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MHA-614-Week-1-Healthcare-Research
MHA 614 Policy Formation & Leadership in Health Organizations
Research has a broad definition and often has completely different meanings depending on the group involved. According to Merriam-Webster, research is the careful and diligent search of a specific topic; it involves the collecting of information about a particular subject (“Research – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary”, n.d., p. 1). On a broad level, all researchers seek to further understand a specific subject-matter. However, the approach to research varies greatly throughout each community. Some researchers use evidence-based data, analyzing and drawing conclusions while others generate their own data through experimentation or mathematical theory. On a masters level, research is often based on statistical data used to validate a point the author is trying to express. One such example is the graph on page 31 of Harrington’s “Health Policy: Crisis and Reform in the U.S. Health Care Delivery System,” here the author provides an excerpt wherein the writer is attempting to validate their view that national health care will never work in the U.S. (Harrington & Estes, 2008, p. 31).
Health care research in the workplace setting is applicable as it provides a means to validate and define standards of care, legal requirements and health policy. Regulation of research is also a critical foundation that must be upheld to prevent abuse and ensure valid data. Shaw describes how research has increasingly become more regulated and formalized as governments have moved to protect the public and ensure more accurate data is produced (Shaw, n.d., 2005, p. 1). Although not currently working in a health care setting, I am a nursing student and will be working in a hospital environment. Health care research will have many applications in the hospital setting.
As it relates to standards of care, health care research significantly impacts how nurses and physicians perform their defined tasks and apply their scope of knowledge. Research enables improvement in treatment and often times completely changes the treatment for disease. My professor explains one such example of a change in treatment based on health care research. Previously, the standard treatment for gastroduodenal disease was often surgery to remove a portion of the lower stomach/duodenum which was thought to be defective. However, it has since been discovered that the root cause for this disease is the helicobacter pylori bacterium, anti-biotic medication will remove the bacterium and the symptoms associated with the disease will cease.
Second only to standards of care, health care research has a direct impact on health policy formation, not on in a hospital setting but in government legislation designed to protect patients and regulate the operations of medical facilities. Health policy formation by leadership must seek all relevant and validated research to ensure that decisions are fully vetted and all stakeholders and possible implications are considered before a final decision to implement or change health policy is made.
Health care managers work in an extremely complex work environment with many stakeholders. Health care leadership roles have to manage the care of patients while still ensuring the safety of staff and all while maintaining strict legal and ethical requirements and standards. Isaac explains that a health care manager cannot be fully prepared for a life-time career of health care management by an academic program alone. Managers must commit to further growth and professional development in the highly dynamic health care environment; this commitment requires health care research on an on-going basis (Isaac, 1995, p. 5). Therefore, leadership development must include a component of health care research. It is the fiduciary duty of health care leadership to stay informed of new legislation, new standards of care and be aware of new health epidemics.
Health care research is a critical component in designing professional development opportunities. As mentioned early, an academic program alone does not afford a healthcare manager the tools essential to have a successful career in health care management. Often times, health care leadership creates their own opportunities by combining both evidence based and a clinical based skill sets. This allows the combination of academic knowledge and clinical experience that can be utilized when developing health policy and managing standards of care.
Research is a requirement in any successful career endeavor. Beyond the academic requirements associated with most careers, there are certain skill sets that cannot be learned by reading and instead require hands-on experience. Furthermore, and more specifically in the health care arena, research is required by all staff. This research includes continuing education, medical seminars and recertification classes. Research is essential in health care.
References
Harrington, C., & Estes, C. L. (2008). Health Politics and Political Action. In Health policy: Crisis and reform in the U.S. health care delivery system (5th ed., pp. 1-13). Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Pub
Isaac, W. W. (1995). Managing in health care institutions: The issue of professional development for managers of a changing environment. Michigan State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 157-157 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304233110?accountid=32521. (304233110).
Research – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). In Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved January 21, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/research
Shaw, S., Boynton, P. M., & Greenhalgh, T. (2005). Research governance: Where did it come from, what does it mean? Royal Society of Medicine (Great Britain).Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 98(11), 496-502. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235016173?accountid=32521
Malcolm X and His Contribution to Islamic Religion
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Malcolm X and His Contribution to Islamic Religion
Malcolm X was a human right activist and Muslim minister of African-American origin. He was born in May 19, 1925 and was assassinated at the age of 40. Malcolm X was popularly known to many as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, the Islamic name given to him following his commitment to the fundamentals and Islamic ideologies (Sabrina 4). While growing up among the whites in Michigan, Malcolm X started developing mistrust for the white Americans following the believe that it was the white terrorist who murdered his father while he was six years (Turner 61-2). This incident marked the transformation of this little man as he turned to crime upon moving to Harlem. At the age of 20, Malcolm X was arrested and taken to prison for criminal offense (larceny, breaking, and entering). It was during his prison life that Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam; a movement founded by Wallece Fard in the 1930s (DeCaro 76). He rose to the ranks to become a leader in the Nation of Islam. He opted for the name X on the belief that he had lost his true lineage following forced slavery on his African ancestors. For years, Malcolm X featured as the public face of this controversial Islamic group that believed and worshipped Allah and also lived to Mohammed’s teachings. In protecting the Nation Islam’s teachings, Malcolm X strongly advocated for Black-White separation, scoffed at the American’s civil rights movement, and espoused black supremacy by emphasizing on white-black integration (Kly 77).
Following the mysterious disappearance of Fard, Elijah Muhammad ascended to the leadership of the movement. The Nation of Islam became very powerful and influential, especially among the African-Americans who had been released from prison and where in search of help and guidance (Turner 54). The group preached strict adherence to moral codes as well as relying on fellow African-Americans for guidance and support. The primary goal of this movement was not integration, but empowering the blacks to establish their own churches, support networks, and schools (DeCaro 85). After making his personal conversion to Muhammad, Malcolm X’s talents were recognized by Elijah, making to become the spokesperson of the Black Muslims. Having been disillusioned with Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X led repudiation to the Nation of Islam and its fundamental teachings (Sabrina 6-7). It was after this walkout that Malcolm X embraced Sunni Islam. Following years of Middle East and African travels, Malcolm founded the popular Organization of Afro-American Unity and the Muslim Mosque, Inc. upon his return to the U.S.
While emphasizing the concept of Pan-Africanism, black self-defense, and black self-determination, Malcolm X disavowed the then prevailing racism. It was his repudiation of the Nation of Islam that prompted his assassination by a three-member team from the Nation of Islam movement. Malcolm X significantly contributed to the growth and development of Islamic region in the U.S. and other parts of the world (DeCaro 98). Through his inspirational and eloquent prose style, he electrified urban audiences, thus, impacting on their religious choices. His contribution to the spread of Islamic religion was facilitated by the establishment of the Mecca pilgrimage in 1964, a place that has since attracted Muslim faithful (Kly 65-6). His mission in supporting the spread of Islam came to an end on February 21, 1965 when the rival Black Muslims group arranged for his gunning down while he was leading a mass Muslim rally in Harlem (Sabrina 9). Although Malcolm X is no more, his Islamic ideologies and philosophies lived to be embraced by the Black Power Movement and the rest of the Muslim followers globally.
Works Cited
DeCaro, Louis A. Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity. New York [u.a.: New York Univ. Press, 1998. Print.
Kly, Yussuf Naim, ed. The Black Book: The True Political Philosophy of Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz). Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2008.
HYPERLINK “http://www.google.co.ke/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22sabrina+zerar%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=4” Sabrina, Zerar. Malcolm X’s Ideology: From the Puritan/Nation-of-Islam Doctrine to Independence Rhetoric. GRIN Verlag, 2010.
Turner, Richard Brent. “Islam in the African-American Experience”. In Bobo, Jacqueline; Hudley, Cynthia; Michel, Claudine. The Black Studies Reader. New York: Routledge, 2004.
A Visit To NAAC Rehabilitation Centre
A Visit To NAAC Rehabilitation Centre
NAAC was the organization that I did visit in Hong Kong. NAAC is an organization that is nonprofit making and concentrates its efforts towards providing disabled individuals at all levels with quality services. The organization provides the disabled with a safe environment for them to live in that is comfortable. In addition to this, they provide disable patients with training on daily basis that polish their social skills. This assists them to become confident in their interaction with others in the society. NAAC also supports employment for the disabled (Estes, 2005). That is ensuring that there are equal opportunities for the disabled in the workplace. In accordance to this, the organization facilitates the inclusion of the disabled in activities such as packaging, baking cakes, and cashier work and waiters. This improves the skills of the disabled. The visit to NAAC made me understand the conditions of the disabled in Hong Kong and the various efforts in place to assist them overcome such challenges.
During the visit to NAAC in Hong Kong, I realized that there are many challenges that disabled individuals in Hong Kong face. The government of Hong Kong has been providing infrastructure facilities to the disabled, but they have not been on the large scale being successful. While they have enabled individuals with hearing problems to access the internet, the blind face the challenge of using the internet. Transport facilities in Hong Kong are also a problem for the disabled. Despite the efforts to have transport facilities that are friendly to the disabled, most of the transport infrastructure in Hong Kong does not support the movement of disabled. The other challenge that disabled persons from Hong Kong face is the challenge of acceptability by the society (Estes, 2005). The government of Hong Kong has a number of measures that aim at ensuring equal opportunities for the disabled, but there is evidence of marginalization of the disabled in Hong Kong.
The Challenges listed above are the reason that made me understand the importance of having an organization such as NAAC to provide the disabled with facilities that they have difficulty accessing in the public domain. The organization has a number of clubhouses. According to my understanding, the importance of the clubhouses was providing the disabled with a feeling of being at home rather than in an institution. The garden was available to members to plant their own flowers so that they gain positivity view of their life. In addition, the movement of the disabled with the institution is possible through various mechanisms in place to ensure that there are no obstructions. Such facilities include the stand for fine adjustments and anti-slippery mat.
Despite the efforts that the rehabilitation institution was making at trying to ensure a secure and comfortable environment for the disabled, there were problems within the organization. One of the problems that the disabled faced while in the institution according to my observation is the fact that they had to queue for about 3 to 10 years so that they can gain access into the facility. In accordance, parents of the disabled have to take care of their children before they can enter the rehabilitation center. Some parents are more than 60 years of age and have face difficulties in catering for the disabled. Despite this, they have to wait for many years before their children can gain access into the facility. This is discouraging in that the availability of the facility is an additional stress to the disabled while they are in waiting list.
Waiting for ten years to enter the rehabilitation center has various challenges for the disabled. However, my assessment established that disabled parents faced the biggest challenge. There are disabled parents that have to live with children that have a low IQ. Catering for themselves is challenging , and living with their mentally challenged children is a challenge to them. There is also the lack of government funding that challenges the ability of the organization to purchase state of the art facilities that will support their mission. The organizations that fund the institution are private corporations and donors that can provide the center with sufficient funding. Another observation was the lack of medical doctors in the rehabilitation center. This has the meaning that there is no one to deal with emergency cases or record the improvements of the patients.
Many persons of the world view the disabled differently from other individuals. They believe that such individuals have no feelings and cannot have the experiences of other individuals. My visit to NAAC proved to be useful in that it changed my perception of the disabled. During my visit, I had the privilege to listen to one of the members as he was sharing his experiences at the institution. He was muscle disorder patient and explained about his life at the rehabilitation center. He had challenges explaining himself, but his enthusiasm and positivity towards life articulated the things that he was communicating. According to him, he had a feeling that God had blessed him in various ways despite his physical state. This led to the realization that I should be grateful for all the things that I have regardless of the challenges that I might be facing in life.
The visit allowed me to experience the enthusiasm of the persons living with disabilities. It is true that the disability does limit their activities while making other difficult for them. However, the activities that they were able to participate they executed them with enthusiasm and a feeling that they can be the best. According the few that I did communicate to, their condition was a daily restriction on a number of issues, but they did not allow these limitations to guide their lives. Instead, they took charge of their lives and made decisions that would determine their future. Most engaged themselves in artwork that they executed in a professional manner. Their work was not different from those of other people. In fact, most of it was better that that persons that had no disabilities produced. This was a lesson to me that disability is not inability.
There is the need for the members of the society to realize that the disabled are in many ways similar to other members of the society. The disabled persons have their own dreams and they work hard to achieve them. The only difference is that they have limited resources to achieve these dreams. In accordance, it is the responsibility of the society to ensure that the disabled access such facilities. In addition, the society should indicate understanding towards them given that they have limited opportunities.
References
Estes, R. (2005). Social Development in Hong Kong. Oxford: Oxford University Press.