History Of The Original Lincoln Essay -- essays research papers fc

In 1858, there was a great struggle within the state of Illinois for a seat in the Senate. The well know Stephen A. Douglas, the favored candidate, was excepted to win. Abraham Lincoln was not a well known candidate. In a struggle for the possible position, Lincoln proposed that he and Douglas organize a series of debates, so that both men might â€Å"divide time, and address the same audiences during the same canvass.† Douglas accepted, and he feared that he had â€Å"everything to lose from a joint appearance, and yet to decline the challenge would have seemed unmanly in the West of the mid nineteenth century.† Douglas then purposed dates and places; Lincoln complained that Douglas would have four opening and closings speeches whereas he would have only three, he wrote â€Å"I accede, and thus close the arrangement.† The first of seven debates was on Saturday, August 21, 1858 at Ottawa, which started an important part of the history of the United States of Amer ica, the Lincoln-Douglas debates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ottawa debate set the format for the remaining six debates. Lincoln and Douglas agreed that the first speaker would speak for an hour, the second speaker for an hour and a half, and the first speaker again for half an hour. On August 21, excitement was in the air. The town’s population of over 7,000 doubled overnight. At 2:30 p.m. Douglas began speaking and the battle was on! The Little Giant, Douglas, displayed the art that marked him as the master â€Å"stump-speaker† of his day. He first criticized Lincoln’s background and political history. He talked about Black inferiority, and the social as well as political dangers of freeing Blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The highlight of his speech was the surprising argument he threw at Lincoln in the form of the Springfield Resolutions of 1854. Douglas quoted the radical â€Å"Codding† and declared that Lincoln joined with abolitionists Giddings, Chase, Fred Douglass, and â€Å"Parson† Lovejoy had constructed this platform for the new Black Republican Party of Illinois. Douglas became so engrossed in the speech he had to be reminded of his time limit. When Lincoln replied, he had no choice but to defend himself against the accusations. As Lincoln continued to debate, he displayed his ability as a rough-and-tumble debater, which had caused Douglas to say that he would have his hands full with Old Abe. He refute... ...ssures were driving North and South further apart. Both candidates were masters at selecting effective arguments from all the possibilities, making the most of the arguments they picked. And yet they were aware of what they said because they did not want to incriminate themselves. The debates marked a turning point for the nation. Within three years it would undergo a bloody test of its ideals. Its subsequent history would be a struggle to bring to fruition the decision reached on the field of battle. BIBLIOGRAPHY Angle, Paul, Created Equal? (The University of Chicago Press, 1958) Fehrenbacher, Don, Abraham Lincoln Speeches and Writings 1832-1858, (New York, Literary Classics of the United States, 1989) Heckman, Richard, Lincoln vs. Douglas, (Washington D.C., Public Affairs Press, 1967) Holzer, Harold, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1993) Jahannson, Robert, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, (New York, Oxford University Press, 1965) Sigelschiffer, Saul, The American Conscience the Drama of the Lincoln- Douglas Debates, (New York, Horizon Press, 1973) Zarefsky, David, Lincoln Douglas and Slavery, (University of Chicago, 1990)

Being Truly Human

WHAT MAKES MAN TRULY HUMAN? â€Å"What makes man truly human? † This question alone is very difficult to answer. Although I am a human being, being thrown a question like this makes me think otherwise if I am truly human. After given such question, sets of question started popping inside my head. Questions like, â€Å"who am I really? † â€Å"Would I be considered as fully human just because I was born in the figure of a human being? † â€Å"How do I become a truly human? † continue to linger on my mind.Let me start off by saying that human are the same as animals in terms of biological components. Like animals, we have a certain hunger to desire a certain object, be it achievement or whatsoever, for fulfillment and survival. We humans do rely on our instincts from time to time. However, are we the same as animals? Or are we far more than them? After much self-reflection, I come to the conclusion that we are better than animals. We are far more superior to them. Being human is being free. Free in a sense that no one would dictate me on what to do.As a human being, I have a mind of my own making myself superior to animals which rely purely on their instincts. I am not born in this world just to please others nor to make others feel inferior. I am capable of thinking, feeling, rationalizing, and making decisions for myself. I use these abilities to create a better me, to achieve a higher value to my life. However, being free also means that there are certain responsibilities that an individual has. I am in control of my life and liable for the consequences of the choices that I am about to make, may it be good or bad.Even though I said that being free means that I get to do the things that I would want to do, I did not intend to mean that I will be doing things that would harm my fellow neighbor. What I meant to say was that I would do the things that would benefit me and others as well. Living a good quality life is a way of becoming human. Human beings are capable of socializing with others. As the saying goes, no man is an island. One cannot live without the other. Humans need companions or other humans in order to survive.Humans are capable of loving, and so socializing with others would not be a difficult task. What makes man truly human is his capacity of understanding himself as a free and responsible being. Through these responsibilities, a human is able to understand that he/she lives with more concern towards others. Being and becoming human is a gift from our Almighty Creator. He bestowed upon us the ability to reason out and the so-called â€Å"free will†. Thus, becoming human is living a virtuous life, as proposed by Aristotle in his golden mean theory, or simply a balanced life.

Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership Essay

Nursing-sensitive indicators are defined by the American Nurses Association as indicators that â€Å"reflect the structure, process and outcomes of nursing care. The structure of nursing care is indicated by the supply of nursing staff, the skill level of the nursing staff, and the education/certification of nursing staff† (ANA, 2015). These indicators are outcomes that increase the quality and safety in patient care. Some indicators are patient falls, surgical complications such as infection and pulmonary failure, restraint prevalence, patient satisfaction, nurse satisfaction and staffing, complications such as urinary tract infections and pressure ulcers. The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) provides a guideline for nurses and nurse managers for direction in patient care and how to use patient acuity, patient needs, and referral indicators to provide good, safe, quality patient care. Nursing-sensitive indicators that could be identified as possible int erference with patient care in Mr. J’s case are his being drowsy from pain medications, his mild dementia diagnosis, his being restrained, and his cultural and religious values preferences. Mr. J is said to answer simple questions but with the diagnosis of mild dementia and the pain medication given, any information given by Mr. J may not be accurate. The nurses and staff should have recognized this immediately and gotten with a caregiver or family who knows Mr. J to ask healthcare questions so staff could establish care appropriately from that information. The reason the patient is being restrained is never revealed but patients should never be restrained to the bed. There are more useful and humane ways to monitor a patient who may be at risk for falls with mild dementia such as bed alarm/chair alarm or a sitter. The patient, admitted with a fractured hip and restrained to a bed, is at high risk for pressure ulcers. The CNA should be well educated on the need to turn patients and make sure pressure points are well monitored to prevent skin breakdown. The lack of cultural respect and understanding regarding Mr. J dietary requests as a retired Jewish rabbi are a nursing -sensitive indicator which can lead to patient dissatisfaction, maybe not realized by the patient with mild dementia but certainly by his daughter. The hospital acquiring data on the above indicators of pressure ulcer incidence, prevalence of restraints, patient and family satisfaction could go a long way to advance the quality of patient care throughout the hospital. This hospital is a 65-bed rural hospital but it is the job of every hospital to give the best patient care possible. With a pressure ulcer developing while in the hospital and Medicare not reimbursing for the cost of the care of that ulcer, it is important to make sure for the patients and the financial aspect that these do not happen. The care of a pressure ulcer can take many weeks and be very costly. The development of this in the hospital is uncalled for and does not bring patient satisfaction. I think too often hospitals forget they are treating not just their patients but their families as well. Evidence-based practice could be used to see what could have been done to prevent pressure ulcers, education for the staff on what signs to look for concerning pressu re ulcers as well as education on the laws and when it is appropriate to use restraints on patients. Care of the patient should always be on the individual needs and cultural practice of the patients. As the nursing shift supervisor, I see several issues that need to be addressed. I would first ask who restrained this patient and why they felt this was needed. Evidence-based practice shows us that restraints are usually more dangerous to the patient than not being restrained. Restraints are to be used only in an emergency. In our book it states, â€Å"Restraint of any kind is a form of imprisonment, and the reasonable and prudent nurse will closely adhere to all laws, rules, and policies pertaining to the use of restraints† (Cherry, 2008). Furthermore, restraint† (Cherry, 2008). Policy and procedure needs to be addressed hospital wide with education and clear instructions given to prevent this in the future. The supervisor should not have ignored the dietary error nor told her staff to â€Å"keep it quiet.† â€Å"Each culture has a value system that dictates behavior directly or indirectly by setting norms and teaching that those norms are right. Health beliefs and practices tend to reflect a culture’s value system. Nurses must understand the patient’s value system to foster health promotion (Cherry, 2008).† As nurses, we must recognize and respect the cultures and beliefs of our patients. This hospital may have a small population of Jewish residents but what hospital can afford to lose patients to a hospital 20 miles away? There needs to be education from administration down on how to value each culture and how we as healthcare members must understand the different values to promote health. Education on the ability of practicing the health beliefs and practices of each patient can and will help the patient get better. I think we get into the mind-set that we are healthcare providers and people have to come to us, they need us, but what some don’t understand is we are a business as well. We need to respect our patients and put our patients first. They can go somewhere else. Someone else out there wants their business, wants to show them what kind of quality care they can receive, and will show them just that. REFERENCES Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. (2008). CHAPTER 8 Legal Issues in Nursing and Health Care. In Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends & Management (5th ed., p. 185, p. 222). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier. Nursing-Sensitive Indicators. (2015, January 1). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/PatientSafetyQuality/Research-Measurement/The-National-Database/Nursing-Sensitive-Indicators_1.aspx