Reasons behind Nursing as Career Choice Dissertation

Reasons behind Nursing as Career Choice - Dissertation Example From this dissertation it is clear that recruiting general nurses, especially in the United States and Europe, has undergone considerable decline over the years. Such possible loss of entrants to the profession of nursing, along with the increased rates of attrition, has brought about issues among stakeholders such as occurrences wherein the supply of nurses is insufficient for meeting health demands. The increasing life expectancy along with the rising number of patients who are experiencing acute and chronic health conditions emphasize the need for an increase in nursing staff members. However, certain issues have been identified in human resources. According to reports, there have been challenges in nurse recruitment and the filling up of nursing positions at hospitals. For instance, in 2000, there was a shortage of an estimate of 110,700 registered nurses as reported by the Ministry of Health in the US. In addition, it was reported by Buerhaus, Staiger, and Auerbach that the shor tfall of registered nurses in the country is likely to reach up to 500,000 by the year 2025. Other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, have experienced nurse shortages as well. Numerous studies, such as that of Grainger and Bolan have explored the significance of recruiting nursing students as well as the need to address the issues that come with such procedure. Therefore, it has been asserted that a more thorough and organised procedure for selection can help recruit motivated students and reduce the possibilities for nursing students to not continue with a nursing career. For effective recruitment to be carried out, there is a need to look into the reasons as to why individuals prefer nursing as their career; furthermore, the factors that influence such reasons should be identified as well (Brodie et al., 2004). Such information can not only provide guidance to the content recruitment campaigns and improve their reliability; knowing such reasons may also have a positive impact on the rates of attrition from nursing programs which can consequently present implications for workforce planning (Seago et al., 2006). It has appeared that the society and the media have had significant influence on individuals selecting nursing as their career choice as well as on the recruitment of students to the nursing profession. A number of studies have suggested that applicants have been interested in the positive reputation of a nursing career (Rheaume, Woodside, Gautreau, and Di Tommaso, 2003). On

Water pollution prevention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Water pollution prevention - Research Paper Example For a sustainable life on planet earth, water is one of the most important indispensable commodity without which survival of human life and all the other life forms is not possible. It affects our economy, health and lifestyle.The major utilization of this resource is in industries such as agriculture, hydroelectric power generation, transportation, industry along with domestic and commercial uses. Major portions of the earth’s surface are covered with water in the form of oceans and ice caps and therefore difficult to recover; however, only 3% of these water bodies (rivers, lakes) constitute fresh water available for human consumption. Also rainwater is a major source of our water supply on earth. Water pollution has become a global environmental issue due to rapid industrialization, population boom, increased economic activities and demand for fresh water has increased manifolds in the past years. Any detrimental variation (physical, chemical or biological) in the state of w ater by contamination of harmful substances is known as water pollution (Goel1). It influences all the water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and ground water. It affects human beings, plants, animals, birds and fish etc. and is responsible for disturbing the natural ecosystem on earth. There are several sources for water contamination however; there are two primary routes through which these contaminants enter surface water, ground water, drinking water and soil/sediment water. (a) Point source pollution. The discharge of distinct pollutant sources directly into water bodies and aquatic systems (USEPA 14). For example: 1. Domestic/Municipal sewage: The waste water generated from household/commercial activities contains organic (food waste) and inorganic waste (nitrates and phosphates) (WWF 2). The amount of organic waste that water bodies can degrade is determined in terms of Biological oxygen demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen required by the microorganisms to decompose organ ic matter and thus the higher amount of BOD in a water body signifies that it is polluted with organic waste. However, inorganic wastes produced largely by soaps and detergents are non-degradable and upon entering the water bodies causes serious implications on ecosystem. 2. Industrial effluents: Waste water containing organic pollutants and toxic chemicals (lead, mercury, nitrates and phosphates) from manufacturing and processing industries causes water pollution. Also, disposal of solid and gaseous wastes from nuclear and thermal power plants are a source of water pollution (Agarwal 37). 3. Agriculture: Agricultural wastes include manure, slurries and run off. Manure being rich in nitrates and phosphates seeps in the sediments/ground water causing water pollution. 4. Atmospheric gases: As a result of industrial gaseous emissions and automobile exhaust the concentration of dissolved gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur dioxide, ammonia and carbon dioxide is increased sufficientl y in atmosphere. Subsequently, the water in close proximity to these polluted areas becomes concentrated with these gases resulting in water pollution (Agarwal 39). (b) Non-point source pollution (NPS): Contaminants entering indirectly into water bodies through ground/soil water or atmosphere through rain comprise of NPS. These include gaseous emissions from factories, automobiles, agricultural run-off etc. (USEPA 13). Agricultural NPS is the leading source of water quality degradation and is majorly caused by runoff soils carrying fertilizers, growth hormone residue, pesticides and heavy metals etc. Other sources of water pollution include spillage of oil and harmful substances in water bodies, atmospheric deposition, marine dumping, radioactive wastes and global warming. All of these have devastating and extensive damage effects on aquatic life (Agarwal 37). Harmful effects of water pollution are: 1. Source of contaminants/pathogens to human beings: According to UN world water Ass essment Program, around 2.3