The Athletes With Autism Center Of North Mississippi ( Acnm )

Our first speaker for SW 325 The Helping Professional in Health Settings class was Sharon Boudreaux. Sharon has a Master of Arts in Teaching of special education. She focused on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for teaching children with autism and other forms of developmental setbacks. Sharon is currently the Director of Education Outreach at the Autism Center of North Mississippi (ACNM). The ACNM, which Sharon helped in creating and growing, provides educational and behavioral services to families and schools to help support children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, learning difficulties, and challenging behaviors. The ACNM offers a multitude of services. Such services may include parent counseling, skill assessments, ABA therapy, services for schools, and parent and teacher training. Autism is a disorder that I seem to hear more about every day. I hear about it on the television news, in news articles online, and even personal blogs that I read. It seems that e veryone has some knowledge of autism and most people know someone personally that it affects. As far as my own personal knowledge and experience of the disorder, I learned it at camp. I have volunteered many years for at Camp Tik-A-Witha. This camp provides a week long session for children with special needs (mental and physical handicaps) called Elizabeth Gwin Session. While volunteering at camp, I have seen children with blindness, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, and autism. Each child with

The Theory Of Self Thinking - 935 Words

Till death, humans face the uncertainty to their actions every day but through free will, mankind is able to hypothesize on the metaphysics of the choices made and if they are determined by factors that are not of human control. Conceptual thinkers that practice Philosophy, the study of conscious thinking and deducting from experience, and metaphysics, the study of existence, beliefs, and reality outside a human perception, can bring to light some of life s most complex questions per perceiver. Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, brought to attention that every experience has the potential to be manipulated by an external influence through various accumulated practices of knowledge, which is most effective assuming the human subject is not aware to the method of influence. The practices of these influences include methods of persuasion that appeal to emotional, ethical, and logical aspects pertaining to his/her attributes. Aristotle gave name to these factors as Pathos (persuasion through emotion), Ethos (persuasion through ethics), and logos (persuasion through logic). These concepts suggest that the subject is able to control but is also vulnerable to manipulation. The deeper the experiencer questions and configures the realities and illusions of the perceived world, the more realistic it seems to have the possible existence of both scenarios. These are ideas that have the potential for different opinions and views by each percipient; for it is highly unlikely for twoShow MoreRelatedReflective Thinking And Schon s Theory Of Self Study2371 Words   |  10 Pagesteacher educators agreed to travel an unknown path together, using self-study to walk through doors of discovery about themselves, each other, and the practice of teacher education. Self-study holds great, yet largely unrealized, potential to help teacher educators better understand and impact their practice. Owing its roots to Dewey’s (1938) theory of reflective thinking and Schà ¶n’s (1983) concept of â€Å"reflection in action,† self-study, though growing respect in the education community as a mechanismRead MoreMetaphysical Studies Of The Self And Personal Identity1395 Words   |  6 PagesMetaphysical studies of the self and personal identity were near non-existent prior to Renà © Descartes’ â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy†. While â€Å"Meditations† was not written with the main focus on personal identity, Descartes makes assertions regarding the subject through the possessive voice. Most of the assertions regarding personal identity materialize in Mediations two and six. By using â€Å"I† in his essay, his epistemological paper is turned into a paper that also concerns self, consciousness, and identityRead MoreSpiritual Formation1595 Words   |  7 Pagescollection of theories. The theories I will refer to include Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, and Kohlberg’s Development of Moral Reasoning Theory. In Piaget’s Theory of Cogniti ve Development, he develops a theory of cognitive development that occurs in stages from persons under two years of age through age 14. Piaget’s theory relates to the cognitive development of a human person. In Erik Ericksons Theory of Psychosocial Development, Erikson describes a theory consistingRead MoreThe Six Stages Of Critical Thinking947 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction We will be discussing the six stages of critical thinking presented by Paul and Elder. We will be exploring each stage to gain a better understanding of how each stage works towards becoming a better critical thinker. We will commence self observation of ourselves and see what stage we consider ourselves to be currently at. Finally, we will set a long term goal and generate a plan to obtain that goal of becoming a overall better critical thinker. Unreflective Thinker The unreflectiveRead MoreCounseling Model And The Abc Framework1496 Words   |  6 PagesCounseling Model Ellis initially illustrated the REBT theory counseling model with the ABC framework. The A component is the relationship between activating events. The B component is the client’s beliefs about A which cause C component. Furthermore, the B component is the client’s irrational beliefs about A. Next, C is the cognitive, emotional or behavioral consequences of the client’s beliefs and consequences of A. The framework has been expanded to include D, E, and F components. DisputingRead MoreEssay about The View of Self1177 Words   |  5 PagesThe View of Self The view of the self and the theory of personal identity are one of the most interesting topics in the world of philosophy. It attempts to answer the question as to what makes the person now the same person that existed a year (or any period of time) ago. The world is constantly evolving and becoming more technologically proficient; ones identity is becomingRead MoreAdolescence Is Dialectical Thinking, And Pragmatic Thinking Essay1366 Words   |  6 PagesThe ways of thinking Julian might have developed since adolescence is dialectical thinking, or reflective thinking. Also, the three other ways of thinking is dualistic thinking, relativistic thinking, and pragmatic thinking. Each of these different ways of thinking are news ways that are developed during the early adulthood stage of life. Dualistic thinking is normally during the younger stages of early adulthood in which a person relies on a authority figure to show them the directions between rightRead MoreAMN Theory : The Adaptation Model Of Nursing Theory707 Words   |  3 Pages Theory is based on the concept of thoughtful and rational explanation of the general nature of things (Harper, 2008). It presents a systematic approach of understanding, explaining or predicting events or situations of interrelated concepts by specifying relations among various variables. The application of theory in healthcare and research are of vital importance. Theory is the backbone of practice, planning and research. Any area related to healthcare and research involves thinking, most ofRead MoreEssay on Social Cognitive Theory1586 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Cognitive Theory Nowadays, many people both young and old tend to engage in health compromising behaviors. Some of which include: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, smoking, and the specific topic interest condom use, or maybe in this case condom non-use. From these particular behaviors a question poses: Why do people engage in health compromising behaviors? There are in fact many theories or processes that can give explanations to this particular question. One theory that can be relatedRead MorePersonal Statement : Personal Identity1267 Words   |  6 PagesIdentity Many ancient philosophers were fascinated with the idea of the personal identity. This is often referred to as the â€Å"self†. The â€Å"self† is considered to be something that is not physical, therefore the search to discover the â€Å"self† is not concrete. With the â€Å"self† being something that has no physical element, many philosophers have different opinions on what the â€Å"self† is and how it functions. â€Å"Someone s personal identity in this sense consists of those features she takes to â€Å"define her as

Effective Approaches in Leadership & Management Free Sample

Question: Describe the comparison and contrast on leadership and management styles for nurse shortage and nurse turnover. Answer: Introduction Nursing staffs turnover and retention has become an alarming issue in the preset health care context. Around 90% of the employee turnover is recorded in the nursing sector in all health care organizations. However, the retention rates of the nurses in the health care organizations can be increased with the help of effective leadership skills and management strategies. The essay here focuses on the use of the skills for management of the persistent problem of nurse shortages in health care. Comparison and contrast on leadership and management styles for nurse shortage and nurse turnover According to the 2010 US census Bureau report, 40.3 million people are currently over the age of 65 years and the population is forecasted to become nearly double by the end of 2030 thus the increasing rate of nursing staffs turnover will make it difficult for the health care institutions to provide the necessary quality service to the clients. According to Verma et al. (2009) some of the major reasons for the shortage of the nursing staffs are namely increased demand because of aging population, better career options, low salary and high work pressure and workplace health challenges. Nevidjon Erickson (2000) opined that retention of nurses depends on the managerial skills of the nursing leaders and the way they value the nurses within the health care organizations. The nursing leaders should essentially use the caring attitude in order to show that they value their staffs. Rather than viewing the staffs as an expense, the nursing leaders should treat the nurses as assets in order t o boost their morale value and increase the chances of retention. Chase (2010) further opined that designing of the appropriate motivational strategies would further help in retention of the nurses. The reduction of the work pressure, designing of health care policies and salary structure increment are the major factors that will contribute to the satisfaction levels of the nurses thereby provoking them to avoid job shifts. Thus, it requires the nursing leaders to be good motivators. Buchan Aiken (2008) further added that the adoption of shared leadership or participatory leadership skills would help the nursing leaders to promote an environment of quality patient care, autonomy and responsible decision-making. The nursing leaders should also use appropriate supervisory skills for on-the-job training of the nurses so that they develop good working knowledge of the job and develop a sense of interest for the job. Apart from the nursing leaders, the front line nurse managers are also responsible for retention and appropriate recruitment of the nursing staffs. Graham-Dickerson et al. (2013) comments that the nursing manager needs to develop essential critical thinking skills in order to effectively manage the nursing staffs within a health care organization. With the help of effective educational skills in the field of human resource management, financial management, quality management and collective bargaining, skills the managers will be able to manage the staffs. However, the most important managerial skill that is required to solve the problems of nursing shortages is the self- efficacy skills. The nurse managers should firstly understand themselves and then evaluate the psychological needs of the nurse staffs. It is the responsibility of the nurse managers to identify the best practices related to retention of care workers. Surveys shows, that around 84% of the nurse retention occurs due t o their high levels of dissatisfaction with the nurse manager. Theories related to leadership and managerial skills According to Huber (2014) there is a difference between leadership theories and styles. Theories depict the practicality and styles are the preferred ways in which the individual can implement the theory. Analysis of the nursing leaders shows that the leaders should have the necessary leadership skills namely patient-centered care skills, good networking skills, optimistic and situational leadership skills and self-actualization or self-acceptance skills. Transformational versus Transactional leadership Transactional leadership skills require the leader to manage the day-to day activities of the team with the help of disciplinary rules and codes. However, Zori Morrison (2009) argued that the use of transformational leadership skills gives the individuals within a team an opportunity to develop individual leadership power. In the context of nursing, the leaders should effectively adopt the transformational leadership style and allocate certain aspects of the projects to the various nurses according to their areas of expertise. Barnett et al. (2010) opined that this would make the nurses feel that they are valuable assets for the organization and will develop their career prospects thereby reducing the rate of nurse turnovers. Adoption of transactional leadership in nursing context will make the leaders focus exclusively on the rules and regulations within the health care organization thereby limiting the growth of the nurses. On the contrary, the transformational leadership will hel p the nursing leaders to enhance the motivational approaches. Moreover, in the context of the rapidly changing health care environment it is necessary to adopt transformational leadership in order to instill flexibility within the thoughts and actions of the nurse leaders. Mentorship skills versus Laissez-Faire skills Laissez Faire also known as the hands-off style of leading is the type of leadership style where the leader gives freedom to the team members to work on their own free will without providing any guidance on the work. These nurse leaders believe in providing minimal amount of direction to the nurses. However, Nevidjon Erickson (2000) commented that hands-off style is not suitable in the context of management of nursing staffs since the nurses are related to the health care professions. Around 90% of the nurses appointed within the health care organizations are fresher in the field hence absence of suitable guidance may not only create a sense of disinterest among the employees nut also threaten the quality of service provided by the nurses. On the contrary, Medland Stern (2009) argued that the adoption of the supervisory or mentorship skills by the nursing leaders helps the leaders to not only motivate the nurses but also deliver high quality service to the health care clients. Situational leadership style and open communication Balogh-Robinson (2012) opined that nursing leaders are essentially required to demonstrate situational leadership skills in order to take appropriate decision related to diverse health care situations. The nurse leaders are also required to demonstrate open communication skills that will give the nurses an opportunity to communicate freely about their problems, experiences and work load pressures with the leaders. Open communication fosters the growth of the interpersonal relationship between the nursing staffs and the nurse leaders. Situational leadership style enables the nurse leaders to focus on improvement of the complex situations like nursing roasters, management of complex cases and motivating the nurses in order to continue with their career trend. Evaluation of the best-fit approach In the context of nursing leadership, the best-fit approach is the adoption of the transformational leadership style. The transformational nursing leaders have the opportunity to deal with the changing situations in a health care. Medland Stern (2009) opined that the nursing leaders should possess the qualities of self-dependence, self-assurance, confidence and lead by example. By adopting the transformational leadership, the leaders will have the opportunity to develop the morale of the individual nurses and design the required motivational techniques in order to acquire their job satisfaction levels. The transformational leadership also reduces the level of risks on the part of the nursing leaders and introduces a sense of responsibility among the employees and the team members. Thus, adoption of this leadership style integrates a sense of better outcome for the patients since the quality of the service is further enhanced. Conclusion The analysis within the essay shows that the adoption of the transformational leadership style by the nursing leaders can effectively solve the retention issues of the nursing staffs. The front line management in the health care organizations are thus required to focus on the HR policies, health policies and motivational factors in order to retain the nursing staffs within the organizations. Reference list Balogh-Robinson, L. L. (2012). The crisis in leadership in the context of the nursing shortage and the increasing prevalence of nursing unions.Journal of Healthcare Leadership,4, 127-139. Barnett, T., Namasivayam, P., Narudin, D. A. A. (2010). A critical review of the nursing shortage in Malaysia.International nursing review,57(1), 32-39. Buchan, J., Aiken, L. (2008). Solving nursing shortages: a common priority.Journal of clinical nursing,17(24), 3262-3268. Chase, L. K. (2010). Nurse manager competencies. Graham-Dickerson, P., Houser, J., Thomas, E., Casper, C., ErkenBrack, L., Wenzel, M., Siegrist, M. (2013). The Value of Staff Nurse Involvement in Decision Making.Journal of Nursing Administration,43(5), 286-292. Huber, D. (2014).Leadership and nursing care management(5th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Saunders Elsevier. ISBN-13:9781455740710 Medland, J., Stern, M. (2009). Coaching as a successful strategy for advancing new manager competency and performance. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 25(3), 141-147 Nevidjon, B., Erickson, J. I. (2000). The nursing shortage: solutions for the short and long term.Online Journal of Issues in Nursing,6(1), 4-4. Verma, S., Broers, T., Paterson, M., Schroder, C., Medves, J. M., Morrison, C. (2009). Core competencies: the next generation. Comparison of a common framework for multiple professions. Journal of Allied Health, 38(1), 47-53 Zori, S., Morrison, B. (2009). Critical thinking in nurse managers.Nursing Economics,27(2), 75-80.

The Art of Asking Questions

THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS After completing my first feature-length article, I received a mini-lesson on the art of asking questions in your writing to keep the reader’s interest. In order to be effective and engaging, each paragraph should begin and end with a question – not literally, of course – a sort of literary catapult that moves the reader, and the writing, forward. For example, take this sentence: When I arrived at my guest house, a special turndown present of olive oils, vinegars, and recipes nestled in my down pillows. It was signed by Chef Jean Lauzeral. Now, these are solid sentences. They are grammatically correct and portray complete thoughts. They have subjects, verbs, and periods at the end. But are they engaging? Do they conjure up a question or a motivation in the reader’s mind? Not really. A better opening would be: Chef Jean Lauzeral’s gifts a signature keepsake to all of La Via Notte’s visitors – and it’s not served with dinner. When I arrived at my guest house, I discovered a special turndown present: Nestled in my down pillows was a ribbon-wrapped gift of olive oils, vinegars, and recipes. See the difference? Instead of flat out stating what happened (â€Å"When I arrived at my guest house †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), there is an added element of suspense. The reader must question: What is the chef’s special gift? Why doesn’t it come with dinner? The reader doesn’t solve the mystery until late in the second sentence, when they discover that the gift is a basket of oils, vinegars, and recipes. Notice that these sentences seem to be more descriptive – adding details like â€Å"signature keepsake,† â€Å"nestled,† and â€Å"ribbon-wrapped† help vamp up the sentence. Adding these details and elements of mystery help propel the story along, piquing the interest of the reader. Let’s try another example. Weak: Steeped in the wine country traditions of France and Italy, LaVia Notte offers unpretentious American cuisine that embraces organic ingredients from the farmers in Napa Valley and Northern California, while beautifully complementing the varied bounty of the local vintners. And at La Via Notte Ranch, wine is king. Better: But despite his rich menu and generous spirit, it is not Chef Lauzeral that reigns supreme at La Via Notte’s Lakehouse. It is wine that is king. While certainly more of an art than a science, good copywriting should always try to engage the reader by offering them tidbits of information, essentially leading them to read on. Think of it like that old horse-and-carrot trick.