Life Expectancy, Race, Lay Beliefs, Patient Interaction Guide - Essay Example

Name: Institution: Date: Race A group of people are often identified, categorized or classified as race. Race is a description of affiliations of culture, religion, language, genetics, history and social life. While the term race appears obvious to everybody, different people have defined race in different ways, with scientists differing in the mentioned definition of race. While some prefer to use terms like ethnic groups, community or population, phenotypes believe that race is brought by the differing genetics among individuals. Others say that since we all originated from Homo sapiens race does not actually exist.Despite all these, my view is that race does not exist since we all originated from Adam and Eve. According to the bible there was nothing in the beginning. However, through the powers of the almighty God, land and sea were created.Adam, who was lonely and God saw the need to create him a companion named Eve, was actually created on the sixth day in the very imageof God. There are also various arguments based on colour difference, brought by weather variations.People living in areas with sunlight are argued to be darker than those living in cold areas. Scientistsfurther claim that people living in areas with more ultra violet radiations especially along the equator are darker. However those living in areas with low ultra violet radiations have a much lighter skin. Another contradicting line on the racial groupings is based on intermarriages. Children born with parents of different racial backgrounds sometimes miss the identification with specific races because of the way theylook hence one wouldquestion if the child belongs to the father or the mother. Different people came as explorers and settled in America.The red Indians and the Negros who were slaves from the African origin weresome group that settled there.The mixing of different groups brought different races, hence a reason enough for Americans not to practice racial discrimination especially given that America is a noman’s land as it had visitors as settlers. Here, all people are equal with equal opportunities. It is important, now and in the future for people to avoid racial discrimination as we are all one. The law on the other hand should punish those discriminating others. Ethnicity The term ethnicity comes from the word ethnic which refers to a large group of people who share common things such as race, homeland andreligion. People of the same ethnicity identify with each other.Normally there are differences in population brought by different factors.Ethno genesisinvolves large group’ssplitting into small subgroups. Those who maintain their original language after splitting indeed practice Ethno-linguistic. Ethnicity faces challenges includingskin color, clothing, language, type of food consumed, and the parent’s ethical background. According to Wolf, issues of ethnicity are a threat to peace. People have suffered from ethnicity because of superiority issues in communities, with Rwanda’s experience of genocide being an example. Due to political misunderstanding from leaders of a certain ethnic group struggling for power, people died inclusive of the president. The Hutu, the superior ethnic group, murdered anyone from the Tutsi community henceabout 800,000 people died. Ethnicity is a source of discrimination when it comes to job seeking, communities or country relationships. A good example is in most African countries where large ethnic groups dominate small groups. Job opportunities favor those from large ethnic groups leaving those from small communities. From the above discussion we can’t fail to note that our different behavior is propelled by ethnicity. As a Christian,I believe we all came from Adam and Eve and as a result we are same. All the differences are therefore a result of the different lifestyles and weather conditions.It is thus important for every individual to be treated equally and with respect. Life expectancy The average years that an individual is expected to live constitutes life expectancy. It is said that one can surpass their life expectancy if they take good care of their health. Scientist state that this can be achieved by eating healthy meals with less cholesterol and exercising. What contributed to the failure of the growth of the Aboriginals is British colonization? When the British realized that their ammunition was outnumbered, they introduced small pox as a defense mechanism. It almost worked because it nearly killed the entire population. Another challenge was the misuse of land and water by the British that resulted to rural lands becoming grazing land. They could not practice their nomadic life. Most of them were employed as stockmen on cattle and sheep therefore a poor life resulting to a decline in their population. They were denied job opportunities and the right to vote. Their education level was low meaning they could not qualify for good jobs. All this were basic needs they lacked hence their growth expectancy was impeded. Other people’s view is that life expectancy measures the quality of life people live in either a country or a region.This is similar to what most African countries go through. They experience hard life with most of them doing manual jobs. This is risky to their health hence a low life expectancy. The aboriginals went through such. They were forced into colonization while Governor Macquarie failed to understand them. He forced them to do farming, education and building techniques which the aboriginals resisted. As a result there were orders to shoot anyone resisting the rule. Eventually, what affected the quality of life of the aboriginals included the introduction of diseases, the forceful way of life and the colonization. Journals Journals are part of academic writing where certain concepts are explained. The writer normally has detailed ideas of the topic. Journal writings arebeneficial to students especially on topics already discussed. A student gets the opportunity to review contents covered over the semester. This is because before one writes or thinks of putting references they have to understand the topic of writing. One is left with the feeling of a wide knowledge on the topic. Writing journals is a way to develop asa writer. Famous writers began graduallythrough Journals and gained fame.Journals give one the courage of being relevant in different ways. The move by our director to encourage us on writing reflective journal wastherefore to make us better where we enjoy the freedom of understanding and reasoning. Similar to this is the thought of communicating to readers since journals are educative. Through writing, the readers are informed on what they did not know.Writers then do better research to influence a good attitude in the readers since journals represent the author. People say knowledge is power, therefore putting it in writing makes it last longer for referencing and review. Good writers are creative in the choice of words in their linguistic and they understand their audience. We are not born with this power but it develops within time. This is through frequent reflective writing in journals. Competition within students gives them a chance to better themselves. Contrast to writing there is another group of confident students who prefer oral expressions to writing. The shy group prefers writing. They are able to express their thoughts and be understood through this way. This builds a strong will and courage in the student’shence being competitive as compared to other students. Therefore journal writing is a good way of influencing students to revisit their earlier studies. The benefits as mentioned earlier are numerous and leave a student a great researcher and thinker. Lay beliefs This is a term used to refer to different beliefs harbored by people on past health problems.This belief varies with cultural idea and in most cases are myths and not facts.This belief usually pulls back a person’s recovery process hence leaves doctors very alert. The emergence of HIV was a blow to the world’seconomy, social life and called for the health representative’s attention. Years later the disease is under control but still a threat. African countries are mostly affected. The belief of HIV was that one acquired it when they failed to follow the ancestor’sbeliefs. It was called ‘Chira’. Most people failed to take the ARV medicines believing that spells had been cast on them and taking the medicine would not prolong their lives. Similar to this was a disease that affected children. They believed their fathers were engaged in promiscuous relationships at the child’s tender age therefore leading to their death. The fact is that children are sensitive and need proper care when it comes to cleanliness and warmth. Failure on this exposes them to diseases such as malaria which leads to death. Another lay belief is on albinism. People believed that albino children got it due to lack of sunlight at their tender ages. The fact is that they inherited it from a family member with the same gene. The absence of pigment in the hair, eyes or skin is due tolack of tyrosine an enzyme that usually produces melanin. However with education most of these beliefs have been wiped out. The beliefs influence an attitude in one’s mind when it comes to taking medicine. Similar to the miracles in the bible by the prophets some believes are necessary. In conclusion lay beliefs do not have effect in our lives. In this twenty first century where people are equipped with knowledge it is important to take preventive measures on certain diseases. Climate In the past there have been changes in the climate after industrialization as a result of pollution and emissions from greenhouse. This has led to reduction of the ozone layer therefore an increase in temperature. Australia will be one of the most hit in temperature above the sea level by 1.1m.This is possible because they cannot hold back activities of people that result to emissions of gases from green house due to an increase in population. The government will be at loss since it will lose experts from different occupations and taxpayers. People like me living along the coast are at great risk. The government has called in health practitioners to help. We have to start a new life together with my family since all we worked for is at risk. Due to the loss in my wealth I am not encouraged to work on saving lives. This is because my family is in great need of my help on a way forward on how we will survive. Even with all this I still encourage my people in hope. Together with my family we have decided to vacate to an African country called Kenya. It is considered a hospitable country that accommodates foreigners well. This is hard for me but it is a good to both the government and my family. Africa is a better choice because the economic potential is notexploited fully. My profession as a doctor makes it easier to get absorbed and start life with my family. This is not easy on the other side because my extended family will be vacating to other continents. The thought that I will never see them again hurts. However what consoles me and gives me satisfaction is the fact that in my line of profession I will be able to put a smile in someone’s face. In case Kenya does not allow climatic refugees there is an option of moving to Tanzania the neighboring country which is in need of experts in the health sector. This will make it easier for me and my family to settle. As much as my family and I love Africa, their culture, weather variations and the drop in the level of technology it will take time for us to struggle. My choice for Africa was a parental choice and I am not sure how my family will adapt in our new home. However we have no option but leave it to God that our future in the unknown new home will be better than what we have. We hope that we all will adapt and pick up our life from where we left it. What encourages me is that despite the ethnic differences we are all humans and Gods sons and daughters with so much faith and trust in Him. Patient interaction guide A doctor and a patient should have an open-minded relationship. The patient should be able to express how he/she feels and mutually the doctor should create an environment where the patient feels that the doctor is the right person to share with his or her problems.The doctor portrays qualities assuring the patient he/she can confide in the doctor. The doctor needs to be a good communicator and give the patients time. He should create an impression the hospital is safe and that the patient’s recovery is assured. The doctor should be a good listener to avoid demanding the patient to pardon which at times frustrate patientshence creating tension between the two sides. The doctor should respect the patient by counseling them, empathizing with them and encouraging the patients on being strong while taking the prescribed medication. He should understand his patient’s family core values in order to have the patient’s clear picture. For the doctor to have an easier time to understand the patient, he needs to give him time and room to express himself. Contrary to this there are decisions made for the doctor regarding certain medical decisions. In case the patient is an adult and can talk, he has the right to decide on the next step to be taken by a doctor. An example is in feet amputation where a person has wounds that are hard to heel. For patients to have control and manage their health, doctors are encouraged to motivate them in making decision about their health life. The doctor does not just communicate with the patient. They need to understand the age, sex and the patient’s cultural background. This is because communication varies from an individual to another. The doctor has to be diverse with how to address cultural issues since Australia’s cultural background is wide. Some medical cases need planning therefore there’s need for the doctor to give the patient goals after particular balanced time that will help to improve the patient in a manner that has been programmed. This is because targets that have been broken are easy to achieveand don’t seem overworked. The plan should be programmed for the patient to understand his planned expectations. The patient is given the self-management support during every visit. In addition to what the doctor actually does, the patient should indeed give the much valued feedback to create a mutual relationship with the doctor. During the medical period, the patient, parents or family members should ensure that feedback is given in time and as required.There are times where the feedback is not oral but by action or improvement of the patient’s health.Therefore Information like this is important because it is used to measure the hospital’s quality of service. Read More