Dental Hygiene and the safety of Fluoride Essay

Dental Hygiene and the safety of Fluoride - Essay Example The most interesting finding was that, with all variables taken into account, nurses with a bachelor’s degree corresponded to a 5% decrease in the likelihood of patient death and failure to rescue on the part of these nurses. Using this as a basis, it is evident that having bachelor prepared nurses is important in maintaining the health of patients. Sasichay-Akkadechanunt, Scalzi, & Jawad (2003) found similar results. This study examined data from 2531 patients in various surgical and ward units in one large hospital in Thailand. The patients were split into four major categories (disease of the heart, disease of the lung, all types of cancer and cerebrovascular diseases) and data was observationally taken from their charts, as well as information from the nursing staff. The results showed again that there was a decrease in in-hospital mortality with bachelor prepared nurses. It should be noted that using this technique means that many diseases are ignored by the study which m ay not benefit from nurse education at this level, but it seems suggestible from the research that it is. Primm (1987) compared the competency of AND prepared nurses to BSN prepared nurses. BSN qualifications take roughly twice the amount of time as an AND qualification. Although both lead to RN status, Primm found evidence to suggest that BSN prepared nurses had a higher competence rating in the majority of the five areas surveyed in the study. This gives further evidence that bachelor preparation may lead to better prepared nurses, although the evidence from one study should be carefully used when generalising as many programs can be different between areas. White, Coyne & Patel (2001) investigated all members of the Oncology Nursing Society to ascertain whether nurses felt adequately prepared for end-of-life care. All the respondents said that end-of-life care was an important aspect of their work life, and each of them had covered this area in their bachelor preparation. One asp ect that came up is that nurses felt that continuing education was very important, although only two respondents had covered end-of-life care in the previous two years. This suggests that, whilst bachelor prepared nurses are important and feel qualified, there could be more education provided for nurses during their career. It must be noted that the nurses here were only questioned on their participation in end-of-life care so we must be careful not to generalize these views without careful consideration. Further evidence that bachelor prepared nurses are useful in specialized situations is provided by Kardong-Edgren & Campinha-Bacote (2008). This paper examined four groups of nurses, each from different geographical areas, and surveyed the cultural sensitivity of those with an American BSN qualification. The study found that, because cultural sensitivity and awareness of beliefs is an important aspect of gaining the BSN qualification, nurses with the qualification were more highly prepared to deal with various groups of patients. This is important as it shows that nurses with bachelor preparation may be more able to create a comfortable environment for the patient which will lead to lower in-hospital death rates and a more pleasant experience for the patient. It is important to note that this is an important aspect of nursing that can be overlooked by the literature. Thornton (1997)