Services for Community Healthcare

Services for Community Healthcare Introduction (2000-3000) Essential services Community pharmacies provide various services to their customers every day. These services include essential services such as dispensing medicines, dispensing appliances, repeat dispensing, clinical governance, signposting, promotion of healthy lifestyle, disposal of unwanted medicines and support for self-care. These services are delivered by all pharmacies as part of the NHS pharmacy contract.[1] Advanced services There are four advanced services that can be delivered by the community pharmacies if they meet the criteria set up in the contract. These services include Medicines Use Reviews (MUR), New Medicines Service (NMS), Appliance Use Reviews (AUR) and Stoma Appliance Customisation (SAC).[2] Most customers visit pharmacies in order to receive essential services. Customer’s perspectives on community pharmacies can be based around other factors as well as the quality of service they received from their pharmacist. Therefore customer’s perception of community pharmacies is of extreme importance as they deliver various services to patients on daily basis. Each pharmacist has a duty of care to their patients. Pharmacists are easily accessible and highly trusted in the communities. Their responsibilities include dispensing medicines as well as providing pharmaceutical care. They can increase patient’s participation in their own care by educating them about their disease, explaining the importance of adherence and increasing awareness of the most common side effects.[3] They can counsel patients about drugs such as appropriate drug usage, administration, dosage, side effects, storage and drug–drug and drug–food interactions.[4] Pharmaceutical Care Pharmaceutical care is described as the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definitive outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life.[5] Later a new definition emerged in which pharmaceutical care was described as â€Å"A practice in which the practitioner takes responsibility for the patients’ drug related needs and is held accountable for this commitment†[6] Many people are prescribed multiple and long term medication. Pharmaceutical care includes collecting information, assessing information, setting appropriate objectives, selecting appropriate therapy and monitoring the effectiveness of therapy and educating patients on medicine use. All steps need the involvement of patient from collecting information to the selection of therapy and implementing that therapy for the benefit of the patient. Today’s pharmacist needs to make patients the centre of their attention. Pharmacists can maximise the therapeutic benefit to the patient by using a multidisciplinary approach such as consultation with other healthcare professionals and the patients themselves. Pharmacists can play a fundamental role in the overall patient experience as they are a critical source of drug knowledge in community, hospitals and industry. Different roles are played by the pharmacists throughout the world such as some prepare and supply medicines whilst others share their expertise and knowledge with healthcare professionals and patients and work in medicines information teams.[7] Social change through health promotion campaigns, media and internet has led to increased risk awareness amongst the public and therefore there is an increase in demand for their questions to be answered and their issues to be taken up by healthcare professionals. Pharmacists are at the forefront of this interaction and they must lead as a model to others and develop confidence amongst their patients by appropriately dealing with their concerns. They can do this by keeping themselves up to date with the latest developments in the pharmaceutical industry. The media plays a key role in influencing public opinion regarding the quality of treatment and the variety of different drugs used to treat disease. Pharmacists should ensure that they are fully aware of such topics and can thoroughly answer any issues raised in their pharmacy. A good example of this is the advice that the pharmacists can offer to their patients in regards to their smoking habits. They can play a proactive role in identifying the fact that they smoke and then tailoring them to the appropriate smoking cessation schemes. This will improve the quality of pharmaceutical services, instilling confidence in the patient with the fact that pharmacist is an effective point of call. In recent years, provision of pharmacy services has shifted more towards pharmaceutical care along with medicine supply.[8] Although some personal and social barriers exist in pharmacist-patient communication[9] but the involvement of patients in their own care is helping to eliminate these barriers.[10] The quality of pharmaceutical care depends on the ability of the pharmacist. An outcome of the therapy can be improved if regular interactions are maintained between the pharmacist and the patient.[11] Many studies have shown that patients feel they benefit more if they maintain a regular contact with the pharmacist and they consider pharmacist to be an important source of information for medicines and minor ailments.[12][13][14] The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a valuable contribution to the recognition of the importance of a pharmacist’s role worldwide, especially in quality assurance and the safe and effective administration of drugs.[15] WHO along with International Pharmaceutical Federation proposed a seven star pharmacist concept, which requires future pharmacists to possess specific knowledge, attitude, skills and behaviour.[16] In addition WHO recommends 1 pharmacist per 2000 population to ensure optimum benefit to the society from efficient provision of pharmaceutical services. Each pharmacist should be held accountable for the cost, quality and results of pharmaceutical care provided to the patients. Also they should be involved in decisions about health policies.[17] Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) Pharmacists can play a vital role in healthcare by preventing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by overdosing, medication errors and non-adherence. ADRs include any undesirable outcome that can be attributed to the action of a drug. ADRs can cause various problems such as: the driving of further complications in existing disease, delaying the cure of a disease, mimicking other disease states. As a consequence this result in ineffective treatment as the drug induced problem goes unrecognised. Thus, causing patients to lose confidence in their pharmacist and the overall quality of their treatment. This demonstrates that ADRs are a driving force behind additional problems e.g 6.5% of hospital admissions are due to drug therapy problems.[18] 10% of patients admitted to acute hospitals experienced an adverse drug reaction. Half of these were considered preventable.[19] 14.7% of hospital in-patients are as a consequence of ADRs. ADRs are also a significant cause of morbidity thus increasing the length of stay of patients by an average of 0.25 days/patient per admission episode. The drugs most frequently associated with ADRs are diuretics, opioid analgesics, anticoagulants and NSAID’s.[20] These four drug groups account for 50% of all drug related admissions. As an example ADRs caused by NSAID’s account for 12,000 bleeding ulcers/year leading to 2,000 deaths/year.[21] Pharmacist’s Significance One of the very important aspects of this profession involves every professional working to their full potential to provide the best possible care and service to their customers. However, if a pharmacist does not provide the optimum attention and care to their patients then it can bring down the reputation and the effectiveness of the profession. Pharmacists are of utmost importance in ensuring that their attitude towards this side of the practice is as critical as ensuring the clinical and legal correctness of a prescription. This can not only correct the mistakes made while dispensing but ensure a significant benefit to the patient’s health from the therapy utilised to benefit the patient. A lack of consideration towards this aspect of the practice is harmful to the patient and the NHS as it will prolong the time required to manage and cure the conditions under treatment. Quality of services delivered by community pharmacies is mostly assessed by patient’s opinion and customer satisfaction surveys which are carried out as an integral component of the essential services through clinical governance.[22] The responsibility of ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines lies with the pharmacists whether it is community or hospital pharmacy. Pharmacists can fulfil this responsibility by counselling patients about their conditions and medications.[23] Precise role of the community pharmacist is defined by General Pharmaceutical Counsel (GPHC) and other professional pharmaceutical associations.[24] Public Perception of Community Pharmacist Public view of pharmacists is not that of healthcare advisors thus limiting pharmacist’s role and restricting them in providing beneficial services to the public. There is a need to educate public about the role a pharmacist could play in providing advice and guidance in minor ailments and pharmacists being the first line of approach when faced with a health related issue. Consumers who approach pharmacists are those who have previous experience of receiving help from pharmacists to treat minor ailments. Even then they don’t use pharmacists as first point of contact they normally tend to research and self-diagnose before seeking help from a healthcare professional such as a pharmacist. Thus this limits the role a pharmacist could play in giving advice and helping customers.[25] Patient-pharmacist interaction is an essential tool to discovering better strategies and methods that could be employed in everyday practice to make the service better and more useful. This can be done by asking for opinions from the patients about the services that they have received while attending a pharmacy. These can be used to evaluate the need for a new intervention and improve the quality of current services.[26] Also these observations can form a guideline when implementing improved strategies and referred to when measuring an improvement in the quality of service.[27] Customer Satisfaction Satisfaction has been defined as â€Å"the health care recipient’s reaction to salient aspects of his or her service experience† by Cleary and McNeil.[28] A study has defined customer satisfaction as an emotional response which relates to expectations and develops after consumption experience.[29] Throughout the world many studies have been conducted in to the role of the pharmacist and patient satisfaction from the community pharmacies. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] A study in Qatar reported that public does not understand the role of community pharmacists as healthcare provider. [41] However, people in Maltese and Portuguese understand community pharmacist’s roles as a healthcare provider. [42] Public in Saudi Arabia appreciated pharmacists role and did approach them for advice. [43] Most Australians feel that pharmacist do not explain medication use properly. [44] Japanese customers would like direct communication with pharmacist and convenient opening hours. [45] A study in Canada reported high levels of customer satisfaction from the services provided by community pharmacies.[46] Hargie et al conducted a study in UK in 1992 to measure consumer perceptions and attitudes to community pharmacy services. They found that 32% of people considered pharmacists as business orientated, 26% considered pharmacists as health orientated and 42% considered them as both health and business. [47] Community pharmacies were highly rated in US by the pub lic in a survey in 1997. [48] A study by Larson et al. (2002) into patient satisfaction found that customers were more satisfied with the friendly approach by the staff than the pharmaceutical care by the pharmacists. [49] Another study by Cerulli (2002) reported that customers had a positive impression of community pharmacists and a foundation of customer-pharmacist relationship had been established. [50] The US national pharmacy consumer survey in 2002 reported high satisfaction with pharmacy services. [51] Most reports suggest that customers are satisfied with the pharmacist as drug experts and the services provided by community pharmacies. However some aspects can be improved such as the privacy, confidentiality and unequal treatment of customers.[52] This study can provide important information about patient’s perception of community pharmacies and the changes required to improve quality of performance. [1] http://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/essential-services/ [2] http://psnc.org.uk/services-commissioning/essential-services/ [3] Bluml BM. Definition of medication therapy management: development of professionwide consensus. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2005;45:566–572 [4] Hà ¤mmerlein A., Griese N., Schulz M. Survey of drug-related problems identified by community pharmacies. Ann Pharmacother. 2007;41(11):1825–1832. [PubMed] [5] Hepler C.D., Strand L.M.: Am. J. Hosp. Pharm. 47, 533 (1990). [6] Strand L.M.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 37, 474, (1997) [7]Gilbert L.: Curr. Sociol.49, 97 (2001). [8]. Kotecki J.E.: J. Commun. Health, 27, 291 (2002). Worley M.M. Schommer J.C., Brown L.M., Hadsall R.S., Ranelli P.L., Stratton T.P., Uden D.L.: Res. Social Adm. Pharm. 3, 47 (2007). [9]Paluck E.C., Green LW, Frankish CJ, Fielding DW, Haverkamp B: Eval. Health Prof. 26, 380 (2003). [10]Tio J., LaCaze A., Cottrell N.: Pharm. World Sci. 29, 73 (2007) [11]Nau D.P., Ried L.D., Lipowski E.E., Kimberlin C., Pendergast J., Spivey-Miller S.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 40, 36 (2000). [12]Tio J., LaCaze A., Cottrell N.: Pharm. World Sci. 29, 73 (2007). [13] [14]. Nau D.P., Ried L.D., Lipowski E.E., Kimberlin C., Pendergast J., Spivey-Miller S.: J. Am. Pharm. Assoc. 40, 36 (2000). [15] Dunlop J.A., Shaw J.P.: Pharm. World Sci. 24, 224 (2002). [16]Zammit D.: Pharm. J. 271, 468 (2003). [17]Khan, R.A., Pharmacy education and healthcare.Dawn, Pakistan, June 29 (2007). [18]Pirmohamed et al, British Medical Journal2004; 329: 15-19 [19]Vincent C et al, British Medical Journal2001; 322: 517-519 (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com) [20](Davies EC et al PLoS ONE 2009; 4(2): e4439) [21](Davies EC et al PLoS ONE 2009; 4(2): e4439) [22] Ried LD, Wang F, Young H, Awiphan R. Patients’ satisfaction and their perception of the pharmacist. J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash) 1999;39(6):835–842. [PubMed] [23] Hepler CD, Strand LM. Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1990;47:533–543. [PubMed] [24] FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation. URL: http://www.fip.org/community_pharmacy . [15 April 2014]. [25] Advice provided in British community pharmacies: what people want and what they get. Hassell K1, Noyce P, Rogers A, Harris J, Wilkinson J. [26] Kucukarslan S.N., Nadkarni A. Evaluating medication-related services in a hospital setting using the disconfirmation of expectations model of satisfaction. Res Social Dam Pharm. 2008;4(1):12–22. [PubMed] [27] Iqbal Z, Jalees AF, Khar Roop Krishen KR, Sushama T. Pharmacist as an Indispensable Part of Health Care System: A Survey, Outcome and Reflections. Indian J. Pharm. Educ. Res. 42(1), Jan- Mar, 2008:78–83. [28] Cleary PD, McNeil BJ. Patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality care. Inquiry. 1988;25(1):25-36. [PubMed] [29] Oparah A.C., Kikanme L.C. Consumer satisfaction with community pharmacies in Warri. Nigeria. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2006;2(4):499–511. [PubMed] [30] Wirth F., Tabone F., Azzopardi L.M., Gauci M., Zarb-Adami M., Serracino-Inglott A. Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research. 2010;1:189–194. [31] Cavaco A.M., Dias J.P., Bates I.P. Consumers’ perceptions of community pharmacy in Portugal: a qualitative exploratory study. Pharm World Sci. 2005;27(1):54–60. [PubMed] [32] Bawazir S.A. Consumer attitudes towards community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pharm Pract. 2004;12:83–89. [33] Oritz M, Liden D, Thomas R, Morgan G, Morland R. The impact of professional services on pharmacy patronage: findings of a pharmacy practice foundation survey (Part 6) Aust J Pharm 1987; 68: 207–14. [34] Farris K.B., Stenton S.B., Samnani M., Samycia D. How satisfied are your patients? Can Pharm J. 2000;10:32–36. [35] Kamei M., Teshima K., Fukushima N., Nakamura T. Investigation of patients’ demand for community pharmacies: Relationship between pharmacy services and patient satisfaction. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2001;121(3):215–220. [PubMed] [36] Hargie O., Morrow N., Woodman C. Consumer perceptions of and attitudes to community pharmacy services. Pharm J. 1992;249:988–991. [37] Briesacher B., Corey R. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at independent and chain pharmacies. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1997;54:531–536. [PubMed] [38] Larson L.N., Rovers J.P., MacKeigan L.D. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care: Update of a validated instrument. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:44–50. [PubMed] [39] Cerulli J. Patients’ perceptions of independent community pharmacists. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:279–282. [PubMed] [40] Stergachis A., Maine L.L., Brown L. The 2001 national pharmacy consumer survey. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:568–576. [PubMed] [41] El Hajj M.S., Salem S., Mansoor H. Public’s attitudes towards community pharmacy in Qatar: a pilot study. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2011;5:405–422. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [42] Wirth F., Tabone F., Azzopardi L.M., Gauci M., Zarb-Adami M., Serracino-Inglott A. Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research. 2010;1:189–194. [43] Bawazir S.A. Consumer attitudes towards community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pharm Pract. 2004;12:83–89. [44] Oritz M, Liden D, Thomas R, Morgan G, Morland R. The impact of professional services on pharmacy patronage: findings of a pharmacy practice foundation survey (Part 6) Aust J Pharm 1987; 68: 207–14. [45] Farris K.B., Stenton S.B., Samnani M., Samycia D. How satisfied are your patients? Can Pharm J. 2000;10:32–36. [46] Kamei M., Teshima K., Fukushima N., Nakamura T. Investigation of patients’ demand for community pharmacies: Relationship between pharmacy services and patient satisfaction. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2001;121(3):215–220. [PubMed] [47] Hargie O., Morrow N., Woodman C. Consumer perceptions of and attitudes to community pharmacy services. Pharm J. 1992;249:988–991. [48] Briesacher B., Corey R. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at independent and chain pharmacies. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1997;54:531–536. [PubMed] [49] Larson L.N., Rovers J.P., MacKeigan L.D. Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care: Update of a validated instrument. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:44–50. [PubMed] [50] Cerulli J. Patients’ perceptions of independent community pharmacists. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:279–282. [PubMed] [51] Stergachis A., Maine L.L., Brown L. The 2001 national pharmacy consumer survey. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2002;42:568–576. [PubMed] [52] The Contribution of Community Pharmacy to Improving the Public’s Health (Anderson, Blenkinsopp Armstrong, Pharmacy Health Link, 2009) http://www.pharmacyhealthlink.org.uk/?q=evidence_base_reports>; [accessed 18.04.14].

The Important Internet Properties In Marketing Information Technology Essay

The Important Internet Properties In Marketing Information Technology Essay According to the research, 530 million users are connecting to the internet which is about 8.5% of global population. Today we see most of the company use the internet to reach their customer as additional channel to their existing traditional marketing. In the past, a way for the company to get customer feedback is thru telephone and email. But now they can get their customer feedback thru internet instantly. Thus company nowadays must change their strategies to cope with internet impact on their marketing strategies. Internet is all about bits not atoms, all the information, products, and communication in digital can be stored, sent and received instantly. For marketer, the traditional marketing to reach customer by using physical stores and catalogue while using internet advertising will be more effective. Task Automation also one of the internet properties that affect marketing. For example, self service online that makes automated transaction and payment online possible also make operational cost lower for the company. Internet also had bought with it the mediating technology. Social network, music file sharing and business partnership can be formed regardless of geographical location. Its also has eliminate the boundaries and distance in this online world. And finally, time moderation is where customer have high expectation to the company on communication aspect. Customer want their problem and issues be solved quickly and there come customer services department in the company to deal with it. What concerns about consumer privacy are raised by the increased use of wireless computing and handheld devices outside the home or workplace? The rapid used of wireless network technology outside the home and wokplace has resulted in increase concern over their privacy. Consumer now can access the wireless website and service through various device such as mobile phone, smart phone, PDA and their two way radio. The common privacy concerns are location-base collection, tracking visit to website and increased of personal data collection by unauthorized party. There are potential uses of location based information by unauthorized party in wireless space. This is because consumer specific location can be tracked whenever the consumer wireless device is on. This information is extremely sensitive and can be used and provides opportunities for abuse of the information. Another privacy concern is tracking using cookie as consumer browsing patterns on the wireless internet being monitored and traced by individual. Wireless device tend to be strongly tied to an individual more than computer as people are less likely shared their device with other so there is potential user being tracked in wireless web more than normal website. Wireless content is frequently most valuable to customer when it is personalized. Businesses may seek to collect large amount of highly personal information for used in personalization. Abuse by companies, law enforcement agency and civil litigant are potential abuser of this information. How will social media and consumer-generated content change the way marketers operate? Explain Social media and consumer-generated content such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Wikipedia etc has changed the marketing world to certain extend. They represent low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. Nowadays marketer need to change their method from trying to sell to connect with customer. In order to change the customer relationships from trying to sell to seeking to engage and connect with customers, marketers need to use various methods, including sites like Facebook and Twitter to socially interact with their customer. Marketers have to realise that instead of only relying on big campaigns they have to make authentic, helpful relationships and communication the new campaign. They need to utilize the social media platform as their personal broadcasting network because people will inevitably share such experiences through the social web. Its will be online mouth-to mouth advertising campaign for marketers. Social media also allows marketers to build their own exclusive online communities built around industry topics, specific interest, or organizations. Through this exclusive community ability they can manage their customer within their own sales data. In turn, allowing marketer to message their entire community as owner of the community. It is observed that the global Internet has driven styles, tastes and products to converge and create a more homogeneous, global marketplace, and creating an online monoculture. Explain the observation. From my point of view, the observation is about global village where worlds culture shrinking and expanding at the same time due to pervasive technological advances i.e. internet that allow for instantaneous sharing of culture. On the Internet, physical distance is even less to the real-time communicative activities of people, and therefore social spheres are greatly expanded by the openness of the web and the ease at which people can search for online communities and interact with others that share the same interests and concerns. Due to the enhanced speed of communication online and the ability of people to read about, spread, and react to global news very rapidly. This is because the internet bridges time and space, people will come together in a large global village. Internet is now days one of those platform where one can have any necessity of life at home while he/ she is sitting in front of the computer. Everybody will find business owners from the world who are running their business from their home having a room and a personal computer. Concept of business is now days progressing rapidly among the business communities. The products offered by business owners are not limited only to the specific regions but internet has opened the doors of global village for every business owners.

Homosexuality: Equal Rights For All Essay examples -- Sexual Issues

INTRODUCTION Human beings are born with a nature to judge the things around them in one way or another. We complain, murmur and gossip about what is not normal or even normal in our sight. Yet, we struggle to see how others think about us and always fail look at ourselves first before judging and criticizing others. The measures of normality, intelligence, beauty and peculiarity are very subjective and we as humans are the inventors of these yardsticks. Yet, repeatedly we think that the principles of our measurement are perfect but we as mortal beings are not anywhere near perfect. Thus, is our yardstick and measurement truly perfect? The question that we are to ask ourselves is â€Å"Who are we to judge?† Homosexuality is the disposition to seek sensory pleasure through physical contact with people of one’s own sex in preference to contact with others of the opposite sex (Dover, 1997). Being alongside heterosexuality and bisexuality in the sexual orientation continuum, homosexuality only makes up a minority group of people. However, we are unsure of this because everyone has â€Å"skeletons in their closets† and might face confusion or uncertainties regarding their own sexuality. Homosexuals includes gays (man seeking man), lesbians (woman seeking woman), bisexuals (one who seeks both man and woman) as well as transgender (one who modifies his/her physical appearance to reflect the opposite sex). Transvestites are people who dress according to the opposite sex and this practice is also known as cross-dressing. Transsexuals are individuals who go under the knife to have a sex change operation in order for them to live fully as a member of the opposite sex. Facing pressur e from the society, families and friends, this group of people figh... ...Although everyone walks on the same land and shares the same air, some people just forbid others from having the same freedom as them. Thinking that they are protecting the community and their future generations, they ignore the rights of others and disregard those who go against them. We therefore believe that every human being despite their sexual orientation should enjoy every freedom and practice their rights given as humans without any restriction, hesitation or exception. Works Cited Dover, K. J. (1997). Greek Homosexuality. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press . Esplen, E., & Jolly, S. (2006). Gender and Sex - A sample of definitions. BRIDGE- Gender and Development, 1. Mio, J., Barker-Hackett, L., & Tumambing, J. (2009). Multicultural Psychology: Understanding Our Diverse Communities (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved April 23, 2012 Homosexuality: Equal Rights For All Essay examples -- Sexual Issues INTRODUCTION Human beings are born with a nature to judge the things around them in one way or another. We complain, murmur and gossip about what is not normal or even normal in our sight. Yet, we struggle to see how others think about us and always fail look at ourselves first before judging and criticizing others. The measures of normality, intelligence, beauty and peculiarity are very subjective and we as humans are the inventors of these yardsticks. Yet, repeatedly we think that the principles of our measurement are perfect but we as mortal beings are not anywhere near perfect. Thus, is our yardstick and measurement truly perfect? The question that we are to ask ourselves is â€Å"Who are we to judge?† Homosexuality is the disposition to seek sensory pleasure through physical contact with people of one’s own sex in preference to contact with others of the opposite sex (Dover, 1997). Being alongside heterosexuality and bisexuality in the sexual orientation continuum, homosexuality only makes up a minority group of people. However, we are unsure of this because everyone has â€Å"skeletons in their closets† and might face confusion or uncertainties regarding their own sexuality. Homosexuals includes gays (man seeking man), lesbians (woman seeking woman), bisexuals (one who seeks both man and woman) as well as transgender (one who modifies his/her physical appearance to reflect the opposite sex). Transvestites are people who dress according to the opposite sex and this practice is also known as cross-dressing. Transsexuals are individuals who go under the knife to have a sex change operation in order for them to live fully as a member of the opposite sex. Facing pressur e from the society, families and friends, this group of people figh... ...Although everyone walks on the same land and shares the same air, some people just forbid others from having the same freedom as them. Thinking that they are protecting the community and their future generations, they ignore the rights of others and disregard those who go against them. We therefore believe that every human being despite their sexual orientation should enjoy every freedom and practice their rights given as humans without any restriction, hesitation or exception. Works Cited Dover, K. J. (1997). Greek Homosexuality. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press . Esplen, E., & Jolly, S. (2006). Gender and Sex - A sample of definitions. BRIDGE- Gender and Development, 1. Mio, J., Barker-Hackett, L., & Tumambing, J. (2009). Multicultural Psychology: Understanding Our Diverse Communities (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved April 23, 2012

Therapy Session Experience Review Essay -- Family Therapy, Family Coun

Our first session with the Smith family was very informative. The first 20 minutes of the session were the most noteworthy because of our effectiveness joining with the family and the depth of information we gained. This achievement is due, in part, to having all four of the Smith’s participate in the session. Pinsof (as cited in Sprenkle, Davis, & Lebow, 2014) believes that having the entire family involved in the therapy sessions from the beginning gives the therapist a clearer understanding of the system and â€Å"a more accurate understanding of the problem maintenance structure† (p.39). As the Smith family entered the therapy room, Regina’s tension was evident before the session officially began. As they were about to sit down, she quickly moved between George and Rob. During the session, I observed George making faces, rolling his eyes, and whisper comments to Rob. Rob would respond by making jokes about hurting George or threatening physical gestures; pu nching his fist into the palm of his other hand or moving a finger across his throat in a slashing motion. Afterward Rob would smile at Theresa and me and shrug his shoulders but George would act as though he hadn’t participated in the exchange. Regina and Kevin did not acknowledge George's behavior but would sigh or frown at Rob’s. This interaction would not have been observed if the entire family hadn’t attended. The session began with a brief introduction of everyone in the room which was followed by an ice breaker activity. During a previous classroom demonstration, markers were used as an ice breaker with a young family (D. Baker, personal communication, March 18, 2014). It was a simple action that created a connection so I adopted the practice. According to Patterson, ... ...: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guildford Press. Patterson, J., Williams, L., Edwards, T. M., Chamow, L., Grauf-Grounds, C. (2009). Essential skills in family therapy (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Strengthening Families, (2014). Mormon.org. Retrieved from: http://www.mormon.org/values/family. Sprenkle, J., Davis, S. D., Lebow, J. L. (2009). Common factors in couple and family therapy: The overlooked foundation for effective practice. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Taibbi, R. (2007). Doing family therapy: Craft and creativity in clinical practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Walsh, F. (2008). Spirituality, healing, and resilience. In M. McGoldrick and K. V. Hardy (Ed.), Re-visioning family therapy: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice (2nd Ed.) (pp. 61-75). New York, NY: Guildford Press.

Songs For a Colored Singer by Elizabeth Bishop Essay -- Colored Singer

"Songs For a Colored Singer" by Elizabeth Bishop   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is a song but a poem set to music? Take away the music from a good song and the rhythm of the words will create its own musical sound. â€Å"Songs For a Colored Singer†, a poem written by Elizabeth Bishop, is a song without the music. Bishop’s use of repetitive rhymes creates the lyrical, song like, structure to her poem. The voice of the song belongs to a black woman who encounters adversity throughout the poem. The sum of the elements, a black woman singing about hard times, equal one distinct style of music, namely the blues. Bishop divides the poem into four parts. Through each part the poem, Bishop uncovers different aspects of the colored woman. What Bishop reveals is the difficult situations which face underprivileged black citizens in America. Bishop’s poem has similarities to a song by Billie Holiday, and is linked to a Langston Hughes poem. By using the voice of a colored singer, Bishop exposes the inequality of early twentieth century African-Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bishop examines the life of a colored domestic woman and portrays the difficult existence through song. Part one of the poem portrays a melancholy domestic who is having trouble with her man, a classic situation for the blues. The use of simple rhymes and syllable structure in the first stanza forecasts the lyrical tone of the poem. To create a sense of flow, the first and third stanzas have identical rhyme patterns, and the second and fourth stanzas also mirror each other. The use of the same line at the end of the second and fourth stanzas, â€Å"Le Roy, you’re earning too much money now,† (Part 1. Lines 13 & 26), distinguishes this poem as a song. Rarely are lines repeated in poems, but the use of repetition is essential in songs, because of the need for a chorus. Part one of the poem brings to light the inequality among race and class. Due to the economic conditions of African-Americans, they find themselves working as domestics for much wealthie r Caucasians. The singer expresses the difficulty working as a domestic, as she witnesses firsthand the inequalities of the classes, â€Å"none of these things I can see belong to me† (P1 L3-4), she continues to describe in detail the differences between the colored and the whites, â€Å"they got a lot of closet space; we got a suit case.† (P1, L7-8) The circumstances of the colored singer establish... ... Bishop says â€Å"curious [†¦] fruit† (P4, L23). Holiday’s popular song predates the release of Bishop’s poem by seven years, 1939 and 1946 respectively. Bishop’s poem seems to have an influence on a famous poem written by Langston Hughes, â€Å"Dream Deferred.† In Hughes’ poem he eludes to years of African-American anger festering like a fruit, then exploding. The similar themes connect Bishop’s poem to Hughes’. Both poems foretell an eruption of anger coming from the African-American community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bishop creates a poem which sounds similar to a song. The bluesy feel created by the structure along with the melancholy contents, form a perfect blues song. The poem chronicles the chaotic events of a colored domestic, who represents the plight of the African-American. Her helpless situation is a result of the vicious poverty cycle which traps African-American’s in permanent despair. Bishop ends the poem by forecasting an African-American uprising. Bishop believes African-American’s can only take so much, soon they will explode. Through Bishop’s use of simple rhymes, repetition of words and changing syllabic functions, this poem reads less like a typical poem, and more like a blues song. Songs For a Colored Singer by Elizabeth Bishop Essay -- Colored Singer "Songs For a Colored Singer" by Elizabeth Bishop   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is a song but a poem set to music? Take away the music from a good song and the rhythm of the words will create its own musical sound. â€Å"Songs For a Colored Singer†, a poem written by Elizabeth Bishop, is a song without the music. Bishop’s use of repetitive rhymes creates the lyrical, song like, structure to her poem. The voice of the song belongs to a black woman who encounters adversity throughout the poem. The sum of the elements, a black woman singing about hard times, equal one distinct style of music, namely the blues. Bishop divides the poem into four parts. Through each part the poem, Bishop uncovers different aspects of the colored woman. What Bishop reveals is the difficult situations which face underprivileged black citizens in America. Bishop’s poem has similarities to a song by Billie Holiday, and is linked to a Langston Hughes poem. By using the voice of a colored singer, Bishop exposes the inequality of early twentieth century African-Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bishop examines the life of a colored domestic woman and portrays the difficult existence through song. Part one of the poem portrays a melancholy domestic who is having trouble with her man, a classic situation for the blues. The use of simple rhymes and syllable structure in the first stanza forecasts the lyrical tone of the poem. To create a sense of flow, the first and third stanzas have identical rhyme patterns, and the second and fourth stanzas also mirror each other. The use of the same line at the end of the second and fourth stanzas, â€Å"Le Roy, you’re earning too much money now,† (Part 1. Lines 13 & 26), distinguishes this poem as a song. Rarely are lines repeated in poems, but the use of repetition is essential in songs, because of the need for a chorus. Part one of the poem brings to light the inequality among race and class. Due to the economic conditions of African-Americans, they find themselves working as domestics for much wealthie r Caucasians. The singer expresses the difficulty working as a domestic, as she witnesses firsthand the inequalities of the classes, â€Å"none of these things I can see belong to me† (P1 L3-4), she continues to describe in detail the differences between the colored and the whites, â€Å"they got a lot of closet space; we got a suit case.† (P1, L7-8) The circumstances of the colored singer establish... ... Bishop says â€Å"curious [†¦] fruit† (P4, L23). Holiday’s popular song predates the release of Bishop’s poem by seven years, 1939 and 1946 respectively. Bishop’s poem seems to have an influence on a famous poem written by Langston Hughes, â€Å"Dream Deferred.† In Hughes’ poem he eludes to years of African-American anger festering like a fruit, then exploding. The similar themes connect Bishop’s poem to Hughes’. Both poems foretell an eruption of anger coming from the African-American community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bishop creates a poem which sounds similar to a song. The bluesy feel created by the structure along with the melancholy contents, form a perfect blues song. The poem chronicles the chaotic events of a colored domestic, who represents the plight of the African-American. Her helpless situation is a result of the vicious poverty cycle which traps African-American’s in permanent despair. Bishop ends the poem by forecasting an African-American uprising. Bishop believes African-American’s can only take so much, soon they will explode. Through Bishop’s use of simple rhymes, repetition of words and changing syllabic functions, this poem reads less like a typical poem, and more like a blues song.

Characteristics and Statement

Peninsula Boulevard Hempstead, NY 1 1 550 Attention: Dry. Rodney Gilmore, Associate Superintendent for Personnel Services Dear Dry. Gilmore: I am Interested In applying for a Social Worker or Counselor position In your organization that was advertised on alas. Com. It Is my goal to utilize my experience and skills to create an environment both enjoyable and conducive to learning.I am passionate and enthusiastic about giving back to the community and to make a costive contribution to this school. As a school counselor or social worker, I will demonstrate passion for supporting the success of all the students, with emphasis on the populations who need It most. I would bring this passion to my role at your school and I look forward to working as a part of a team of service providers to ensure the success of our students.I would also provide diverse and specialized services to students, families and communities, in order to help students attain axiom benefits from the school program. St udents are the primary focus of the educational process. I could contribute knowledge and concern for the wide range of social, emotional, cultural and economic differences among children, families and communities.The current characteristics that I possess are as follows: Appropriate empathy skills – eventually able to be helpful In the situation or Issue Good listening skills ? screening situations to get to the heart of an Issue or complaint, while still extending compassion and support Ability to organize – case situations and identify and prioritize interventionsÃ'› identify and organize resources in relation to parental concerns Objectivity – do not personalize situations, allow clients to vent, then assess the situation or concern Clarifying central issues for the parent that may not be easily seen because of the anger, frustration or disappointment Interviewing skills Confidentially – being able to be confident, but able to help the clients The f ollowing heartsickness are necessary to be an effective helper: Genuineness Self-Awareness Acceptance Desire to help Patience Listening Communicating Giving Feedback Observing Confronting I am confident that my experience and skills will make me a valuable member of the Hempstead School District social work team. I have enclosed my resume, and will call much for your time and consideration

Soc/100 Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis Amy SOC/100 November 7, 2011 Robert Murray Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Media Analysis The show I chose is called The Big Bang Theory. The show is a comedy show themed around a group of nerdy scientists who are neighbors with a beautiful outgoing waitress. One of the nerds has a romantic interest in the neighbor but thinks he has no chance with her as she is out of his league. There is definite social inequality here as the nerds see themselves below the neighbor’s status in regards to relationships and finding love. Some scenes that apply to the social theme are when you see all the â€Å"nerds† at work it is clear that they are in the science field. There are microscopes, periodic tables, beakers, and math equations on chalk and dry erase boards. The â€Å"nerds† defiantly dress the part of the nerd. One wears thick black rimmed glasses, another is tall, skinny, and wears his t-shirts tucked into his pants. One of the nerds is from India and seems shy and does not talk to any female counterpart, or any other female for that matter. The last â€Å"nerd† has a bowl haircut and it seems he tries too hard to fit in with a crowd he will never fit into. He wears leopard silk pajamas to bed and has a bowl haircut. There is defiantly a leader of the group as the other nerds follow him around and he seems to do a bigger portion of the talking. The female neighbor is very confident in the way she walks and dresses at times a bit provocatively. When the neighbor is around the nerd with the glasses tends to get nervous and a bit looser in his posture. He almost seems to cower to her, almost as if to hide from her when she is in a room. He clearly adores her with the way he looks at her when she is around. He does talk to her however; she tends to dominate the conversations. He seems to enjoy being around her and talking to her even though he is very nervous. The female neighbor also surprisingly seems to enjoy talking to the nerd in the glasses as she isn’t as closed off to him as she is with the others. She looks at him when he talks to her and she isn’t crossing her arms or turning away from him. It seems though that they do not hang out socially outside of their apartment building except for the times the â€Å"nerds† eat at the restaurant the neighbor works at. In some of the situations I see the nerd with the glasses and the neighbor it leads me to believe that something romantic will happen eventually. I think when people look at relationships they tend to think each of the individuals as equals socially. Most people seem to think that couples come from the same social circles and it is not often you would see a young beautiful woman with a shy science nerd. The same goes for say an older man or woman with a younger person. Many people would say it’s inappropriate for older people to date those younger than them, while others think opposites attract. So when it comes to the science nerd and the beautiful neighbor I hope they get the chance to have a relationship with each other, maybe it will take them out of their norm and give them a chance to experience something new. Things would be pretty boring if we were all the same and people didn’t shake things up a bit!