Hot Topics in Nursing

1.  Rise in Home Care- The rise in home care stems from the increasing age of the baby boomers. Most of the time home health care serves as a preliminary stage to nursing homes. It gives the elderly as well as the disabled the comfort of being in their own home. Furthermore, home care is considerably cheaper than a nursing home. Although, cheaper for the client, it comes with a price for the nurses. In this department of care, nurses are under paid for what they do. This is a major issue in the whole nursing discipline. Lastly, I find this interesting because everyone thinks that nurses get paid a reasonable amount of money, but in fact, it is just the opposite. Nursing is not an easy job. It takes alot of work to take care of others not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically.

2. Nurse's role in "Assisted Suicide"- This topic has and will always be a hot topic in nursing because of the morals and ethics that come into play. When dealing with morals and ethics it stirs up alot of controversy of what is right and wrong. As part of a nurse's job, they are there to help the patient and their family cope with the end of life situations. Also, it is their job to inform and educate the patient so that he or she can make the best decision for themselves. Consequently, some patients are not willing to continue fighting because they have been through years of treatments. Moreover, a nurse has to put their morals and values aside to respect the wishes of their clients. Assisted suicide is an interesting topic because it is a very touchy subject and people have strong emotions about it. Although, I have my own feelings on the topic, I know that I have to respect the patient wishes. All I can do is inform them of their options and hope they make the decision that will make them the happiest.

3. Increase in the use of restraints and sedatives in elderly care- This is an obviously cause for concern because some nurses are abusing their power and not delivering great care. It is a bad reflection on the nursing field. There is a select number of nurses who partake in these activities, but it should not be generalized that all nurses do that. I think this is why it is such a hot topic because it is a misconception of most nurses. Also, it is a hot topic because if you look at the definition of what a nurse does and what characteristics they should possess, this goes against everything they are defined to be. Furthermore, these practices need to be caught and come to an end. Lastly, I find this topic interesting because I do not understand why this is happening. It takes a special person to be a nurse. In addition, those who are restraining and sedating the elderly should not be a nurse. And we all know that they cannot be doing it for the money, so I am not sure what possess these people to take up this profession.