectives. It provides a forum for discussion, debate and questioning, as well as expressing one’s views and feelings about a particular case or cases (Hopkinson, 2002), which to me suggests that it is more than simply the presenting of information, but is also a form of self-expression for the nurse. However, it’s main purpose is to provide the information that nurses will then use to formulate their plans for care and their prioritisation of their workload for that shift (Hopkinson, 2002). For example, in one handover a colleague did not inform staff that a chest X-ray had been carried out, which meant that the next shift ordered another chest-X ray with resultant delays and confusion. Providing a good quality handover may be more significant than ever in the current clinical paediatric nursing environment, where every aspect of healthcare appears to have become more complex, requiring more multiprofessional input and collaboration, and in which patients are subject to complex and multifactorial assessments (Pothier et al, 2005). There is some evidence to suggest, however, that important patient information can be lost during the shift handover (Pothier et al, 2005), which reinforces my own conclusions about this communication. This may not, however, be due to simple acts of omission, but also due to the culture of ward areas and the ways in which nurses behave and exercise power, albeit a small degree of power, over the information they possess (Hardey et al, 2000). Some research suggests that the handover process is where tensions an institutionally-derived conflicts and drivers for nurses can become evident (Parker et al, 1992). It would seem that it is more tha n a simple process of dialogic communication (Kerr, 2002), but also serves a range of other functions, including social and protective functions (Strange, 1996). To me, this knowledge and understanding of the deeper and wider aspects of communication, of what is being communicated, how and why, during this process, signifies the journey of learning and development as a student nurse. Initially, I was the novice, viewing this process as a mere interchange of key information. Gradually, however, I developed an intuitive knowledge of the handover and its communicative role, intuition based on experience and on the processing of a range of cues and sources of information (Benner, 1984), leading to a degree of awareness that the handover signified more than simply an exchange of facts. It demonstrates competence in communication, but in adherence to cultural roles and expectations, and the ability to mange the competing demands and tensions of the nursing role (Kerr, 2002). Thus it empha sises a shared valued system amongst the nurses within the given context (Lally, 1999), which in some ways can demonstrate competence and acceptance, of me by qualified colleagues, signifying I have achieved nurse status, but also which can mean an enforced compliance with local behaviours and expectations which may be at odds with my own philosophy and principles of professionalism. Therefore, I realised that the communication skills of the nursing handover are both verbal and personal, involving managing myself, managing information, and managing the work environment and my colleagues (Lathlean and Corner, 1991). Achieving competence in the effective verbal communication skills associated with the handover is problematic, because from all that I have learned through my education, and my exposure to the ideals of professional nursing, the handover should be a detailed, comprehensive communication delivered without jargon or abbreviations, and which is inclusive of the patient and their carers. However, the conventions of the handover in different areas may oppose this. This is an area of development identified as important for my personal development plan. Conclusions The first conclusion I draw from this reflection is that it is impossible to see any area of nursing competence, or any clinical skill, as a discrete entity or area of practice. Every skill and professional role is inextricably linked with others, with aspects of practice, with other skills, demonstrating the complexity of practice and of the learning and development processes which lead me towards expertise and confidence, as well as basic competence. As I have demonstrated above, managing an intravenous infusion involved a range of skills and actions, including numeracy calculations, risk management and prevention, health promotion, patient support and education, care planning, and communication. Thus, it becomes evident that what may be identified as a discrete clinical skill intersects with multiple areas of practice and competence. This perhaps reflects holistic models of nursing, because it demonstrates that the nurse cannot deconstruct practice to such an extent as to make it fully task oriented, due to these intersections and the interconnectivity of different tasks. It would appear, from my reflections, that the ideals of ‘holism’ which are expounded in relation to nursing ideologies and philosophies can be viewed on the ‘micro’ level in practice, as well as the ‘macro’ level of the nursing philosophy. Every part of clinical practice is an element of a complex, yet connected, ’whole’, and therefore, competence in every part of practice is important in order to provide optimal standards of care in every respect. This is an important realisation for me, and one which I believe to be appropriate for this stage of my development. It might be that coming to this realisation earlier on in my professional development journey would have been too overwhelming. Coming to this realisation now, when I can signpost my own learning, development and competence, is more motivating than challenging, because it underl ines my commitment to providing the best possible care that I can, which in turn must be based on ongoing professional development, diligence and a focus on the patient’s needs. The second conclusion I draw from my reflective processes is that while a reflective cycle can guide reflection, it cannot provide the answers to the questions that are raised. The value of reflection lies in the ability to take those questions, answer them honestly, and to seek out the knowledge and information required to explore those answers in relation to practice as well as in relation to the self. As with my previous point, the process of professional development has led me to understand my role as one aspect of a greater whole, a complex network of professionals and roles, where roles and activities may overlap, but where the competence of each individual contributes to the whole, and where, if one component is missing, or lacking in some way, the whole is affected. If my communication skills are insufficient, this affects the work of others, their ability to meet patients’s needs, which impacts, sometimes significantly, on patient wellbeing and the patient experience. For children, who are perhaps the most vulnerable patient group, the impact is likely to be greatest. Therefore, reflection is no mere academic exercise, it is the means by which I can remind myself of my place within this network, and value my contributions whilst also appreciating the responsibility of my future position. Again, this is a motivation to provide excellence in practice, to ensure the continued quality of the whole. While the development of nursing expertise is viewed as a foundation to professionalism (Hodkinson and Issit, 2004), I would argue that expertise is still poorly defined because in nursing it is very complex, and the intersections of various domains of practice are blurred, such that, for example, clinical skills are inseparable from other skills. Personal effectiveness in the nursing role may be more important in terms of professional development (Hodkinson and Isset, 2004). There are implications of this, however, for my role as a newly qualified staff nurse, because the change in expectations (on my own part and on others’), may lead to challenging transitions and some degree of reality shock (Evans, 2001). My reflections here have identified the fact that the socio-occupational integration into my qualified role is probably the most problematic (Evans, 2001). However, it is apparent that having engaged in a good degree of reflective practice throughout my training, I have developed the skills to be able to analyse and reflect upon experiences and situations, and to take this reflection further, by applying theory and evidence to my own practice. This requires not only a great degree of professionalism, but a commitment to ongoing professional development, preparing myself for the transition (Yonge, 2002), and continuing to view my working life as a continual process of learning and development. References Agnew, T (2005) Words of wisdom. Nursing Standard 20(6),pp24-26 Amos, D. (2001) An evaluation of staff nurse role transition. Nursing Standard 16 (3) 36-41 Andrews, M., Gidman, J. and Humphreys, A. (1998) Reflection: does it enhance professional nursing practice?. British Journal of Nursing 7(7) 413-7. Ashworth, P. and Saxton, J. (1990).On competence. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 14, 3-25. Bath, J.B., Blais, K. (1993). Learning style as a predictor of drug dosage calculation ability. Nursing Educator 18(1), 33-36. Beaney, A.M., Black, A., Dobson, C.R. et al (2005) Development and application of a ris

The Charater of Remedios in One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay

The Charater of Remedios in One Hundred Years of Solitude  Ã‚   In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, the saga of the Buendia family is used as a thorough and contemplative representation of the nature of human detachment.   The Buendias are plagued with a seemingly incurable solitude; a solitude that they turn to and rely on when they find themselves in times of trouble.   When they are secluded, the Buendias lead meaningless and inescapable lives of habit and routine.   One of the family members, Remedios the Beauty, is seemingly unlike any other Buendia.   Her life consists of little other than sleeping, eating, and bathing.  Ã‚   The simple and uncomplicated life she leads is deceiving for Remedios the Beauty is the most complex character in the entire novel.   Furthermore, Remedios epitomizes everything the Buendias represent in terms of solitude and the nature of human existence, and is, essentially, the center of the novel. First of all, although she may seem simple-minded, Remedios is not by any means a one-dimensional idiot.   Colonel Aureliano Buendia continuously asserts that Remedios is "in no way mentally retarded" and is "the most lucid being" that he has ever known.   Such words do not come unjustified.   Remedios has embedded in her mind the way of thinking that it takes some artists years to develop, if ever; the most important example of this being abandonment of all conformity.   "She was becalmed in a magnificent adolescence, more and more impenetrable to formality, more and more indifferent to malice and suspicion, happy in her own world of simple realities."   If Remedios did not possess the mental capacities to think for herself, she would be more susceptible to the senseless traps of soc... ...emedios' have no place on this planet. Remedios is used not only to represent the Buendias, she is an earthly symbol of the baffling complicity of life.   She is simultaneously heroic and disdainful for only living through her own ideals and represents the everyday struggles that everyone faces.   Garcia Marquez ultimately comes to the conclusion that, although believing in one's ideal is important, removing one's self from all of humanity itself is a crime that is unamendable.   Even though the Buendias brought destruction upon others, they never once even attempted to seek out those essential qualities of human existence and life.   They could have found love had they wanted it from the beginning; but by the time they figured it all out, it was too late. Works Cited: Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. The Charater of Remedios in One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay The Charater of Remedios in One Hundred Years of Solitude  Ã‚   In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, the saga of the Buendia family is used as a thorough and contemplative representation of the nature of human detachment.   The Buendias are plagued with a seemingly incurable solitude; a solitude that they turn to and rely on when they find themselves in times of trouble.   When they are secluded, the Buendias lead meaningless and inescapable lives of habit and routine.   One of the family members, Remedios the Beauty, is seemingly unlike any other Buendia.   Her life consists of little other than sleeping, eating, and bathing.  Ã‚   The simple and uncomplicated life she leads is deceiving for Remedios the Beauty is the most complex character in the entire novel.   Furthermore, Remedios epitomizes everything the Buendias represent in terms of solitude and the nature of human existence, and is, essentially, the center of the novel. First of all, although she may seem simple-minded, Remedios is not by any means a one-dimensional idiot.   Colonel Aureliano Buendia continuously asserts that Remedios is "in no way mentally retarded" and is "the most lucid being" that he has ever known.   Such words do not come unjustified.   Remedios has embedded in her mind the way of thinking that it takes some artists years to develop, if ever; the most important example of this being abandonment of all conformity.   "She was becalmed in a magnificent adolescence, more and more impenetrable to formality, more and more indifferent to malice and suspicion, happy in her own world of simple realities."   If Remedios did not possess the mental capacities to think for herself, she would be more susceptible to the senseless traps of soc... ...emedios' have no place on this planet. Remedios is used not only to represent the Buendias, she is an earthly symbol of the baffling complicity of life.   She is simultaneously heroic and disdainful for only living through her own ideals and represents the everyday struggles that everyone faces.   Garcia Marquez ultimately comes to the conclusion that, although believing in one's ideal is important, removing one's self from all of humanity itself is a crime that is unamendable.   Even though the Buendias brought destruction upon others, they never once even attempted to seek out those essential qualities of human existence and life.   They could have found love had they wanted it from the beginning; but by the time they figured it all out, it was too late. Works Cited: Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991.

A Stylistic analysis of ‘Under Milk Wood’ by Dylan Thomas

A Stylistic analysis ofUnder Milk Woodby Dylan Thomas. by Dylan Thomas. The object of this paper is to stylistically analyzeUnder Milk Wood( 1954 ) by Dylan Thomas. I aim to determine what Thomas’s influences upon his work were and how he uses literary techniques to make a piece of literary art which is so appealing to the senses. I will besides associate these repeated stylizations to Thomas’s historical and cultural background in order to derive a full image of his life at the clip of composing. Dylan Marlais Thomas was born on the 27Thursdayof October, 1914 in Swansea, Wales. Thomas is responsible for a immense organic structure of work during his short life ; nevertheless, his most celebrated piece of authorship isUnder Milk Woodwhich was published in 1954.Under Milk Woodis non merely Dylan Thomas ‘ most celebrated piece of work, but it was besides his last. During his childhood, Thomas spent the bulk of his life in his place town, nevertheless, each summer he was sent off to his aunt’s house in Carmarthenshire farms. This allowed Thomas to see the contrasting side to that of his busy town life and proved to hold a immense impact on the manner in which he wrote. Thomas attended Swansea Grammar School from 1925 and whilst at that place, he began to maintain diaries of poesy which he had written, and his first verse form was published in the school magazine. By the clip Thomas left school at the age of 16, he had already written over 200 verse forms. ( Poemhunter: 2014 ) As a kid, Thomas frequently had reoccurring eruptions of bronchitis and suffered from terrible asthma ( Bio: 2013 ) , as a consequence, he was seen as excessively weak to contend in World War II and was alternatively used to compose authorities books. However, Thomas found it hard to populate off the little rewards and sought employment with a company named Strand Films. Strand Films created short productions for the Ministry of Information and Thomas wrote five of these in 1942. During this clip, Thomas was roll uping a aggregation of verse forms, one of which was subsequently published in 1946 asDeath and Entrances. This aggregation of verse form was inspired by World War II and trades with the effects which arise from war and was dubbed as the devising of his calling. Critic Walter J. Turner said that ‘this book entirely, in my sentiment, ranks him as a major poet’ ( 1946: 176 ) . In 1941, Swansea was bombed by the German Luftwaffe, and Thomas saw the devastation of t he streets which he held beloved to his bosom and this inspired him to compose about this experience in a wireless drama which he called,Return Journey Home( 1958 ) . The Second World War appears to hold been a big influence uponUnder Milk Woodand the creative activity of Llareggub was Thomas’s manner of making ‘a picturesque sense of the past’ ( 1995: 19 ) where clip had been at a standstill as ‘the custodies of the clock have stayed still at half past 11 for 50 years’ ( 1995: 28 ) . This gives the audience the vision of a town where clip does non count and war has non been a calamity which the citizens have been forced to meet. In 1950, Thomas was invited to New York by John Malcolm Brinnin in order to tour the humanistic disciplines Centres in America, over a three month period. Two old ages subsequently in 1952, Thomas embarked upon the humanistic disciplines tour one time once more, this clip with his married woman, Caitlin Macnamara. Whilst in America, Macnamara discovered that Thomas had been unfaithful on his old trip to the States and the brace began to imbibe to a great extent and reason unrelentingly ( Poemhunter: 2014 ) . The heavy imbibing caused Thomas’ wellness to deteriorate and he shortly found himself enduring from urarthritis and external respiration troubles. On the 3rdof May, 1953, whilst in America, Thomas preformed an unfinishedUnder Milk Wood( 1954 ) at Harvard University on his ain. He so performed once more, this clip with a full dramatis personae of histrions, at The Poetry Centre in New York on the 14Thursdayof May 1953.Upon his return to Wales, Thomas completed the drama an d it was performed to the full for the first clip at The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen, Wales on the 8Thursdayof October 1953. On the 19Thursdayof October, 1953, Thomas flew back to America in order to execute the finished drama, nevertheless, unluckily, on the 5Thursdayof November, 1953 ; Thomas was admitted to St. Vincent’s infirmary after a tally of bad wellness, with ‘acute alcoholic encephalopathy’ ( Poemhunter: 2014 ) and slipped into a coma before go throughing off on the 9Thursdayof November 1953. The calamity of his passing besides meant that the BBC was now unable to get down with the cinematography ofUnder Milk Woodwith Thomas as the voice ( 1954 ) . ‘A Play for Voices’ is the caption ofUnder Milk Woodand this helps to determine the genre of it highly good. Although the drama was specifically written to be a wireless production, it is non a typical drama. The most important divergence from the normalcy of a drama is that it is unusual for a drama to hold a storyteller. In a phase drama, the ideas, feelings and scenes are conveyed straight to the audience via the characters utilizing duologues and monologues. It is obvious that the drama is a dramatic production and contains all of the properties which we would anticipate to happen within a dramatic text. A play is a text which is written to be performed on phase, telecasting or wireless and will include: staging waies, character lists, waies for costumes, and is written to be performed in the signifier of a duologue book.Under Milk Wooddoes incorporate all of these characteristics, but besides contains facets of poesy and narrative which are unusual characteristics o f serious play. Under Milk Woodis set in a fancied town in Wales which is called Llareggub. Although the town name really sounds Welsh, it is in fact the backwards spelling of the term sodomite all. The drama illustrates the life of Llareggub ‘s occupants over the infinite of a dark from ‘spring, moonless night’ ( 1995: 3 ) to ‘the thin dark darkness’ ( 1995: 62 ) . The drama contains no existent action but does incorporate different episodes which are connected by the two omniscient storytellers, the ‘first voice’ ( 1995: 3 ) and the ‘second voice’ ( 1995: 4 ) . These two voices displacement from character to character but they do non truly belong to the citizens of Llareggub. The voices merely present the characters to the hearer so in consequence ; they are mediators for the audience and the dramatic subdivisions of the drama. The drama contains many different poetic effects, which are largely spoken by the ‘First Voice’ ( 1995: 3 ) and ‘Second Voice’ ( 1995: 4 ) . The two voices use similes repeatedly in order to compare one thing to another. An illustration of a simile within the drama is when Mrs Cherry Owen defines Mr Cherry Owen as being ‘as rummy as a deacon’ ( 1995: 26 ) . The consequence of this simile is that it highlights the inebriation of Mr Cherry Owen and draws the audience in because the audience would be shocked at the innuendo of a deacon being rummy.Under Milk Woodbesides contains many metaphorical statements. For illustration ; ‘the small pink eyed cottage’ ( 1995: 8 ) . This metaphor gives the bungalow life qualities and personifies it leting the audience to care and link to the object despite it being inanimate. Alliteration is besides often used in order to add accent and deepness to Thomas’s descriptions of the small town and its milieus. For illustration ; the first voice speaks about Bessie Bighead being asleep, and the voice says ‘sleep until the dark sucks out her psyche and spits it into the sky’ ( 1995: 55 ) . Here, Thomas is utilizing alliterative and onomatopoetic sounds for the old lady in order to pull attending to the line. A farther poetic technique which Thomas uses is strong images which are built up utilizing different semantic Fieldss in order to make images in the head of the audience. An illustration of this is when the first voice says: ‘Now, in her ice-berg white, holily laundered, crinoline night-gown, under virtuous polar sheets, in her spruced and scoured dust-defying sleeping room in trig and spare Bay view’ ( 1995: 12 ) . The consequence of this image is to demo us how clean Mrs Ogmore Prichard’s house is with the usage of statements such as ‘ice-berg white’ and ‘dust-defying bedroom’ . Although Thomas could hold merely said that the house was really clean, he chose to give the audience an image in their heads to assistance with clearly visualizing the scene. A farther illustration is ‘the sloeblack, decelerate, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea’ ( 1995: 3 ) . The usage of such complex images and poetic linguistic communica tion which is used by the first and 2nd storytellers gives effectual contrast to that of the ordinary, mundane linguistic communication of the citizens of Llareggub. The inclusion of poetic techniques in a piece that is meant to be dramatic creates centripetal feelings for the audience to go immersed in. They besides give Llareggub a dreamlike and charming feeling which leaves the reader with a feeling of admiration and child-like phantasy. Thomas does non merely convey ocular images through descriptive linguistic communication, but he allows the audience to see the town by listening to the sounds which the storytellers are invariably directing us towards. The first and 2nd voices often invite the audience to ‘listen’ as ‘only you can hear’ ( 1995: 4 ) . There are no sound effects in the drama ; hence, sounds must be created by the descriptions which Thomas gives to us. For illustration: ‘the sea interruption and the chitchat of birds’ ( 1995: 20 ) , ‘shrill misss giggle ( 1995: 45 ) and ‘the clippety-clop of Equus caballuss†¦ ..pigs are grunting, chop goes the meatman, milk-churns bell, boulder claies ring, sheep cough, Canis familiariss shout, saws sing’ ( 1995: 34 ) . Again the consequence of this is to let the audience to visualize the town utilizing sound as an concomitant to the ocular images which he invariably feeds. Thomas uses the Welsh poetic cons truct of ‘cynghanedd’ ( 2009 ) throughoutUnder Milk Woodwhich is the internal sound agreement utilizing beat, riming, vowel rhyme and speech pattern. The usage of this device creates velocity and energy which drives the twenty-four hours into dark once more. A good illustration of this is ‘There’s the, cartridge holder clunking or Equus caballuss on the sunhoneyed setts of the humming streets, hammering of horse-shoes, gobble quack and cackle, tomtit chirrup from the bird-ounced boughs’ ( 1995: 34 ) . ‘The voice of a Guide-book’ ( 1995: 19 ) storyteller is intended to give comparing to the first and 2nd voice storytellers. The usher is impersonal and distant in comparing to the two voices ; it does non look to cognize the town really good and does non talk to the audience in the same mode as the first two voices do. It abuses the town and the occupants whilst looking down upon their manner of life and doing the town seem drilling and uneventful. For illustration: the guide-book voice describes the little houses as ‘prinking themselves out in petroleum colorss and the broad usage of pink wash’ ( 1995: 19 ) and describes the town as ‘this little disintegrating watering-place’ ( 1994: 19 ) . The Guide-book is highly negative with respects to Llareggub, and uses cliches such as ‘cobbled streets and its small fishing habour’ ( 1995: 19 ) to do the topographic point appear worn out and antique. Thomas’s usage of neologies are outstanding throughout the drama and are largely in the signifier of compound nouns and participle adjectives such as ‘fishingboat-bobbing sea’ ( 1995: 3 ) and ‘jellyfish-slippery’ ( 1995: 4 ) . The usage of these is to enable Thomas to maintain the beat in flow with the remainder of the text and give ‘interesting ideological effects’ ( 2010: 18 ) which paradox human linguistic communication. Page 9 through to page 12 sees Thomas use an ancient Hellenic technique called stichomythia ( 1975: 143-176 ) . This is a technique which was besides famously used by Shakespeare throughout his work ( 2009 ) and comprises of two or more characters prosecuting in quick-fire address. This is besides repeated on page 28 and pages 35-36. This speedy exchange of address gives the audience a sense of velocity and picks up the gait until the conversation is over. There is a noticeable sum of innuendo nowadays inUnder Milk Woodalong with dual entendre and boylike temper. For illustration: on page 60, Mr Waldo says ; ‘nobody’s swept my chimbley/Since my hubby went his ways/Come and brush my chimbley/Bring along your chimbley brush’ ( 1995: 60 ) and ‘Lie down, lie easy. Let me shipwreck in your thighs’ ( 1995: 52 ) . Despite the boylike insinuation, there are illustrations of descriptive and mildly titillating lines. An illustration of this is ‘The Sun hums down through the cotton flowers of her frock into the bell of her bosom and bombilation in the honey at that place and sofas and busss, lazy-loving and boozed, in her red-berried breast’ ( 1995: 46 ) . The consequence this has upon the text is one of temper and visible radiation –hearted screening of the characters making a threading bond between the audience and the citizens of Llareggub. The inclusion and intermingling of all these techniques has allowed Thomas to make an improbably sensuous piece of literary art which flows swimmingly with the carefully crafted rhythmic linguistic communication and crisp pacing. Richard Burton considers Under Milk Wood to be ‘a amusing masterpiece’ ( Rees: 2014 ) , one that will populate everlastingly in the immortal voices of his far-out characters. Word Count: 2230 ( excepting bibliography ) Bibliography.Biography of Dylan Thomas.( 2014 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.poemhunter.com/dylan-thomas/biography/ Accessed ( 01/04/2014 )Drabble, M. ( 2009 )The Oxford Companion to English Literature.Oxford: Oxford University Press.Jeffries, L. ( 2010 ) . Critical Stylistics: The Power of English. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Jeffries, L. & A ; McIntyre, D. ( 2011 ) Teaching Stylistics. London: MacmillanO’Toole ( 1975 )Analytic and Man-made Approaches to Narrative Structurein Style and Structure in Literature. United kingdom: Blackwell.Thomas, D. ( 1954 )Under Milk Wood. ( The Definitive edition – 1995. ) London: Everyman.Thomas, D. ( 1958 )Return Journey Home. Hammersmith: Lyric Theatre.Thomas, D. ( 1946 )Death and Entrances.United kingdom: Jackdaw Books.Turner, W. J. ( 1946 ) . The Spectator. Pg. 176. The Spectator.West, J. ( 2009 ) .Welsh Poetry – Part I: Cynghaneddhypertext transfer protocol: //allpoetry.com/column/7546199-Welsh-Poetry — -Part-I-Cyng hanedd — by-Welshbard ( accessed 30/03/2014 )Rees, J. ( 2014 )Why Under Milk Wood is the greatest wireless drama of all time.The Telegraph.

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 2

I felt the veins in my face crackle with Power. My fangs came out quickly and violently, painfully ripping through my gums. Instantly I became the hunter again: balanced on my toes, fingers flexed, ready to claw. As I made my way closer to her, all my senses became even more aroused – eyes widened to capture every shadow, nostrils flared to gather in the smells. Even my skin prickled, ready to detect the slightest change in air movement, in heat, in the minute pulses that indicated life. Despite my vow, my body was more than ready to slice into the soft, dying flesh and lap up her essence. The girl was small, but not sickly or dainty. She looked to be about sixteen. Her bosom jerked as she stuggled for breath. Her hair was dark, with curls highlighted gold in the light of the rising moon. She had been wearing silk flowers and ribbons in her hair, but these, along with her tresses, had come undone, trailing out behind her head like sea foam. Her dress had a dark red slip buoyed by frothy white cotton tulle. Where her petticoats were torn, slashes of scarlet silk showed through, matching the blood that was seeping from her chest and down her bodice. One of her doeskin gloves was white, while the other was nearly black with soaked blood, as if she had tried to stanch her wound before she'd passed out. Thick, curly lashes fluttered as her eyes rolled beneath their lids. This was a girl who clung to life, who was fighting as hard as she could to stay awake and survive the violence that had befallen her. My ears could easily make out her heartbeat. Despite the girl's strength and will, it was slowing, and I could count seconds between each beat. Thud . . . Thud . . . Thud . . . Thud . . . The rest of the world was silent. It was just me, the moon, and this dying girl. Her breath was coming slower now. She would most likely be dead in mere moments, and not by my hands. I ran my tongue over my teeth. I had done my best. I had hunted down a squirrel – a squirrel – to sate my appetite. I was doing everything I could to resist the lure of my dark side, the hunger that had been slowly destroying me from within. I had refrained from using my Power. But the smell . . . Spicy, rusty, sweet. It made my head spin. It wasn't my fault she had been attacked. It wasn't I who had caused the pool of blood to form around her prone body. Just one little sip couldn't hurt. . . . I couldn't hurt her more than someone already had. . . . I shivered, a delicious pain fluttering up my spine and down my body. My muscles flexed and relaxed of their own accord. I took a step closer, so close that I could reach out and touch the red substance. Human blood would do far more than sustain me. It would fill me with warmth and Power. Nothing tasted like human blood, and nothing felt like it. Just a mouthful and I would be back to the vampire I'd been in New Orleans: invincible, lightning fast, strong. I'd be able to compel humans to do my bidding, I'd be able to drink away my guilt and embrace my darkness. I'd be a real vampire again. In that moment, I forgot everything: why I was in New York, what happened in New Orleans, why I left Mystic Falls. Callie, Katherine, Damon . . . All were lost, and I was drawn mindlessly to the source of my agony and ectasy. I knelt down in the grass. My parched lips drew back from my mouth, fangs fully exposed. One lick. One drop. One taste. I needed it so badly. And technically, I wouldn't be killing her. Technically, she would die because of someone else. Narrow streams of blood ebbed and flowed down her chest, pulsing with her heart. I leaned over, my tongue reaching forward. . . . One of her eyes fluttered open weakly, her thick lashes parting to reveal clear green eyes, eyes the color of clover and grass. The same color eyes Callie had. In my last memory of her, Callie was lying on the ground, dying, in a similar helpless pose. Callie had died of a knife wound in her back. Damon didn't even have the decency to let her defend herself. He stabbed her while she was distracted, telling me how much she loved me. And then, before I could feed her my own blood and save her, Damon threw me aside and drained her completely. He left her a dry, dead husk and then tried to kill me, too. Had it not been for Lexi, he would have succeeded. With a tortured scream, I pulled my hands back from the girl and pounded the ground. I forced the bloodlust that was in my eyes and cheeks back down to the dark place from which they came. I took a moment longer to compose myself, then pulled the girl's bodice aside to view her wound. She had been stabbed with a knife, or some other small and sharp blade. It had been shoved with near perfect precision between her breasts and into her rib cage – but had missed her heart. It was as though the attacker had wanted her to suffer, had wanted her to slowly bleed out rather than die immediately. The attacker had not left the blade behind, so I placed my teeth against my wrist and tore open the skin there. The pain helped me to focus, a good, clean pain compared to that of my fangs coming out. With incredible effort I pushed my wrist to her mouth and squeezed my fist. I had so little blood to spare – this would nearly kill me. I had no idea if it would even work now that I was feeding just on animals. Thump-thump. Pause. Thump-thump. Pause. Her heart continued to slow. â€Å"Come on,† I pleaded, my teeth gritted in pain. â€Å"Come on.† The first few drops of blood hit her lips. She winced, stirring slightly. Her mouth parted, desperate. With all my strength, I squeezed my wrist, pushing the blood out of my vein and into her mouth. When it finally hit her tongue she almost gagged. â€Å"Drink,† I ordered. â€Å"It will help. Drink.† She turned her head. â€Å"No,† she mumbled. Ignoring her feeble protests, I shoved my wrist against her mouth, forcing the blood into her. She moaned, still trying not to swallow. A wind picked up around us, rustling her skirts. An earthworm dug itself deeper into the soft, moist earth, avoiding the cold air of the night. And then she stopped fighting. Her lips closed down on the wound in my wrist, and her soft tongue sought out the source of my blood. She began to suck. Thump-thump. Thumpthump. Thump thump thump. Her hand, the one in the blood-soaked glove, came fluttering up weakly and grasped my arm, trying to draw it closer to her face. She wanted more. I understood her desire all too well, but I had no more to offer. â€Å"That's enough,† I said, feeling faint myself. I gently disengaged my arm despite her mewling cries. Her heart was beating more regularly now. â€Å"Who are you? Where do you live?† I asked. She whimpered and clung to me. â€Å"Open your eyes,† I ordered. She did, once again revealing her Callie-green eyes. â€Å"Tell me where you live,† I compelled her, the world spinning around me as I used the very last remaining drops of my Power. â€Å"Fifth Avenue,† she answered dreamily. I tried not to grow impatient. â€Å"Where on Fifth Avenue?† â€Å"Seventy-third Street . . . One East Seventy-third Street . . .† she whispered. I scooped her up, a perfumed confection of silk and gauze and lace and warm, human flesh. Her curls brushed my face, tickling across my cheek and neck. Her eyes were still closed and she hung limply in my arms. Blood, either hers or mine, dripped down into the dust. I gritted my teeth and began to run.