Homeostasis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homeostasis - Essay Example The term homeostasis was first used by Walter Cannon in 1932 to illustrate the â€Å"maintenance of body’s dynamic constancy†. Homeostasis is a key concept in human physiology which represents the regulatory processes of the body for its optimum functioning mediated by several biochemical and physiological pathways. According to Gilbert, on a cellular level it is a practice through which a relatively constant electrical, chemical, osmotic and internal environment is maintained against a background of extensive range of metabolic demand, intake and loss. Maintenance of homeostasis is vital for the body as seen during exercise. The elevated cardiac and respiratory rates in response to increased CO2 and blood acidity must be readjusted later to meet the demand of lower metabolic rate. If this service is not done the body conditions lead to disease and ultimately death. Homeostasis is maintained by stimulus identification at tissue level with the help of sensors present in skin and sensory organs. These signals are then sent to peripheral sensory nerves and later to spinal cord and brain where depending on the type of stimulus a chain of physiological reaction is set off to maintain homeostasis in the body which may involve survive mechanism, stability in autonomic functions and immunological responses (Lawton, 2003). These responses are carried out by effectors such as muscles and glands. In some cases the responses to a stimulus are particularly elicited by either nervous or endocrine system however, in some cases it is a combination of both (Farabee, 2006). The process through which a constant internal environment (homeostasis) is maintained is known as homeostatic mechanism. Homeostatic control in the body is achieved through feed-back system which may be negative feed-back loop or positive feed-back loops. Negative feed-back loops (employed by most of the body’s systems) turns off the response to a particular stimulus thereby maintaining m ost of homeostatic activities while positive feed-back loop intensifies the effect of the particular response (Farabee, 2006). Positive feed-back intensifies the effects of change and therefore does not play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis. Stimulus? Sensor?Integrator? Effector Negative feed-back loop Systems involved in homeostasis: In a healthy body homeostatic maintenance is done by collaborative efforts of central systems of the body such as nervous, endocrine, circulatory, digestive and lymphatic. The balancing responses of these systems to a stimulus tend to maintain a proper homeostasis in body (Lawton, 2003). Major homeostatic controllers of the body are nervous and endocrine systems which constitute extrinsic control system. However, local or intrinsic control system usually involves an organ or a tissue e.g. dilation of blood vessels in reaction to higher levels of carbon dioxide and lower oxygen levels (Farabee, 2006).  

Managing Human Resource in Health and Social Care Essay

Managing Human Resource in Health and Social Care - Essay Example Current approaches in human resources suggest a number of weaknesses: a hasty, stop-gap attitude towards problems of human resources; dispersion of accountability within human resources management (HRM); a limited notion of personnel administration that fails to include all aspects of HRM; and finally the short-term outlook of HRM (Dussault & Dubois, 2004, p.iii). Performance monitoring and promoting Performance should be monitored in the health and social care system, as they are instrumental in stimulating, creating and maintaining health and social care improvement. Around the world, rapidly changing landscape between acute and chronic diseases is placing various demands on the health and social care workforce. To provide effective health and social care for chronic conditions, the skills of the health care professional have to be extended along with the existing ones, to fulfill the new complicated situations. First, the workforce must adopt a patient-centric approach. Second, se rvice providers need the necessary communication expertise, which should enable them to cooperate with other providers and patients. Third, the workforce must equip with expertise to ensure that the security and quality of patient care is continuously improved. Fourth, the workforce needs expertises that assist them in checking patients across time and using and sharing information through available technology. Finally, the workforce must develop broadest perspective to consider patient’s care and provider’s role (WHO, 2005, pp.11-12). Methods of Monitoring Performance Management by walking around: Getting out of your office and being physically present on a regular basis is an important place to start. One will gain a great sense of â€Å"what’s going on†Ã¢â‚¬â€as well as a first-hand feel for what is not understood or what needs to better communicate. Managers of a health and social care unit should take ad-hoc approach in this case. They can visit and revisit same premises during change of shifts of nursing staffs with special emphasis on the ICU after a critical surgery to check the activities of nursing and other staffs. Visits or walking around monitoring without any prior notice is very important in a health care set up where work division is very important. Visiting the reception at least thrice a day by the management personnel is very important because that is where the patients get the first impression about the care they would get within the unit. 360-degree assessment: It involves polling various people who have contact with a particular employee, to get an idea about the employee’s performance. The employee also is polled regarding his or her own performance, with those results then compared to the feedback collected from others. People involved respond to speci?c questions on a feedback form. One can either make up your own form or purchase a generic one developed for use within your business area (Dorio and S helly, 2011, pp.61-64). The required staff should to be evaluated occasionally (in six months or annually) by many evaluators including his boss, direct subordinates, equals, internal clientele and external clientele. In a hospital doctors can provide feedback about nurses and vice versa. And it is quite possible about feedback among intra-nurses or intra-doctors can be used for performance monitoring purposes. Identifying training and development needs- Assessment for