History Of Aromatherapy Health And Social Care Essay

History Of Aromatherapy Health And Social Care Essay Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with the sense of smell and identifying the ways that aromas are so influential on a persons memories, thoughts and emotions. I decided to do my Independent Study on the history and practice of aromatherapy because I have always been drawn to it, and I hope to be able to offer others a chance to learn about it by developing a course that can be offered at the Firefly Academy. Using essential oils in my everyday life has given me many benefits. I can customize linen and room sprays according to the season, or the emotional atmosphere I want to create. It is simple to create salves for bug bites or muscle strain that are completely natural and work as well as store-bought items. I can use essential oils just like herbs to dress candles, add to talisman or amulet bags, or purify ritual space in my magickal practice. The only limit on the uses of essential oils is my own creativity. What Do The Terms Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Mean? To begin with, we need to define the terms aromatherapy and essential oil: Â · Aromatherapy is the art and science of enhancing health and well being with essential oils. (Aura Cacia, a leading advocate and manufacturer of high quality essential oils) [1] Â · Essential oils are the volatile essences extracted from plant materials for the purpose of affecting ones health, mood or environment. The Use of Scent Throughout Human History We dont need to have a degree in chemical engineering or physiology to understand how essential oils can affect us, or to enjoy them by adding scent to our everyday lives. Its something human beings have been doing throughout thousands of years of history. The use of ointments, powders, waters, oils and incense has been documented as part of worship, medicine and culture throughout many early civilizations. From Egypt and Persia, to India and China, trade routes flourished as the rich and powerful demanded steady supplies of aromatic salves for use as medicine, resins and incense to please the gods, and fragrant powders or perfumes to scent the skin [2] . Although no one can prove exactly when essential oils were first distilled from plants, the Persian Avicenna (980-1037 C.E.) is generally given credit as the first. Avicenna was a philosopher and physician, and he used essential oils extensively in his practice. [3] In more modern times, the scientific revolution in the 19th century led to the identification and isolation of many essential oils and active plant compounds. These discoveries soon led scientists to develop synthetic substances that could be produced cheaply and in mass quantities. This made it possible (economically feasible) to add artificial scent to products that were widely available to the public. Some of these products were soap, shampoo, beverages, and perfumes. The term aromatherapy was coined in the early 20th century by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French scientist. [4] He developed an intense interest in the healing properties of essential oils after his personal experience with lavender essential oil. His family owned a perfumery business and he worked in the laboratory. One day, an explosion occurred and Rene-Maurice badly burned his hands. The closest thing around to use to quench the heat of the burns was a large container of lavender essential oil. He healed very quickly from his burns and was left without any scarring. There are many notables in the development of modern aromatherapy. Two of the most well-known are: Dr. Jean Valnet [5] , a surgeon in World War II who began using essential oils on the battlefield after reading of Gattefossess work; and Robert Tisserand who is credited with being one of the first to bring widespread education about aromatherapy to the English-speaking world. Where Do Essential Oils Come From Most essential oils are used today as flavorings for foods and beverages, or as fragrance for perfumes, body care and cleaning products. Only a small percentage of all essential oils produced are used in practical aromatherapy. Each essential oil is comprised of a unique combination of volatile, aromatic chemicals. Most essential oils contain over one hundred different chemicals. Thousands of different aroma chemicals have been discovered in plants by scientists so far [6] . The combination of these chemicals is what gives an essential oil its fragrance and also makes it effective to use. Many things can contribute to the amount and variation of each chemical constituent in an essential oil. Things such as climate, soil quality, growing conditions, or harvesting methods can have a big effect on the quality of the essential oil that ends up in a bottle on the shelf of your local health food store. The various aspects work together to create each oils signature fragrance and physical properties. Essential oils can come from all parts of the plant including, leaves, flowers, roots, seeds or fruit. Some examples of essential oils that come from different parts of a plant are: leaf-Peppermint, flowers-Rose, roots-Angelica, seeds-Black Pepper, fruit (rind)-Orange. Unlike using fresh or dried herbs, to use an essential oil we must first to get it out of the plant. Try sniffing a fresh peppermint or thyme leaf. There will be very little scent. Now, rub the herb between your fingers and sniff again. By crushing the cell walls of the leaf, the essential oil is released. This is one way to extract the essential oil but not very efficient! And although there are many ways of extracting an essential oil from plants, there are three main methods used by most manufacturers today. Steam distillation is an ancient process. The basic process remains unchanged from that used centuries ago. The majority of essential oils are distilled this way. Fresh plant material is stacked on racks set above boiling water. The steam causes the cell walls of the plant material to break down and release the essential oil. After passing through a condenser, the essential oil can be separated from the water by skimming it off the top. Expression is a mechanical method pressing the essential oil out of the plant. Usually this method is used for getting essential oils out of the peels of citrus fruits such as oranges, limes, or lemons. Citrus oils are fragile and the fresh fruit aroma is lost if the peels are steam distilled. Enfleurage (Absolutes and Concretes) is the process used to extract essential oils from plants that are extremely delicate or have a low quantity of oil per plant. Some examples of oils that are made as absolutes are rose, jasmine or violet. These essential oils tend to be very expensive because they are labor intensive to create and it takes a tremendous amount of plant material to make a small amount of essential oil. In the past, layers of flowers were covered in rendered animal fat or a hydrocarbon solvent. As the fat became saturated with the scent, the spent flowers were removed and replaced with fresh. This process makes a waxy substance called a concrete. To further refine the mixture, the fat was mixed with alcohol to separate the essential oil from the fat. This produces an absolute from the concrete. This is the liquid product that contains the essential oil. How Do We Interpret Scent and How Does Scent Affect Us Most of us can think of examples of how scent has influenced our memory. One example might be that the smell of cinnamon evokes the memory of sitting in your grandmothers kitchen as she made cinnamon rolls 20 years after her passing. Another might be the automatic grimace that comes to your face at remembering the smell of the skunk that sprayed the dog last year. These are just a couple examples that show how scent becomes wired into our memories. Once scent molecules are breathed into the nose, they bind with receptors that send impulses to the olfactory bulbs that sit at the base of the brain. The olfactory bulbs interpret the scent message and send it on to the limbic system. The limbic system is part of the oldest part of our brain. It controls the functions that are necessary for our very survival such as the sex drive, hunger, thirst or need for sleep. This area is close to the hippocampus, where feelings and emotions originate, and long-term memory is stored [7] . It is easy to see why scents can affect us so strongly when we see how closely the sense of smell is related to our memory and survival instincts. We can apply this to our everyday lives when we extrapolate that our highest thought processes which include language, mathematics or abstract thinking can be affected by aromatherapy since the areas that process fragrance information and memory are so closely linked. By using an essential oil (such as Rosemary which is used for mental challenges) while studying, this scent becomes imprinted in the brain along with the information being studied. By sniffing the same oil later, like right before an exam, we can take advantage of this linking to have better recall. In Victorian times, scented stationary was popular for love letters. Maybe the writers hoped the sweet scent of perfume would cause ones beloved to think fondly of the writer. We can use aromatherapy in so many ways to make our lives healthier and happier. We can use it to help us not only with physical applications, but also to improve our mental and emotional health. And if you have had any experience in magick or spell casting, you can begin to see the implications immediately! How To Choose An Essential Oil When choosing oils for use in aromatherapy, it is vital to make sure that you are purchasing an essential oil. Essential oils are extracted from plants that grew in nature. They are not created in a laboratory. It is important to choose oils that have been extracted from the appropriate part of the plant, and using the correct method of extraction. On the other hand, aroma oils, fragrance oils, or nature identical oils have been created in a lab or altered in a way that does not include all the components of the pure essential oil. They are not interchangeable with essential oils! These other types of oils have their uses, but it not in the practice of aromatherapy. An example of this is peppermint oil used by the food industry. Manufacturers will sometimes redistill the peppermint essential oil to remove the grassy notes and amplify the minty notes. This is done for a purer peppermint flavor in your toothpaste. Essential oils can be chosen for their physical, emotional, or spiritual properties. You may choose an oil to relieve a physical symptom, to help deal with stress or to purify your ritual space. Some oils with be effective for all these areas. Frankincense was used in ancient times to fumigate (purify) churches and temples. Not only was this effective against disease agents such as plague, but it also brought people to a meditative state, and calmed the emotions. Many people use Frankincense for the same purposes today. Most books have charts showing the properties associated with each essential oil. It is a good idea to get a couple books that list a variety of information the oils. It is important to know physical properties, such as whether the oil you are choosing might be antibacterial, stimulant or sedative. It is also useful to know what effects the oil might have on the mind or emotions. If choosing an oil to use for magickal purposes, the correspondences listed for the herb will be the same as for the oil. Once several oils have been identified for the required purpose, the best way to choose the appropriate oil is to take a whiff and see which one pleases you the most. The imprint of scent is so individualized that even if all the books say that oil A is the absolute best choice for headaches, if the individual doesnt find the scent pleasing, or has a negative memory of the aroma, it will not have the desired effect. Always choose essential oils based on your personal preference. Essential oils are very versatile in their abilities to nurture, heal, support and rejuvenate our bodies, minds and spirits. They are easily absorbed into the body through the skin, by inhalation, or ingestion. But just because they are natural substances and have been used for centuries does not mean that they are without some risk. It is very important to use safety precautions when working with essential oils. Many essential oils often share a lot of the same chemical components. Sometimes knowing which chemicals are present in an essential oil will give you a good idea how that oil might be used. One example is eucalyptol. Oils, such as eucalyptus and tea tree, that contain this chemical are helpful in relieving chest congestion. Another example is the neurotoxin, thujone. This chemical can be extremely dangerous. Oils with a low content of thujone, such as yarrow or sage, should be used with caution and not used on a continual basis. Other oils, such as mugwort or wormwood, (does absinthe ring a bell?) should not be used at all. Skin irritation can be common if using essential oils without diluting them with a vegetable oil. These dilution oils are called carrier oils. Most vegetable oils can be used as carrier oils. If using essential oils on the elderly or young children, they should be diluted even more. Some essential oils can cause sensitivity to sunlight, as well. Pregnant women, and those with other health conditions such as epilepsy or diabetes, should take extra precautions in choosing essential oils. And unless properly trained, no one should ingest essential oils! Always research the essential oils you use to make sure you are following the proper safety protocols. There are usually warnings listed on the bottle and most stores have pamphlets or brochures that will list safety precautions. It is well worth the time spent reading about potential problems or doing a skin-patch test (to test for allergic reactions) to avoid the pain and hassle of a bad reaction. How To Apply Essential Oils There are many different ways that essential oils (EOs) can enter the body. Inhalation through the nose is one of the best known. Absorption through the skin is another popular method. Less common ways include oral, vaginal or rectal application. Although ingestion of essential oils is more common in Europe, never ingest them without the advice of a trained professional. Most cases of poisoning have occurred after people ingested too high a dose. Ingesting just one or two teaspoons of concentrated essential oil can be enough to cause injury or death [8] . Inhalation is one of the easiest ways to use essential oils. Oils can be inhaled directly from the bottle, a drop or two placed on a tissue or light bulb, or a few drops added to a bowl of hot water or to the well of a pillar candle. A couple drops can be added to a dryer sheet and a whole load of sheets will be redolent with aroma. Diffusers are another popular way to disperse essential oils into the air. There are many types of diffusers available. Some use a fan to move air through a paper filter on which youve placed a few drops of oil. Others use a nebulizer to vaporize the oil into a fine mist. And still another type uses ultrasonic technology to release the oil within a fine mist of water. There are many way to apply essential oils to the skin and it is an effective way to incorporate them into your body. Essential oils can be added to bathwater or to massage oil. It is also easy to add essential oils to any unscented shampoo, lotion or body wash product to create your own custom blends. General dilution rates for healthy adults are 10-20 drops essential oil in a bath tub of warm water or 10-15 drops per ounce of carrier oil. Use half or less of these rates for children or the elderly. Essential Oil Quality It is worth discussing essential oil quality and how to choose the correct oil for the purpose for which you wish to use it. It is vital to make sure the essential oil youre using is produced from the proper part of the plant, extracted using the most efficient process, is harvested at the correct time, and contains all the active ingredients that make the oil effective. There should be no artificial components added. Choosing well-known suppliers and brands makes it easier to feel confident that the oils you buy. Firstly, make sure the label says that it is 100% pure essential oil. To work as intended, the oil must be pure. As mentioned earlier in this essay, fragrance or aroma oils made from synthetic ingredients are not interchangeable with essential oils. An exception to this statement would be when purchasing extremely expensive oils such as Neroli, Rose or Jasmine that are 100% pure essential oils that have been diluted in a carrier oil to make it more affordable. The carrier oil will be listed on the ingredients panel. If you only need a drop of two of rose oil for your Valentines Day sachet, you might decide that the 5ml bottle of diluted Rose Otto for $20 is a better choice than the 2ml bottle of 100% pure Rose Otto for $130. However, if you are making an anti-aging face cream you might want the real deal to increase the amount of active ingredients to make your cream more effective. Secondly, make sure you know the Latin name of the oil you want. This way you know that you are buying the correct product. There are several types of Lavender essential oil on the market. One is extracted from the flowers of Lavandula augustifolia and is noted for its relaxing and calming properties. Another is extracted from the stems, leaves and flowers of Lavandula latifolia (called Spike Lavender) and is useful to repel insects and to help with cold symptoms. Each has different properties. The FDA requires that all manufacturers list the botanical names on the labels. Thirdly, realize that it takes varying amounts of plant material and labor to produce each type of essential oil. If you are buying a brand of essential oils that has the same price on all oils, you are probably getting a low-quality, extremely diluted, or blatantly synthetic product. It can take over 2000 pounds of rose blossoms to produce one pound of essential oil, but perhaps around 50 pounds of Eucalyptus to produce one pound of essential oil. It is obvious just from this one statistic that rose oil is going to a lot more expensive than eucalyptus. Just like in other real-life situations, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Where We Go From Here This essay is the basis I am using to develop a course on Aromatherapy for The Firefly Academy. I hope to have it in included alongside the courses developed on Kitchen Herbology and Magickal Herbalism. The course will build on the information presented in this essay, introduce in-depth lessons on the fourteen most popular and affordable essential oils, provide information on making essential oil blends, and showcase easy recipes to begin using aromatherapy to improve the quality of ones life. There will be a project requiring students to make at least one recipe and describe their experiences using the blend in a short essay. A short, multiple choice quiz will be offered at the end of the course. Below is the proposed outline of the course: Lesson 1-What is Aromatherapy? What is an Essential Oil? Lesson 2-Why Does Aromatherapy Work? Lesson 3-Quality, Resources and Choosing Oils Lesson 4-How to Use Essential Oils in Your Life Lesson 5- Essential Oil Profiles Part 1 (Lavender, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Patchouli, German Chamomile, Clary Sage) Lesson 6- Essential Oil Profiles Part 2 (Lemon, Geranium, Sweet Orange, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Rosemary, Sandalwood) Lesson 7-Blending, Carrier Oils, Fun Formulas Lesson 8-Essay, Quiz, Where Do We Go From Here? Aromatherapy is a natural, effective way to improve many areas of our lives. It is not hard to learn and does not require an enormous expenditure of money. Essential oils are a good value as each one can be used for many different purposes and they take up little space in a cabinet or medicine chest. My life has been enriched in countless ways by learning and using aromatherapy. I am fascinated by the ease in which I can ease the sting of a bug bite. I am rewarded with a good nights sleep when I place a few drops of my Sweet Dreams blend on my pillow. My spiritual practices are enhanced by diffusing Frankincense and Myrrh on my altar to create sacred space. I will never regret the time and resources I have devoted to learning how to put the benefits of aromatherapy to use in my life. Sources http://www.auracacia.com http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/avicenna.htm http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/history.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15895251 Nyam News , December Volumes 1 2, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, 2005 The Practice of Aromatherapy, Jean Valnet, MD, Healing Arts Press, 1980 The Complete Book of Essential Oils Aromatherapy, Valerie Ann Worwood, New World Library, 1991 Aromatherapy: An A-Z: The Most Comprehensive Guide to Aromatherapy Ever Published, Patricia Davis, Random House, 2005 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils , Julia Lawless, Element Books Ltd, 1995 The Aromatherapy Deck, Frontier Natural Products Co-op, 2007 Certificate course on Aromatherapy, The American College of Healthcare Sciences (formerly Australasian College) Aura Cacia Retailers Aromatherapy Course, Aura Cacia Company Footnotes: [1] www.auracacia.com [2] The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, Julia Lawless, Element Books Ltd, 1995 [3] http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/avicenna.htm [4] http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/history.asp [5] The Practice of Aromatherapy by Jean Valnet, MD [6] Nyam News, December Volumes 1 2, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, 2005 [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system [8] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15895251 Top of Form Bottom of Form

Essay --

At this point in time, seniors at Mira Costa feel trapped, as if they can't get out of Mira Costa and Manhattan Beach soon enough. Imagine being physically trapped in their city, surrounded by nothing but a big concrete wall holding them hostage. The Berlin Wall kept half a city hidden behind, what was known as, the iron curtain. The wall was â€Å"...a symbol of oppressive and divisive government, not only to the East Germans it contained, but to the rest of the world as well.†("Transitional Justice.") The people of Germany were separated from their jobs, their loved ones, and were forced to live under communist rule. Before the wall was built, the city was split, given no notice on Sunday, and â€Å"overnight brutally severed streets† (Heilbrunn) became known as ‘Stacheldrahtsonntag’, barbed wire Sunday. Shortly after, the creation of the concrete wall began. During the construction of the wall, there was outrage in West Berlin over the new barbed wire wall that ran through their city. There was outrage in East Berlin as well but it was quickly controlled by their secret police who made many arrests for any who did not want to follow the communist rule and spoke out about it. Unlike other walls built around the world to keep enemies out, this wall was designed by communists to keep people in. 11-13 feet high and was a total of 28 miles long the wall encircled East Berlin. Surrounded by â€Å"towers, guards, and dogs stood watch over a barren no man's land. A pipe, too large in diameter for a climber's grip, ran along the top of the wall.†(â€Å"Newseum:Berlin Wallâ₠¬ ) Aside from the wall construction, there was other damage to East Berlin, â€Å"Buildings...were demolished, and the wide open area became known as "no man's land" or the "death strip," wh... ... the concrete prison. Soon after the wall fell, most of the East Berlin cabinet resigned and the remaining member were removed. East Berlin and West Berlin were finally reunited and renamed, The Federal Republic of Germany. â€Å"The world watched the celebrations on television. After 28 years, the Berlin Wall had fallen.† ("NEWSEUM: Berlin Wall.") The people of East Germany finally saw the light on the other side of the wall, and escaped the concrete nightmare. Imagine, literally being trapped inside of your hometown, behind the iron curtain of communism. Thousands of people lived that way for twenty-eight years, forced to live unseen and unheard. Some were born directly in the East side and some died, never to see the curtain lift from them. Life in the 1980’s in America was guided by the truth of real life, which real life was taken away from those trapped in Berlin.

Reflective cycle Essay

I will reflect on an incident that occurred during my shift to develop positive attitude towards nursing informatics. In this reflection, I am going to use Gibbs (1988) Reflective cycle. This model is a recognized framework for my reflection. Gibbs (1988) consist of six stages to complete one cycle which is able to improve my nursing informatics and learning from the experience for better practice in future. The cycle starts with description of the situation, analysis of the feelings, evaluation of experience, analysis to make sense of experience, and conclusion of what else I could have done and also action plan to prepare if the situation arose again. However, Siviter (2004) explains that reflection is about gaining self confidence ,identify when to improve, learning from own mistakes and behavior, looking at other people perspectives, being self aware and improving the future by learning from the past. In my context with the patients, it is important that the nurse incorporates nursing informatics to improve health care delivery. However Hebda and Czar (2009) defines nursing informatics as the use of information and computer technology to support all aspects of nursing practice, including direct delivery of care ,administration, education and research. Nursing informatics involves the use of computer based information system which according to Stair and Reynolds (2008,pg 4) is defined as a set of interrelated components that collect ,manipulate, store and disseminate data and information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective. Description I had just reported from the four months maternity leave and during the shift changeover, I was informed by my colleagues of the new method of requesting for investigations online and that I was to see the team leader to take me through the process. I heard my colleagues discuss a lot on how the new system was consuming their time and since it had been made a hospital policy they had no choice than to adhere to it. This did not sound interesting to me as I did not even have computer literacy and wondered why the institution had changed the system. I shied off from seeking help from my team leader since I did not want to be embarrassed for not being a computer literate. I decided that I am going to use the old method and when I am asked,I will defend myself and say that I did not know about it. Unfortunately, the team leader did not realize that I had just reported from long leave and needed updates or maybe she waited for me to take an initiative to seek for updates from her as it always happens when one comes back from long leave which did not happen. During the doctor’s rounds, one of my patients had some request for investigations and because the phlebotomy rounds had already taken place, one of the doctors obtained the blood from the patient and left for me to charge and send it to the laboratory. I decided to give the health care assistant the specimen to take to the laboratory hoping that the laboratory technicians would charge it as they had always done before the introduction of the new system. During the exit round, the doctor inquired on the report and when I called the lab they said that I was supposed to check from the computer. Since I did not have any computer literacy, I pretended that I was checking but the doctor got impatient and decided to check by himself. On checking, the doctor found that the specimen was never charged and so could not access the report. On calling the laboratory technician, it was reported to the doctor that the specimen was discarded because it was assumed to be a reject since they had not found the details online. The doctor got so upset with me and insisted that I should explain to the patient what happened so that he could obtain more specimen. I got so confused because I didn’t have the exact words to tell to the patient. I then gathered courage and told the patient that the specimen obtained earlier was not enough for the investigations requested and that we needed to obtain more specimen.at first, the patient could not understand but after a second thought, she gave the consent and the specimen was obtained. This time round the doctor lost trust in me and decided to charge by himself and gave a health care assistant to take the specimen to the laboratory. Feelings On reflection of the incident, I felt so embarrassed because such things are not supposed to happen to a senior nurse who is supposed to be giving guidance to the junior nurses. I also felt irresponsible for not seeking help from my colleques on charging the patient’s specimen and that I had not taken the initiative to see the team leader to give me the updates that occurred while I was away. I felt empathetic for the patient and blamed myself for not taking the proper action. I also felt at my level I needed to have computer literacy because that is what hindered me from seeking help. The American Nurses Association (2007) states that the experienced nurse builds up on the competencies required for practitioners using basic computer skills to information regarding the patient and has to be proficient in her/his area of specialization. The doctors, and other nurses felt upset for my action. Evaluation Good points. After the incident, it made me think of how I would have handled the situation and how important computer & information literacy is to me and other healthcare practitioners. Selvasekaran (2008) defines computer literate health care provider as that who has basic understanding of the computer hardware, common types of software and different ways in which software application can be used in patient care environment. Association of college and research libraries (2002) defines information literacy as the ability to recognize when information is needed as well as the skills to find, evaluate and use needed information effectively. Bad points. It was a shame that my negligence of seeking information led to the waste of patient’s specimen leading to waste of time in obtaining the results. It also caused more pain to the patient since the patient needed to be pricked again and this added extra stressors to the patient who was already stressed by her illness. The other bad point is that the laboratory technician discarded patient’s specimen instead of calling the ward for it to be charged. Analysis I wondered why the institution had changed from the old system of requesting for investigations, I then remembered that earlier I had read from a book on the importance/benefits of nursing informatics in a healthcare setup which included: †¢Improved access to information. †¢Error reduction & improved communication. †¢Decreased redundancy on data entry. †¢Convenience. †¢Decreased time spent in medication administration & documentation †¢Increased time for client care †¢Facilitation of data collection for research †¢Improved record security †¢Improved quality of care and patient satisfaction (Hebda and Czar 2009 pg 37). I then realized that the old method did not have the above qualities and so the institution opted for the new system. In this case there was ignorance of seeking information due to lack of computer and information literacy. Maybe I would have given the sample to my colleagues who were well informed to charge. I also could have called the laboratory technician and inform that the specimen had not been charged. It is good that I finally learnt from my my mistake and that the second sample drawn was charged and results acquired. However, having no computer literacy & information literacy does not make my action acceptable. Conclusion. My reflection of this event explores how important nursing informatics is in a healthcare set up and that all the healthcare providers should have knowledge on nursing informatics. The whole issue was embarrassing and I felt that instead of just sending the specimen and assuming that the lab technicians will charge, I would have given it to my colleagues to charge or inform the laboratory technician that I was not able to charge the specimen & hence helping them to take an appropriate decision instead of discarding it. Also instead of shying off from seeking the information on the new system from the team leader, I would have gained a little knowledge from my colleagues on how to operate the computer and then boldly proceed to the team leader for more information. This showed that I was not wise enough. According to American Nurses Association (2007) wisdom occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems. Results from understanding and requires human effort. However, If I had availed myself for the information, this mess would not have happened. Action plan. In order to prevent the incident from happening again, it is important that when I come back from a long leave, I should take the initiative to seek for updates from my colleagues and also the team leader taking in account the sensitive issues like this one.I should also seek help from my colleagues of things that am not certain of so as to prevent unpleasant incidences from happening. The action I took after the incidence was to write an incident form so that others could learn from my mistake. I also sought the information on online investigation request from my colleagues and team leader and also enrolled in computer classes so that I could have enough knowledge on computer literacy since the information I got from my colleagues and team leader was so particular and only concerned requesting of investigations and obtaining reports.i also called laboratory technicians and informed them to always call the ward before discarding patients specimens. I have learnt that there can be many positive learning opportunities from the mistakes we make. Reflection can sometimes show your shortcomings and this can be an excuse not to reflect, but by taking negative incidences positively you can turn around & change yourself for the better. I am now computer and information literate. References: American Nurses Association. (2007). Scope and standards of nursing informatics practice.Washington: American Nurses. Association of College and Research Libraries. (2002). Information literacy competencestandards for higher education. Retrieved in November 18, 2002, fromhttp://www.ala.org/acrl/ilintro.html#ildef. Gibbs (1998). Learning by doing. A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further educatingunit. Oxford: Oxford polytechnic. Hebda, T., Czar, P. (2009). Handbook on informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals.(4th ed.) . Pearson: New Jersey. Selvasekaran, J. (2008). Essentials of computer for nurses. (2nd ed.). Mumbai: Jaypee brothers. Siviter, B. (2004). The student nurse handbook. Philadelphia: Baillere Tindall. Stair, R., Reynolds. (2008). Principles of information systems. (8th ed.).Boston: Thompsoncourse technology.

Avatar Based Marketing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 801 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/09/14 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? An online avatar is nothing but a representation of oneself in an online environment created so that the users can play the role of someone they wish to be or are inspired from. This basically allows users to live a second life online-a life which they have desired to lead. In this online world everything is created virtually by the avatars to replicate or even better the real world. There are acres of land, buildings and items which are sold and bought. There are even social groups and events taking place in this virtual world. The avatar is the most conspicuous online manifestation of people’s desire to try out alternative identities or project some private aspect of them. This experience of living through an alternative self is the most powerful thought in the virtual world. These more than a million â€Å"residents† are potentially a dream marketing venue for the marketers which are waiting to be explored and targeted. Using the online world’s own currency ‘Linden Dollars’ which is available at the virtual ATM’s, which is convertible to â€Å"real† money, marketers are targeting these â€Å"residents†. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Avatar Based Marketing" essay for you Create order But the question that is troubling the marketers is to whom will the marketing efforts target? Will it target the real life humans playing online avatar based games or will it target the avatars directly? As the real world human controls the real world wallet. But as has s are been seen the avatars represent a distinctly different consumer, one which is able to influence its creators purchase of real world products and also make it own real world purchases in the virtual world. A few examples of Selling to Avatars and in turn selling to Their Creators are: 1. Coke Studios is a teen oriented virtual world run by Coca-Cola in which users avatars interact and accumulate points through primarily music related activities. These points are used to buy furniture and accessories for your own studios. 2. â€Å"Second Life† residents run businesses that sell virtual products and services priced in Linden Dollars which are convertible to real life currency on various internet exchanges. 3. Wells Fargo bank operates a virtual world called Stagecoach Island, designed to educate teens about money matters through games and social activities. Avatar based virtual games online are a big hit with the people. Though often charged a monthly subscription to get the full experience of buying assets or selling virtual items that you have made, the operators or many of these virtual worlds recently have allowed people to join and explore these worlds for free. Though in most worlds avatars do not eat, sleep or use the bathroom. New emerging trends include being in serious relationships, adopting avatar children, to leading to real life marriages and even nasty disputes over property rights The Linden dollars earned while playing can then be exchanged for real world cash on various internet exchanges. Some avatar entrepreneurs, most notably fashion designers and land speculators have been so successful that their creators have quit real life jobs to focus on their virtual world business. Linden Lab says that more than 3000 people earn real world money from their second life business averaging $20000 a year while a few even generate six figure incomes in real world dollars. The growing overlap of virtual worlds and the real world suggests opportunities for creative real world marketers. There have been only a few instances of real world items being sold in the virtual world. In the Sims Online, McDonald’s installed virtual fast food kiosks, complete with automated employees working at the counter and able to serve up virtual burgers and fries to residents who made their selection from a clickable menu Levi’s have sold virtual jeans pricing them at a premium to the generic virtual jeans that avatars otherwise could purchase. While Nike sold virtual shoes that allowed wearers to run faster than other avatars. Organizations like Kellogg’s have also sponsored branded events in virtual world whereas in a non commercial sponsorship the American Cancer Society staged its ‘Relay for Life’ event in the virtual world. Despite pitfalls like technology constraints and also strong resistance to real world advertisements still exists in the virtual world. The importance of realization that each virtual world has a different culture and a marketer should understand a virtual world before he can target the avatars and their creators is to be done. There is also consumer concern regarding the privacy of the avatar data which poses serious challenges. But clearly this is a virtually unexplored marketing territory where a new set of consumers can be targeted. Finally, marketers should understand that as the realms of the real and the virtual worlds blur so does the need for newer strategizing emerges for being successful in the Virtual-World, the Second-Life of one and all.