Medical microbiology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medical microbiology - Assignment Example Some of them are insufficient media, bactericidal activity present in blood, amount of blood used for culturing, antibiotics occurrence, blood collection time. Most of bacterial cells of Salmonella serovar Typhi resides intracellulary in the patient’s blood. There is a need of reliable, rapid and sensitive methods for clinical detection of Salmonella serovar Typhi. Serological tests are available but its sensitivity and specificity is very low. The blood culture sensitivity is highest during the first week of illness but it then gradually decreases with advancement of illness. 45- 70% patients of typhoid fever can be identified through blood culturing. It depends upon the blood sample amount, bacteraemic level of Salmonella, culture medium type, length of incubation. Also the Salmonella bacteria presence in patient’s blood is very low, often below detection by blood culturing and even below detection by PCR. Difficulties become more due to limited amount of patient blood sample. Ox bile tryptone soy broth was used for blood culture; it allows blood cell lysis completely, which causes the release of intracellular bacteria. It does not inhibit the growth of Salmonella Typhi. From research it was found out that bacterial growth can be increased if blood culture media contains lyzing agents for blood cells. By performing various tests it was found out that 2.4% ox bile presence in blood culture will lyse blood cells within 1.5 hours so that the bacteria present intracellulary came out. Salmonella bacteria when kept in tryptone soya broth containing 2.4% ox bile for 3 hours will increase the amount of bacteria from 0.75 CFU per milliliter of blood. This level can be easily detectible by using regular PCR method. This blood culture PCR assay processing time is lesser than 8 hours as compared to conventional blood culture which may take 2 -5 days. Salmonella serovars patient’s blood or serum is also bactericidal

Unit 2 Assignment Exploring the 1960s Research Paper

Unit 2 Assignment Exploring the 1960s - Research Paper Example It ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Republic and dynamics of the world war being slightly modified by end of it (Gaddis, 2011). Though the cold war might well have ended two decades ago, yet the seeds sown back then are showing their impact in different forms. A prime example in this case can be the Mujahedeen that were nurtured by the Americans against the Soviet Socialists, became their own enemies; as a result America had to go to War in Afghanistan against them. Various other countries have turned rebellious due to the cold war and have made America insecure in many aspects. Other threats posed to the American nation as a whole include the bitter feeling that is left in the hearts of the then Soviet Socialists and present day Russia. They were humiliated at the end of it and their entire empire came down (Craig & Logevall, 2009). In terms of protection for the family, vigilance is the word; each member of the family should know their responsibilities. The threats faced immediately after cold war were the nuclear arsenal being possessed by the disintegrated soviet republic. That threat has vaporized to a large extent. While in public they should be cautious and should report and notice anything suspicious. Besides this the onus falls upon the government to protect the citizens from any kind of vulnerabilities that might exist in the surroundings (Tuttle, 1993). The cold war that lasted from 1950s to 1990s set up new paradigms for times ahead. What we see today is largely because of the cold war that established its roots deep into various countries political operations and foreign affairs. The end of cold war resulted in total submission and defeat of one of the power and left alone capitalist power United States to dictate terms in future. The then U.S.S.R has gone on back foot after being humbled at end of the war. The Berlin wall was another event which marked the end of cold war after the U.S.S.R

The Concept Of Collaborative Working Social Work Essay

The Concept Of Collaborative Working Social Work Essay Collaboration is a interprofessional process of communication and decision making that enables shared knowledge and skills in health care providers to synergistically influence the ways service user/patient care and the broader community health services are provided (Way et al, 2002). The development of collaborative working will necessarily entail close interprofessional working (Wilson et al., 2008). According to Wilson et al, (2008) and Hughes, Hemmingway Smith, (2005) interprofessional and collaborative working describes considering the service user in a holistic way, and the benefits to the service user that different organisations, such as Social Workers (SW), Occupational Therapists (OT) and District Nurse (DN) and other health professionals can bring working together can achieve. These definitions describe collaborative working as the act of people working together toward common goals. Integrated working involves putting the service user at the centre of decision making to m eet their needs and improve their lives (Dept of Health, 2009). This paper will focus first see why health care students learn about working together then reviewing government policy and how this can be applied in a Social Care context, then on influencing factors on the outcomes of collaborative working references within the professional literature, and finally, reviewing evidence on collaborative practice in health and social care. Learning to work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies is a clear expectation of social worker in the prescribed curriculum for the new Social Work Degree (DoH 2002). The reasons are plain: à ¢-  Service users want social workers who can collaborate effectively with others to obtain and provide services (Audit Commission 2002) à ¢-  Collaboration is central in implementing strategies for effective care and protection of children and of vulnerable adultsas underlined, respectively, by the recent report of the Victoria Climbià © Inquiry (Laming 2003) and the earlier No Secrets policies (DoH 2000) à ¢-  Effective collaboration between staff at the front-line is also a crucial ingredient in delivering the Governments broader goals of partnership between services (Whittington 2003). Experience is growing of what is involved in learning for collaborative practice. This experience promises valuable information for Social Work Degree providers and others developing learning opportunities but has not been systematically researched in UK social work programmes for a decade (Whittington 1992; Whittington et al 1994). The providers of Diploma in Social Work programmes (DipSW) represented an untapped source of directly transferable experience in this area of learning and were therefore chosen as the focus of the study. Making collaborative practice a reality in institutions requires an understanding of the essential elements, persistent and continuing efforts, and rigorous evaluation of outcomes. Satisfaction, quality, and cost effectiveness are essential factors on two dimensions: outcomes for patient care providers; and outcomes for patients. Ultimately, collaborative practice can be recognized by demonstrated effective communication patterns, achievement of enhanced patient care outcomes, and efficient and effective support services in place. If these criteria are not met, collaborative practice is a myth and not a reality in your institution. Simms LM, Dalston JW, Roberts PW. Collaborative practice: myth or reality? Hosp Health Serv Adm. 1984 Nov-Dec;29(6):36-48. PubMed PMID: 10268659. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed Health care students are thought about collaboration so that they can see the unique contribution that each professional can bring to the provision of care in a truly holistic way. Learning about working together can help prevent the development of negative stereotypes, which can inhabit interprofessional collaboration. (Tunstall-Pedoe et al 2003) Health care students can link theory they have leant with practice and bring added value of successful collaborative practice. (www.facuity.londondeanery.ac.uk) Learning collaborative practice with other professionals is the core expectation in social work education both qualifying and post grad. Effective collaboration and interaction can directly influence a SU treatment, in a positive way, and the opposite can be said about ineffective collaboration that can have severe ramifications, which has been cited in numerous public inquiries. Professionals should also share information about SUs to keep themselves and their colleagues safe from harm. Working together to safeguard children states that training on safeguarding children and young people should be embedded within a wider framework of commitment to inter and multi-agency working at strategic and operational levels underpinned by shared goals, planning processes and values. The Children Act 1989 recognised that the identification and investigation of child abuse, together with the protection and support of victims and their families, requires multi-agency collaboration. Caring for People (DH, 1989) stated that successful collaboration required a clear, mutual understanding by every agency of each others responsibilities and powers, in order to make plain how and with whom collaboration should be secured. It is evident from the above that Government has been actively promoting collaborative working, and this is reflected in professional literature. Hence, the policy climate and legislative backdrop were established to facilitate inter-agency and intra-agency collaborati on. The stated aim has been to create high quality, needs-led, co-ordinated services that maximised choice for the service user (Payne, 1995). Political pressure in recent years has focused attention on interprofessional collaboration in SW (Pollard, Sellman Senior, 2005) and when viewed as a good thing, it is worthwhile to critically examine its benefits and drawbacks just what is so good about it. (Leathard, 2003). Interprofessional collaboration benefits the service user by the use of complementary skills, shared knowledge, resources and possibility better job satisfaction. Soon after the new Labour government in 1997 gave a powerful new impetus to the concept of collaboration and partnership between health professionals and services, they recognised this and there was a plethora of social policy initiatives official on collaborative working published. A clear indication of this can be found in NHS Plan (DH, 2000), Modernising the Social Services (DH, 1998a). Policies concentrat ed on agency structures and better joint working. This was nothing new, since the 1970s there has been a growing emphasis on multiagency working. 1974 saw the first big press involvement in the death of a child (Maria Coldwell) and they questioned why professionals were not able to protect children who they had identified as most at risk. The pendulum of threat to children then swung too much the other way and the thresholds for interventions were significantly lowered, which culminated with the Cleveland Inquiry of 1988 when children were removed from their families when there was little concrete evidence of harm (Butler-Sloss, 1988), with too much emphasis put on the medical opinion. An equilibrium was needed for a collaborative work ethic to share knowledge and skills and Munro (2010) states that other service agencies cannot and should not replace SWs, but there is a requirement for agencies to engage professionally about children, young people and families on their caseloads. T he Children Act 2004 (Dept of Health, 2004) and associated government guidance, introduced following the Public Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbià © in 2000, including Every Child Matters (Dept of Health, 2003), were written to stress the importance of interprofessional and multiagency working and to help improve it. The failure to collaborate effectively was highlighted as one of many missed opportunities by the inquiry into the tragic death of Victoria Climbià © (Laming, 2003) and Baby Peter (Munro, 2009). There is an assumption that shared information is information understood problems with information sharing and effective commination are cited again and again in public enquiry reports Rose and Barnes 2008; Brandon et al, 2008). These problems can simply be about very practical issues, such as delays in information shearing, lost messages, names and addresses that are incorrectly recorded (Laming 2003 cited in Ten pitfalls and how to avoid them 2010) An explicit aim was to motivate the contribution of multiagency working. By 1997 Labour had been re elected and rolled out a number of studies into collaboration. These studies revealed the many complexities and obstacles to collaborative working (Weinstein, 2003). The main drivers of the governments health and social care policies were partnership, collaboration and multi-disciplinary working. One of the areas covered by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 (Dept of Health, 2010) stated that organisations and agencies should work together to recognise and manage any individual who presents a risk of harm to children. The Children Act 1989 (Dept of Health, 1989) requires multi-agency collaboration to help indentify and investigate any cases of child abuse, and the protection and support of victims and their families. It should be remembered that everyone brings their piece of expertise/ knowledge to help build the jigsaw (Working Together 2010) and to assess the service user i n a holistic way. Although the merits of collaboration have rarely been disputed, the risk of conflict between the professional groups remains. Some of the barriers to collaboration are different resource allocation systems, different accountability structures, professional tribalism, pace of change and spending constraints The disadvantages are if commissioning was led by health, an over-emphasis on health care needs, and inequities between patients from different practices There are challenges in terms of professional and personal resistance to change; it is difficult to change entrenched attitudes even through inter-professional education. Sometimes professionals disagree about the causes of and the solutions to problems, they may have different objectives because of different paradigms (Pierson M, 2010). There are also several concerns for SWs which include not knowing which assessments to use, appearing to be different or work differently from others in the team, not being taken seriously or listened to by colleagues and not having sufficient time or resources because of budget constraints (Warren, 2007). Some of the reasoning for this pessimistic mood is feelings of inequality and rivalries, the relative status and power of professionals, professional identity and territory. Different patterns of accountability and discretion between professionals, are all contributing factors to these feelings (Hudson, 2002). Thompson (2009) suggests that instead of the SW being viewed as the expert with all the answers to the problems, they should step back and look at what other professionals can contribute. Collaborative working offers a way forward, in which the SW works with everyone involved with the clients; carers, voluntary workers and other professional staff, to maximise the resources, thus giving an opportunity for making progress and affording the service user the best possible care. Weinstein, et al, (2003) stated that although there are problems with collaborative working, the potential positive outcomes out-weight the negatives. There could be a more integrated, timely and coherent response to the many complex human problems, fewer visits, better record keeping and transfer of information, and some reduction of risk; therefore the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. If SWs work in silos, working in a vacuum, they are unlikely to maximise their impact (Brodie, 2008). It is important to use collaboration and an interprofessional/multi agency working culture in Social Work in order that the most vulnerable service users receive the best possible assessments of their needs. The advantages are better understanding of the constraints of each agency and system overall, shared information on local needs, reduction in duplication of assessments, better planning, avoiding the blame culture when problems occurred and accessing social care via health less stigmatising. Greater knowledge of the SWs roles and responsibilities by other health care professionals will ensure that the SWs role is not substituted in assessment of the service users circumstances and needs (Munro, 2010). The Munro Report (2010) also states that if everyone holds a piece of the jigsaw a full picture is impossible until every piece is put together. Working together to Safeguard Children states a multi-professional approach is required to ensure collaboration among all involved, which may include ambulance staff, AE department staff, coroners officers, police, GPs, health visitors, school nurses, community childrens nurses, midwives, paediatricians, palliative or end of life care staff, mental health professionals, substance misuse workers, hospital bereavement staff, voluntary agencies, coroners, pathologists, forensic medical examiners, local authority childrens social care, YOTs, probation, schools, prison staff where a child has died in custody and any others who may find themselves with a contribution to make in individual cases (for example, fire fighters or faith leaders). In a study by Carpenter et al (2003) concerning the impact on staff of providing integrated care in multi-disciplinary mental health teams in the North of England, the most positive results were found in areas where services were fully integrated. There is much evidence to suggest that collaboration represents an ethical method of practice where differences are respected, but used creatively to find solutions to complex problems. In essence the service user should be cared for in a holistic approach and to achieve this collaboration is the answer. (1516) Professor Munro askes Some local areas have introduced social work-led, multi-agency locality teams to help inform best next steps in respect of a child or young person, including whether a formal child protection intervention is needed. Do you think this is useful? Do you have evidence of it working well? What are the practical implications of this approach? (http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2011/01/04/116046/munro-asks-frontline-workers-what-needs-to-change.htm)

Raising the Dropout Age Essay -- Education, GED, high school

Children are told from a young age that it is mandatory for them to graduate from high school, but it’s not until they are on the verge of dropping out that they hear the importance for staying in school. It is also when they hear how high school students who dropouts learn the incredible price to pay in the future when they give up on an education. Thinking with a teenage state of mind and trying to take the easy way out they go straight for a GED, which is told to be an equivalent earning of a diploma. Stated in a complete listing of educational resources most teachers tend to argue that â€Å"The General Educational Development lacks the depth and breadth found in a traditional high school education† (â€Å"The Facts about Getting a GED† par.5) Initially, the program was created for World War II veterans to receive their high school education after the war and not for students who decided that they wanted to give up (â€Å"General Educational Development† par.1). This was until the year of 1959 when veterans were not the only ones getting there GED but also those adults who had yet to finished high school (par.1). In the article â€Å"Dropouts†, from Education Week, it was stated that â€Å"Overall, the dropout rate has changed among racial and ethnic groups; the minorities tend to have higher dropout rates than their white classmates†(Kaufman and Bardby par. 4). As of today the GED profile is still changing into 3.5 to 6 million young teens between the age of 16 and 17 year olds who have decided that they do not want to finish school (Haskins par.1). Due to the National Public Radio it was stated that â€Å"Many states are willing to reduce the dropout rate by rising the high school dropout age to 18† (Abramson par. 10). This law should be passed throughou... ... set the same as the mandatory age for dropping out of leaving school. This is a high risk for giving children the opportunity to leave their education to earn money which will not benefit them in the long run without a diploma. There are few that will state that the mandatory age of a high school dropout is good at sixteen. Main requirements taught in high school become unnecessary, especially lower skilled jobs so not all people who dropout will be unsuccessful. Therefore, society is creating an economic waste by providing a service that has very little benefit to the majority of people (Rodriguez par.2). The PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, provided facts that show that not all GED recipients are less successful than high school graduates. In example, both comedians Bill Cosby and Dave Thomas both received a GED and became highly successful. (Schleicher 1).

Isaac Newton Is Better Than John Locke Essay

In all my life I have discovered many things. My discoveries have allowed us to make more new discoveries. But a problem I think of is what the world would be like if I never existed. To start things off one important discovery I made was modern physics. If I was never to make the discoveries in optics, motion, and mathematics modern physics wouldn’t of existed which means that scientist wouldn’t have never known that every object in the universe has a force that attracts each other. Something else the world would have never found would be my laws of motion. The laws of motion gave people a better understanding regarding movement which helps people today in space travel and mechanics. The world would be a better place without John Locke for many reasons. One good reason would be that if he didn’t exist there wouldn’t be a lot of abortion issues around the world and especially in the United States. The reason why there are a lot of abortion issues today in the United States is because John Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson and when Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he included some stuff John Locke believed in. One thing was that he said human beings are free to do what they want with their property. There are good things about that but theirs also bad things like abortion. The reason why abortion is legal is because the baby are the parents property and John Locke said that when babies are in the stomach their blank so in other words babies are ok to be aborted because their nothing. So if john Locke was to never have existed he wouldn’t have been able to influence Thomas Jefferson which means that there wouldn’t have been a lot of abortions. To sum everything up I Isaac Newton has made the modern world a better place because of my discoveries and if John Locke never existed the world including the United States would have no abortion issues and remember all of us are here because we were all born and not aborted.

Data protection Act 1998 Essay

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK. Although the Act itself does not mention privacy, it was enacted to bring UK law into line with the EU data protection directive of 1995 which required Member States to protect people’s fundamental rights and freedoms and in particular their right to privacy with respect to the processing of personal data. In practice it provides a way for individuals to control information about themselves. Most of the Act does not apply to domestic use, for example keeping a personal address book. Anyone holding personal data for other purposes is legally obliged to comply with this Act, subject to some exemptions. The Act defines eight data protection principles. It also requires companies and individuals to keep personal information to themselves. The 22 August 1998 Act replaced and consolidated earlier legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1984 and the Access to Personal Files Act 1987. At the same time it aimed to implement the European Data Protection Directive. In some aspects, notably electronic communication and marketing, it has been refined by subsequent legislation for legal reasons. The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 altered the consent requirement for most electronic marketing to â€Å"positive consent† such as an opt in box. Exemptions remain for the marketing of â€Å"similar products and services† to existing cu stomers and enquirers, which can still be permissioned on an opt out basis. The Act’s definition of â€Å"personal data† covers any data that can be used to identify a living individual. Anonymised or aggregated data is not regulated by the Act, providing the anonymisation or aggregation has not been done in a reversible way. Individuals can be identified by various means including their name and address, telephone number or Email address. The Act applies only to data which is held, or intended to be held, on computers (‘equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose’), or held in a ‘relevant filing system’. [3] In some cases even a paper address book can be classified as a ‘relevant filing system’, for example diaries used to support commercial activities such as a salesperson’s diary. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 modified the act for public bodies and authorities, and the Durant case modified the interpretation of the act by providing case law and precedent.[4] The Data Protection Act creates rights for those who have their data stored, and responsibilities for those who store, process or transmit such data. The person who has their data processed has the right to: [5] View the data an organisation holds on them. A ‘subject access request’ can be obtained for a nominal fee. As of January 2014, the maximum fee is  £2 for requests to credit reference agencies,  £50 for health and educational request, and  £10 per individual otherwise, [6] Request that incorrect information be corrected. If the company ignores the request, a court can order the data to be corrected or destroyed, and in some cases compensation can be awarded. Require that data is not used in any way that may potentially cause damage or distress. Require that their data is not used for direct marketing.