Student Survival Guide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Student Survival Guide - Essay Example As a result, a student must learn how to manage and find information with little time and energy spent on the search and which produces a maximum return on their efforts. To use a simple word picture, in the classroom, the information is a pool, or a small lake from which to draw. In the workplace, the river of information is always moving, and attempts to put up a dam in order to measure and quantify the amounts of water simply will not be successful. A student must learn to paddle the boat, and gather information from the moving stream all at the same time. While internet searches have become less arcane over the past few years, a student cannot expect to find everything he or she needs from a Google.com search or a stop at Wikipedeia.com. A student should find and subscribe to a few favorite online libraries and databases which will provide depth of information. Two of my favorite online libraries are www.questia.com and www.highbeam.com. These online libraries contain scholarly journals, complete book transcripts as well as newspapers and magazine articles. These web sites can often provide all the background and research materials for the successful internet enabled student. Unfortunately, with the availability of electronic versions of data, the temptation to copy and paste information, and thereby plagiarize another's work is strong. The mass amounts of data which are available, and the time crunch under which today's students must produce results create the perfect envelope in which to commit intellectual robbery, and pull someone else's ideas. In order to maintain intellectual honesty, and uphold academic standards of integrity, the student should take this mantra as his own personal guide. "If the idea is not mine, I should cite the source." By applying this standard, the student can steer his boat around the whirlpools, rocks and rapids which will quickly capsize his boat should he begin to copy others work and call it his own. Material which comes from another's published works, whether taken in summary, or repeated word for word - if the material contains an idea from another person's published work, it must be cited as such. Developing Effective Study Skills Effective study skills in the online learning environment are somewhat different from those which a student needs in the traditional classroom. In the traditional classroom, many elements co-exist as part of the learning process. These elements go beyond simply inhaling information and exhaling assignments and tests. In the traditional classroom, a learning community already exists. The learners are able to draw encouragement, inspiration, and fellowship from one another. In the traditional classroom, one person can set the pace somewhat unconsciously, a level to which other students are drawn toward as they set their own goals. In the online learning environment, the students are individualized and compartmentalized. The online community still can, and must exist in order to create an effective learning environment. However, the students must seek out that community, and become a part of electronic tools such as chat rooms, group discussions, and list serve email digests in order to form the e-learning community. If the student only reads lessons and turns in assignments, he or she will be missing

Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly - Essay Example Under Treatment of Pain in the Elderly Roy and Thomas (1986) conducted a survey regarding chronic pain in the elderly. They conducted their study on 132 participants who were either residents of the nursing home or were attending hospital programs. They found that 83% of the patients stated that they, most of the time, suffered from pain which mainly was due to damage in connective tissue. 84% of the participants who reported pain were using analgesics and 16% were not receiving any kind of treatment at all. The participants reported that they had been feeling pain for many years. Researchers found that majority of participants reported low levels of pain accompanied with depression, and none of the participants was being treated for depression. According to the researchers, â€Å"there may be an inclination to underestimate the prevalence and intensity of pain in the elderly† (p.513). Bernabei et al. (1998) studied the treatment of pain and pain management in the elderly patients who were suffering from cancer and were admitted in nursing homes. Theirs was a retrospective, cross-sectional study conducted in 1492 nursing homes located in 5 different states. The population size was 13625 and the participants were 65 years and older. They found that among the total population size, 4003 patients were those who reported daily, regular pain 16% of whom were receiving a WHO level 1 drug, 32% were receiving a WHO level 2 drug, and 26% were those who were being treated with morphine only (p.1880). They also found that as the age grew older, the opportunities for pain treatment became fewer so much so that the patients who were over 85 years did not even receive an analgesic dose. Their study concluded that â€Å"Daily pain is prevalent among nursing home residents with cancer and is often untreated, particularly among older and minority patients† (p.1877). Ahmad and Goucke (2002) conducted their research on the treatment of neuropathic pain in the elderly and pain management strategies. Accor ding to them, neuropathic pain is the hardest to identify and manage in the elderly without inflicting any adverse effects on them, and this leads to its undertreatment. They state that it is important to incorporate non-drug pain management options in the treatment process to reduce the adverse effects that medication inflicts on the elderly. These options may include psychotherapies, exercises, improved life style, and environmental modification. According to them, combined strategies and mixed treatments can prove to be more helpful in treating pain in the elderly. Gagliese and Melzack (1997) also support the fact that the older adults usually receive inadequate pain management. They state there can be three reasons for this: â€Å"lack of proper pain assessment; potential risks of pharmacotherapy in the elderly; and, misconceptions regarding both the efficacy of non-pharmacological pain management strategies and the attitudes of the elderly towards such treatments† (p.3). Supporting the fact that pain treatment becomes less likely because the elderly do not express their pain, there is a research by Manfredi et al. (2002) who studied assessment of pain through facial expressions in the elderly suffering from dementia. They evaluated 9 patients who had â€Å"decubitus ulcers associated with reports of pain during dressing changes†