Category: Self Assessment

Essence of Humanity: Self-Assessment and the Uniqueness of Being Human

Introduction

The basic human dynamic is defined by humanity’s effortless question of, ultimately, what makes humans human. Within this, it will be determined what humanity means and what differentiates humans from animals, as well as the factors that contribute to this and, essentially, what the answer means. How the answer is applied, and if it’s plausible, will remain to be seen on what makes humans human.

Self-Reflection: The Foundation of Human Identity

First and foremost, the self-reflection of humanity to ponder its own existence is in itself an answer to what makes us human. The basic question of what is human is to question what makes us human. This self-reflection and self-awareness is an essential stepping stone to answering this question. As described by Baumeister and Bushman, “Self-awareness enables people to compare themselves to standards in a way that other animals cannot.” (Bushman, 2017). By this conclusion, the basis of self-evaluation and awareness allows for other human concepts to develop, such as personal and private self.

This is simply not just going as far as acknowledging existence but manipulating it in a way to separate this existence into two parts. From this, it even extends further to humans, branching that awareness further to their surroundings and, in part, where they stand based on other people’s evaluation of them (Bushman, 2017). The base of self-awareness for humans has developed beyond any animal’s comprehension of itself (Bushman, 2017). This is clearly seen from the extended development of other basic human instincts, which have merely surpassed a general acknowledgment of existence to cultural awareness and self-knowledge.

As said before, with self-awareness, humanity has also gained other tools in regard to self-assessment, such as cultural awareness and self-knowledge. In regards to what makes us human, there are many human problems that are only seen in humanity. These are things like knowing when they are adapting to cultural values or personal ones (Bushman,2017 ). These stem from problems seen in humanity, such as suicide and eating disorders. These can be seen when humans are not reaching their personal goals or not being accepted socially. The findings of what makes humans human can be extended further to intrinsic motivations, what can be gained, and for what prizes (Bushman, 2017). The development of self gained other aspects and, with that, rewards. In regards to these intrinsic motivations, at the base of it is a need for acceptance ( Bushman, 2017). This is another factor to add to humanity’s unique procedures with self, whether that be acceptance, rewards, or simply self-assessment.

Challenging Assumptions: Humans and Their Ape Relatives

With all the findings, the basis is humanity’s self-awareness and self-assessment that makes us human, but it is argued that humans and animals are relatively similar. The most contributing source to this argument is based on humanity’s distant relative, the apes. They are seen to have some sort of self-assessment, being able to acknowledge themselves in mirrors ( Andrew, 2016). As well as they also show emotional duress as humans do. With this being said, they are showing a similar sign of recognition that humans do within themself (Andrew, 2016). Overall, even as apes recognize themself to some extent and do show some emotion, it still remains the same that humans show far more distinctive human traits than apes (Andrew, 2016).

In the article given, the author even goes as far as to comment on the distinctive traits that make humans human, “We are the only species on this planet with the foresight capable of deliberately plotting a path toward a desirable long-term future. Plan it for the apes; because they can’t.” (Andrew, 2016). Even with the close relation, there are just more developed self-aware habits seen in humans and only a small amount seen in apes. As said before, while the relationship is close, the habits that are aligned between humans and apes are not distinctive traits in regard to what makes humans different from the rest of the animal kingdom. Thus, with that being said, in regards to them being similar now, it is mostly obsolete in terms of self-assessment. While there are other similarities, that is ultimately where it stops the argument of humanity not being distinctive from other animals.

The ultimate question is what makes humans human, and the basic answer to that is self-awareness and self-reflection. After evaluating what that actually means, it is humanity’s ability to acknowledge its existence, and with that, it has branched itself into a whole new meaning of what it is to be human, which can be seen by human things like suicide and eating disorders. While a wild animal would be happy to have a meal, humanity has eating disorders that go against basic instincts of food and could deny that basic instinct (Andrew, 2016).

With this basic instinct, the most basic of them all, staying alive is contradicted by humans killing themselves at alarming numbers. In that same argument, we put ourselves on a pedestal that we are animals and ultimately defy them each and every time (Andrew, 2016). Animals have a need to survive; we kill ourselves. Animals have a need to eat, and we, as humans, starve ourselves. This, alone, is what makes us human. In conclusion, what makes humans humans is the self-assessment and awareness that inevitably make us uniquely human.

Conclusion

This topic was interesting to identify what exactly makes humanity different; in my research, I learned quite a bit. However, next time in my investigation, I would like to use more sources to look further into other aspects of what makes humans human. Ultimately, the lack of other sources and different views is what makes this evaluation and investigation lackluster. The information was good, but a longer paper, with more sides that could be taken and expanded on, would have made this delve into a controversial topic more convincing.

References

1. Bushman, B. J. (2017). Does self-awareness enable accurate self-knowledge? Implications for behavior prediction and self-ethics. In The Oxford Handbook of the Human Essence (pp. 277-288). Oxford University Press.
2. Andrew, A. (2016). The Self-Aware Animal. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/opinion/sunday/the-self-aware-animal.html

Self-Assessment: Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Evolution

Introduction

We as people go about life through what we believe, and we build upon our beliefs with our surroundings. As we grow up, our experiences shape who we are. Life helps us develop strengths and get through our challenges day by day.

Body

Biological

From the biological perspective, we look at the sections of biology that affect our health. We examine the needs of living, such as physical and mental health. Basic needs include food, shelter, and all things that we need to be healthy. Growing up, I suffered from obesity up until the age of fifteen. I am nineteen years old at the moment, and my journey through feeling comfortable in my own skin and my health has been a wonderful journey. Growing up, everyone I knew called me fat; my family and friends all pointed out my body size and how big I was. By the age of fifteen, I started my fitness journey and started to care more about my health and what went on in my body.

I stopped eating unhealthy, and within two years, I lost 50 pounds. I felt really good about myself, and being successful in losing weight made me realize how motivated I can be as long as I push myself. It is my strength. Once I became healthier, I got comments from the same people, only this time they were compliments. I have relatives who are diagnosed with cholesterol, diabetes, and heart problems. Most of my family members tend to be on the overweight side of the BMI scale, and I made a decision to care more about my health. Though I did get through my weight loss and hit my goal, the comments made by the people I love will forever be in my head. This journey is so beautiful from my perspective because I made all the negative into something positive, and I did it by myself.

Psychological

From the psychological perspective, we’re looking at the past events of the person, attitudes, thoughts, mental abilities, who they are, and any medication they have previously taken. This will help us see the perspective of their mental health, and this can differ with the events in your life or over time. This perspective is mental. Events that can affect your state of mind can be traumatic, or they can be accomplishments that lead to positive thoughts.

As I was younger, I have always been seen as a very energetic and happy child. I identified myself the same way. I loved to laugh and be happy in general. I know that life is not always happy, but I have always tried to make the best out of any situation. Around the time I gained a lot of weight, I did feel like I was unhappy, which really hurt my state of mind. I would identify as an overweight person, and since I was so uncomfortable, I let my weight define me. I was not acknowledging all that I was. I let people’s comments and my own feelings get the best of me. I was always upset, and eventually, it started taking a bad role in my life.

Then, around my older teenage years, I realized I made the decision to feel this way, and my appearance could be fixed by a simple diet and exercise, so that is what I did. I lost the weight, and I felt so much better about myself. I started to identify myself as strong and accomplished. This was all because I chose to make a change for the positive and a better state of mind. In my experience, it was very traumatic for my family and friends to call me fat and ugly, so I chose to change myself just to prove to myself how strong I really am. I turned a traumatic experience into an accomplishment, and that is something I am proud of.

The one thing I am not proud of is what I did about a year ago. I became obsessed with being what society calls beautiful and being skinny. I received compliments left and right about how good I looked and how beautiful I was. I let everything get to my head, and I allowed myself to stop eating and keep exercising. I dropped to an unhealthy weight, but I was receiving so many great comments about how good I looked, and that made me develop an eating disorder. I thought what I was doing was normal because of the feedback I received from my family and friends. I started getting attention for my beauty, and I let that get to my head. I became obsessed with my looks, and now I know that that is not good. I am slowly recovering from my eating disorder. I struggle with my body image, and that has not changed; I am just learning to love myself as everyone is, but I know that the mindset of being beautiful comes from more than just being a low weight. It comes from happiness and self-love, regardless of body image.

Socio-cultural

In socio-cultural, this is when you regard the friends, family members, environment and surroundings, the social environment, political point of view around them, and even the economic environment. The use of a genogram is used to provide a family systemic overview of relationships, and it can also help examine the issue rationally that contributes to the problem at hand.

My social environment is great; I feel like I can make friends in any setting. I have my work friends, my school friends, and my friends who are practically family. One pattern that I have noticed with all of them is that I talk to everyone, but I stay close to only one person. I would say I am more of a one-best-friend person, meaning I do not like to be close to many people. Everyone that I see on a regular basis always comments on my personality, saying how I am always smiling or laughing.

To my family, I am seen as a person who is strong and responsible. I go to school and work all the time. I just want to set a good example for my younger brothers because I am the second oldest child out of six. As for my parents, they have full trust in me. Regardless of the situation, they believe I will make a rational decision that is best for my circumstances. All in all, my social environment is very supportive and very healthy. I know I am not alone, and that is something that I am very thankful for.

Economically and politically, my environment is controversial. Economically, I was raised by two hard-working parents who support six children and are field workers. I was raised to be humble and earn what I have today. For these reasons, ever since I was a senior in high school, I started working, and slowly, by the age of 18, I stopped asking my parents for money. In regards to my political environment, most of my environment claims to be democrats, but I consider myself a conservative because I was raised very traditional, and I strongly believe in the catholic religion. All my surroundings and socio-cultural environment are very healthy. There are always bad sides to people, but luckily, I have experienced mostly all the good in what I am surrounded by.

Spiritual

In the spiritual assessment, we consider who we are as ourselves and a sense of why we are in this world for our purpose, and our religion and personal values. As I mentioned earlier, I was raised and still am catholic. I believe in prayer and in God. I believe that everything that is happening is meant to happen, and I can go through it all so long as I keep believing in God and never stop praying. God makes me stronger every day, and because of him, I am who I am: a strong woman who will never stop fighting for what she wants in life.

Theory of social learning to your developmental history

Erving Goffman’s theory explains how we go through life with standards. He explains how we create a persona that we would like to become based on what others think is right. I believe this theory relates to me in ways that make me who I am today. I would say this because I did act based on who was around me. For example, around my parents, I am the responsible one, but around my friends, I am more carefree. I changed based on what is acceptable and what I want others to see me as.

I want my parents to trust me and be proud of me; therefore, I act upon their wishes and know that I have to act according to what is acceptable to them. On the other hand, while I spend time with my friends, I know that I can have more fun and have a good time because it is a carefree area, and I want my friends to see me as a person they have a good time with. Be respectful with adults and have fun around kids. In both scenarios, I act as if I want the people around me to see me, which is what I learned as I grew up.

Theory of personality development

Sigmund Freud’s theory tells parents have a great impact on how children develop as they grow older. They do influence our lives as we do what we see is right and what is accepted. For example, at the age of three, if I danced and people laughed, I would keep doing it because I would think it would be funny. There, I developed a sense of humor. We are raised by our parents to be a certain way that is right in their eyes, and they take action for forgiveness. Every year, I feel as if I gain more sense of self-worth, which will eventually lead me to look and feel better because I am more secure in who I am and my personality.Developmental milestone or psychological task (Erikson psychosocial s tages)

Infancy (age 0-1)

Infancy is the stage we are said to be a point where we learn to trust. At this age, we start developing an attachment to the person who is raising us, and we can trust them or decide not to. As a child, I was taken care of by my mother, as my father worked. Then, at night, I was cared for by my dad. I feel like I trusted them as my parents, and they both loved me the same.

Toddler (age 1-2)

In the toddler stage, we are said to develop a sense of choice and doubt. This can also be known as the autonomy stage, which allows us to have the capacity to make decisions independently, to serve as one’s own source of emotional strength, and to manage one’s life tasks without depending on others for assistance. An important developmental task of adolescence. In this stage of my life, I learned to walk and talk, but I also learned to make choices. I would make funny faces at foods I disliked and ask for more of the foods I liked. I learned to talk and make choices for myself.

Preschool (age 3-5)

Initiative and guilt are found in the preschool stage of life. I successfully went through this stage as I gained the power and opportunity to act or take charge before others do. I went to preschool and started kindergarten at this age. I learned what school was, took action, and took care of my responsibilities. Also, I learned great. I learned what getting in trouble was and what being held accountable for my actions felt like.

School (age 5-12)

Inferiority and industry are what is learned at the age of five through twelve. At this age, I remember feeling low, like I was at a lower-status place, with school and at home. At this age, I believed I knew what was good for me, but growing up, I saw that I was wrong. I also learned to do hard work as I was starting to feel like studying could help me with my classes and tests. In this stage of life, we want to know what’s best, but we really do not.

Adolescent (age 12-18)

This stage is where I hit my milestone. Here, we learn identity and go through role confusion, which is exactly what I went through. I always cared for school and bettering myself with a brighter future. Though I am confident of my abilities, I still wanted to be looked at as beautiful, and this is where my eating disorder started. I wanted to just be thin and eat anything, but that was not possible. In this stage, I learned about who I am today and my desires.

Conclusion

A really big external influencer would be my best friend, Arcelia. She always believed in me and always would let me know my worth. I know I can be beautiful and smart with reminders, my best friend tells me often. It is a good influence when you are being complemented while improving, and it is being noticed.

References

1. “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck
2. “StrengthsFinder 2.0” by Tom Rath
3. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey

Enhancing Chemotherapy Drug Administration Safety Through Nurse Self-Assessment

Introduction

Chemotherapy drug administration places nurses at a high risk for workplace exposure. Unsafe exposure to chemotherapy drugs has been known to cause “Increased cancer occurrence; adverse reproductive outcomes, including infertility and miscarriage; fetal defects when exposed during pregnancy” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1). The study discussed in this paper was aimed to determine if nursing staff followed their hospital’s policy and procedure for proper handling and disposal of chemotherapy drugs. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of strict adherence to safe handling practices of chemotherapy drugs to reduce exposure.

Research Question and Objective

The research question for the article is, Do nurses adhere to “PPE recommendations and hospital policies for safe handling when administering and disposing of IV chemotherapy” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 2)? The article describes that evidence was collected by evaluating the nurse’s self-assessment on whether PPE recommendations and hospital policies for safe handling were followed. As well as direct observation of the nurses to determine adherence to PPE recommendations and hospital policies for safe handling.

The article explains that the study was “A prospective, comparative mixed-methods study” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1). The study was observational and quantitative in nature, which allowed the researchers to observe nursing staff perform chemotherapy administration and handling as well as collect subjective data through the use of questionnaires. The study utilized “Micro-ethnography and questionnaires” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1).

This type of research has both strengths and weaknesses. The study’s strengths lie in the ability to access nurses in real-time. This allowed the researchers to gather immediate object data. The weakness of the research design is related to “The role of the observer and what effect he or she has on the people and situations observed” (University of Portsmouth, 2012). There is also the possibility of encountering ethical dilemmas, which can occur when “Observing real-life situations for research purposes” (University of Portsmouth, 2012). The researchers may choose this particular research design because the design is flexible and easy to implement in a medical center.

Sample and Data Collection

The sample included three observers and thirty-three nurses. The “Observers made 22 confidential observations on 13 different days and involving 12 of the 20 nurses who met inclusion criteria” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 3). Also, twelve of the thirty-three nurses observed also completed the self-assessment questionnaire. The entire study was conducted at a single center. The study sample size is too small, and the study seems to lack enough participation from the nursing staff. The number of observations and self-assessment data is not adequate and, therefore, limits the study.

The data collected was collected by three researchers through direct observation and questionnaires. In order “To assess observations of handling, administering, and disposing of chemotherapy, a 15-item “yes or no” nurse skill checklist was developed by investigators” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 2). The self-assessment questionnaire consisted of “A nine-item questionnaire that used a five-point Likert-type response set ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (always), plus a “not applicable” option.” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 2). The researchers were sure to maintain the confidentiality of the nurses being observed and did not collect nurse characteristics. There was no mention of patient confidentiality and considerations or patient privacy.

Limitations of the Study

The limitations of the study are related to the sample size and the number of responses to the self-assessment questionnaire. Also, the researchers reported that “One nurse may have been observed more than one time on different days by different observers” (Colvin et al., 2016). It was also reported that there was a lack of consistency in the assessment wording, therefore potentially causing differences in reported frequencies in adherence to PPE recommendations. The limitations noted in the study could be overcome by conducting the study at more than one medical center and utilizing standardized assessments.

Listing limitations within a study is important because it allows the reader to better interpret the validity of the findings. It allows the reader to determine the quality of the research. It will also help the reader determine if the findings are credible and reliable.

Findings and Implications

The study found that of all the observed practices, nurses only completed three behaviors 100% of the time. The three items were “Disposing of gloves in a chemotherapy-approved container after initiating chemotherapy, discarding the chemotherapy bag and tubing after disconnecting chemotherapy infusions, and washing hands after chemotherapy was administered” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1).

The researchers also identified that three behaviors were completed with a higher frequency than what was reported on the questionnaires. The items were “Double gloving and gowning when disconnecting chemotherapy and properly discarding chemotherapy” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1). The researchers also concluded that two behaviors were completed with lower frequency than what was reported on the questionnaires. The items were “Double gloving and protecting work surfaces during administration” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 1).

The study’s findings did help to answer the research question of whether or not nurses adhere to “PPE recommendations and hospital policies for safe handling when administering and disposing of IV chemotherapy” (Colvin et al., 2016, p. 2).

Conclusion

The study highlights the importance of safe chemotherapy drug administration. Unsafe exposure to chemotherapy drugs comes at a cost to the nurses providing its administration. The results of the study provide new information about nursing adherence to safe-handling policies and procedures. It is recommended that to maintain strict adherence to safe handling practices, nurses should be educated more frequently than once per year. It was also found that if even one person does not practice safe handling procedures, they place everyone at risk of exposure.

References

1. Colvin, C., Karius, D., & Albert, N. (2016). Nurse Adherence to Safe-Handling Practices:. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, pp. 1–7.
2. University of Portsmouth. (2012). Primary Data Collection – Observations. Retrieved from http://compass.port.ac.uk/UoP/file/664e8001-f121-4e5d-aa06-6c95c797e8af/1/Observations_IMSLRN.zip/page_04.htm  

Self-Assessment and Inspiration: Unveiling the Impact of Stephen Hawking’s Quote

Introduction

For my inspirational quote, I chose one said by a man who has inspired me ever since I first learned about him, and I still continue to be inspired by him to this day. The quote reads, “One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there, and don’t throw it away.” This quote was said in an interview by Stephen Hawkings with Diane Sawyer in 2010 on ABC’s World News Tonight. This quote inspires both my heart and mind.

The Essence of Inspiration

Undeniably, this quote has many meanings for me and inspires me in multiple ways, all of which lead to me bettering myself and the life I am given. When I read the first part of this quote, it immediately touches a certain part of me, a part where my imagination is boundless and my creativity runs freely. I have always lived in another reality in my mind where anything is possible, and there are no limits to what could be done. When I was younger, this world was more like living up on candy planets and being an adventurous princess, but as I’ve grown older, it has become a world of goals I strive to achieve throughout my life. I often find myself wandering deep into this “world” I have created, and I just see everything as clear as can be, although the things I imagine seem nearly impossible. Yet, upon reading this quote, I feel as if they are only impossible because they have never been shown to be otherwise, and I continue to go deeper and deeper into this “world” and create theories and hypotheses about mysteries of the universe and soul.

Fueled by Purpose

Admittedly, for most people, my ideas may seem far-fetched without explaining the logic behind them, but the second part of this quote keeps me motivated to keep working towards proving or disproving my ideas, and if all else fails, I will at least have some interesting ideas for a book or two. With the motivation this quote gives me and my constant flow of concepts that I want to prove or disprove, I use my spare time to research certain aspects of my ideas and see if they really do logically line up to where they could be proven to be true one day. As I do this, I often find that they surprisingly do line up pretty well, which gives me even more motivation to continue with them and keep thinking beyond the box no matter how crazy the ideas may seem.

With this motivation, I have found myself accomplishing many goals, beginning with passing the SAT with 1100 at the age of fifteen and continuing to the present time where I am seventeen and dual enrolled in my second year of college with all my common core classes completed working towards my engineering degree. These accomplishments alone remind me to “never give up work” and to appreciate just how full my life has become just because I have worked hard for it. Finally, the last part of this quote comes into play with how lucky I am to be blessed with such love all around me. I know the quote is most likely referring to love for a significant other, but for me, it refers to any type of love because love is becoming harder and harder to find, and hate is just so easily spread even by family members, so if you have a loving family you are beyond lucky. With this being said, I feel extremely lucky to have the loving and caring support that I do from my family, and I will never doubt or forget that.

Self-Assessment and Human Behavior

Notably, there are two main ways that individuals act depending on their self-esteem. The first way is with self-assessment. With self-assessment, an individual usually has a higher self-esteem, which leads them to make decisions without fear of failure. This typically means that they don’t use self-protecting strategies and choose to do things that inform them the most rather than benefit them. The second way is self-enhancement. With self-enhancement, an individual lacks self-esteem, thus causing them to act more towards self-enhancing things such as taking a test that typically proves to be easier or less challenging rather than those who will take any test whether the results are positive or negative.

Individuals with low self-esteem do this to prevent lowering their self-esteem more by getting a low grade or coming across something discouraging. These strategies are known as self-protective strategies and are used consistently for self-enhancement rather than self-betterment. The article Self-enhancement, self-assessment, and self-evaluative task choice states,” Furthermore, in consistency with the self-assessment view, but not with the self-enhancement view, task preference was positively related to diagnosticity of failure: There was no tendency for subjects to avoid diagnostic information when it had negative implications for the self “(Strube et al.; L. A., 1985). In short, people use their self-esteem to make decisions in order to protect or increase their self-esteem in almost any situation.

Conclusion

Overall, this assignment was very good and positive for me because although I had inspiration from this quote before writing about it, I never fully realized how much inspiration I had pulled from it until I really thought about it. That alone made me realize how much there is in this world that people take for granted due to habituation. I also learned more about self-assessment and self-evaluation and how self-esteem comes into play with each of them in depth. These new findings have helped me understand myself and my relationships with others more, as well as the driving force for some of my past and present decisions.

References

1. A quote by Stephen Hawking. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/267117- one-remember-to-look-up-at-the-stars-and-not
2. Strube, M. J., & Roemmele, L. A. (1985). Self-enhancement, self-assessment, and self-evaluative task choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(4), 981–993. https://doi- org.db11.linccweb.org/10.1037/0022-3514.49.4.981