How to Write a Good Resume

How to Write a Good Resume There is no need to wonder why learning how to write a good resume is important. This skill can determine whether a prospective employer finds you interesting enough to bring in for an interview. By knowing how to write a good resume, you’ll be putting yourself at the top of a large pile of applicants. There are a large number of people out there today looking for jobs. If you don’t put that extra effort into creating a truly memorable resume, someone else will and they’ll be the one invited for an interview instead of you. A resume is simply a one or two page document that sells you as a possible candidate for a job position. Think of writing an advertisement to sell something. You’d write all the points and details of your product in hopes to get someone interested enough to come and look at it. A resume is the same type of idea only you are selling yourself. Don’t make the mistake of simply documenting your experiences, job history and education on a boring piece of paper. If you truly want to get that elusive desired position then take the time to learn how to write a good resume. Resumes literally have only seconds to grab a prospective employer’s interest. Let’s face it, resumes aren’t the most exciting material to read and there could be hundreds that the employer has to wade through to determine which ones to call back for an interview. They’ll pick up a resume, scan it briefly and if nothing catches their eye, it goes into the reject pile. The person who knows how to write a good resume is the one who is going to catch the reader’s attention. This is where you have to make sure there is something visually appealing about yours to make them take those extra moments and actually read yours. It should be very clean and easy to read. Each section should be described, using strong power words, in as small of a space as possible. A few lines or less should be enough for each section. Make sure the whole document is balanced visually. If you truly want to know how to write a good resume, then make sure you have absolutely no gr ammatical or spelling errors. On such a sparse sheet any error will jump off the page and be noticed right away. Use the correct format and make sure all the pertinent information is included such as your personal contact information, listings of previous jobs and education history. Many people who don’t know how to write a good resume will just slap something together leaving out many of the primary important points that prospective employers are looking for. Someone who knows how to write a good resume will begin with researching the job position that is being applied for. Find out what qualifications are needed and what the employer is looking for by reading the job requirements carefully. Then write down everything that you have done and accomplished. Don’t limit yourself to work experiences only. You may find that some of the qualifications needed come from your personal life. Once you have done this, now arrange your thoughts in such a way that you are selling yourself to the prospective employer. Remember to stay with the simple clean look. Many people shy away from â€Å"boasting† but if you want to write a good resume, this is exactly what you have to get over. You need to get past the idea that you’re being a braggart and realize that this is what the employer is looking for. They need to know what you can do and what you are capable of. Try to think of yourself as a product, an entity separate from yourself. Write to sell yourself as a product. Use strong power words to grab the reader’s attention. Write in a confident, assured manner and let the employer know that you are the person for the job and that you’re capable of handling anything that may come your way.

A Quiz About Attribution

A Quiz About Attribution A Quiz About Attribution A Quiz About Attribution By Mark Nichol Punctuation associated with attribution identification of the source of a statement can, when used incorrectly, confuse rather than clarify communication. Troubleshoot these troublesome sentences, paying attention to the relationship of the attribution to the rest of the sentence, and then compare your revisions with my solutions at the bottom of the page: 1. â€Å"Now he needed ‘new worlds to conquer,’ in his own words.† 2. â€Å"She makes this moral argument, ‘Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.’† 3. â€Å"Only a few days before the sisters flew off to the Caribbean, Smith said Jane had moved from her apartment in San Francisco.† 4. â€Å"Unfortunately, he estimated that it’s 25 percent less effective at eliminating odors than standard brands.† 5. â€Å"I think they’re going to have that mentality of: ‘How dare he?’† 6. â€Å"And while Osama bin Ladens killing has dealt a crippling blow to his terrorist organization, she said, ‘Nobody should believe individual al Qaeda leaders cannot be replaced.’† 7. â€Å"To pass a necessity test usually means a negative response to the question: ‘Can the same result be obtained by other means?’† 8. â€Å"He explained that unlike during the previous droughts, ‘When the drought breaks, we will not return to cooler, wetter conditions.’† 9. â€Å"‘We were very worried,’ says Jones, ‘It was the winter from hell.’† 10. â€Å"He voted against the bill, declaring: ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’† Answers and Explanations 1. The original sentence is correct, but there’s more to good writing that correct grammar. There’s a great opportunity in this sentence for a rhythm of tension and release, so exploit it: â€Å"Now he needed, in his own words, ‘new worlds to conquer.’† 2. When an attribution is in itself grammatically self-contained (â€Å"She makes this moral argument† is a complete sentence), use a colon, rather than a comma, to signal the setup (as I’ve done when prefacing each correction here): â€Å"She makes this moral argument: ‘Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.’† 3. The punctuation in this sentence conveys that Smith made the statement shortly before the sisters’ flight. But â€Å"Smith said† is a parenthetical attribution that tells the reader who made the comment that the move occurred just before the trip: â€Å"Only a few days before the sisters flew off to the Caribbean, Smith said, Jane had moved from her apartment in San Francisco.† 4. This sentence’s problem is the same as the preceding one; it’s only the length of the introductory part of the sentence that differs. The estimate described was not unfortunate; â€Å"unfortunately† is part of the larger sentence, not part of the attribution: â€Å"Unfortunately, he estimated, it’s 25 percent less effective at eliminating odors than standard brands.† 5. By contrast with the second sentence, above, in this case a colon immediately preceding the quotation clumsily brings the sentence to a halt. No punctuation is necessary in this type of construction: â€Å"I think they’re going to have that mentality of ‘How dare he?’† 6. When a person’s comments are partially paraphrased, and an attribution separates an indirect quotation from a direct quotation, the latter element, because it doesn’t constitute a complete sentence, should not begin with a capitalized word even if it is grammatically complete: â€Å"And while Osama bin Ladens killing has dealt a crippling blow to his terrorist organization, she said, ‘nobody should believe individual al Qaeda leaders cannot be replaced.’† 7. As in the fifth example, above, this sentence requires no punctuation preceding the quotation: â€Å"To pass a necessity test usually means a negative response to the question ‘Can the same result be obtained by other means?’† 8. As in the sixth example, above, though the direct quotation is a complete sentence, a preceding paraphrase has been attached to it as an introductory phrase. Even though, unlike in the similar example, the attribution begins the sentence rather than appears between the indirect and direct quotations, the two elements constitute a single statement and the direct quotation should not begin with a capitalized word: â€Å"He explained that unlike during the previous droughts, ‘when the drought breaks, we will not return to cooler, wetter conditions.’† 9. This sentence consists of two complete statements separated by an attribution, so the attribution should be followed by a period: â€Å"‘We were very worried,’ says Jones. ‘It was the winter from hell.’† 10. When an attribution includes a verb, the punctuation following it should be a comma, not a colon: â€Å"He voted against the bill, declaring, ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite AdjectivesStory Writing 10135 Synonyms for Rain and Snow

The chartered institute of logistics and transport Essay

The chartered institute of logistics and transport - Essay Example The mission statement has always been "Your Career Partner" and it has over 30,000 members in 28 national sections of the CILT across the world. Through its national councils and sections around the globe, it offers information, guidance, forecasts, scientific knowledge, and educational courses with qualifying examinations, seminars, conventions, constructive partnerships, professional development and many kinds of assistance. It had classified the branches into groups and regions for good and easy governance. The network contact is in more than 50 countries. Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, the Institute's patron, takes great interest in CILT's activities. Organisation has Vice President for Supply Chain Innovation at the International Consultancy, Solving International, and Chairman and Chief Executive at the topmost level, who had been functioning mostly in an authoritarian style. The organisation has a very high international profile, even though it had not been easy for it to build it up. Its management had always been of the best quality and they hire people from very well known organisations like Price water Coopers, who already have tremendous experience of running international giants. In spite of it, it had been facing management crises for sometime now, with new areas to make unprecedented moves and decisions opening up all the time. It had been, no doubt the authoritarian style of management and the decisions were always taken by the topmost authorities, with the expectation that the lower ranks would fall in line with those decisions, and it had been happening so. But now with the changed circumstances, even organisations like Price Water Coopers are facing enormous problems due to culture clash and diverse organisational set-ups and conflicting working environments and mostly, they avoid these problems by taking local people as partners in the company and interfering in the company matters as less as possible. The main area where research should be done and conclusions to be drawn is communication that leaves much desired. "While the effect of communication apprehension on a multitude of psychological and performance variables has been studied in many other disciplines, it has not been extensively examined by sales researchers" http://www.apmforum.com/emerald/cross-cultural-management.htm The international organisations have noticed that employing local people had always been not the best of the alternatives. But under the circumstances, there is no other better alternative. People representing different cultures and countries, speaking languages other than English, being used to different working environments have posed a challenge to the working style and management ways of these organisations. It had not been very easy for the said organisation to get over the barriers and come into terms with the frustratingly diverse ways of local employees. This in spite of CILT being an international player for a long time, and that has not helped enormously. Values, beliefs, business dealings, conversation, language, ways of discussion and decisions, interactions, food habits, all are different and cultures

Tran Poem essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tran Poem - Essay Example The research took me to places I haven’t even imagined, and opened a whole new sphere of unexplored miseries of life I wasn’t even aware of. Writing this poem proved to be an enlightening and a life changing experience for me, and as I progressed through the development of the poem new doors kept opening for me giving a new perspective to my life each time I entered another phase of the poem. The poem is thus more than just expressive art for me, rather it`s a smaller part of a bigger evolution that I had gone through ever since. â€Å"Now when I look back†, was the perfect beginning for my poem as I`ve associated a versatile range of feelings and emotions with the bitter experiences, which compel me on looking back towards the hardest time of my life. There are two kinds of encounters that you can never get off your mind, the one which rejoices you to the fullest to the extent that it replenishes your energies and the second which are so hard to take that every second seem to pass like a lifetime. From the stare in people`s eyes to the glare in the children`s sight, everything seemed to rip off a part of my heart. I was the center of attention for every passerby, not in a good way though. There were mixed kinds of expressions that people were exhibiting towards me, which were very hard to explain. I had never in my life experiences the nature of expressive reactions that people were giving which made it even harder to interpret the messages. As I set my steps in the street to start off my day, I was mindful of the fact that I was indeed taking a very bold step which is completely unacceptable to the society. I thought I was ready, though I later realized I wasn’t. When everyone was staring at me, people turning back to have a second look at me and cars literally stopping by with the intent of publically abusing me, I tried to adjust to the changes by explaining myself that this process is necessary to understand the essence of the i ssue. Taking the reaction positively, I tried to continue the activity shifting the focus on my aim for the research instead of the harsh comments being thrown at me. All my efforts for trying to get comfortable were literally going to waste, as every moment was becoming even more difficult for me. While I was caught up in the adjustment phase, a very strange yet disturbing incident occurred to me. A boy almost my age came up to me and told me how I`m a disgrace to the society and how I should rather kill myself for the betterment of the society. I couldn’t take his comments anymore thus I retaliated though it wasn’t something that I was supposed to do during the course of the activity. I cross questioned the boy asking him how my identity was a disgrace to anyone, and how my individuality can be affecting anyone else. His answer was as disturbing as the harshest cut in my heart that only the sharpest knife could leave. He quoted some verse from a theological narration and told me how I had committed a sin in my former life, due to which God had punished me for my sin and I will skink the entire society with the disgust that I carry. I said nothing but walked away silently, and it was the first time in my life that I couldn’t stop my tears. The strength in me was fading away. This experience took my thoughts to many other perspectives of life. I`ve always understood the significance that one`s identity carries but I`ve never thought about those who are

Woodlands Community Center Corporation Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Woodlands Community Center Corporation Case Analysis Essay The Woodland Community Center Cooperation (WCCC) had been established in 1926 by a social worker who thought that Woodland, an East Coast seaport town, would benefit from a variety of social and human services. Alain Yates, the longest serving executive director, was a long standing icon in the organization for many years, and due to a mixture of longevity and assertion, had shaped the organizational culture of the agency during his time of leadership. He had established a culture that didn’t necessarily reward what would be considered the â€Å"norm†; such has hard work and excellence. Instead he rewarded seniority and loyalty to the organization, and above all, loyalty to him. Employees advanced through becoming Yates’ â€Å"pet† employees, and received perks such as parking and expensive trips to out of state conferences. This preferential behavior created a rift within the organization and its employees. If people complained, then they were slowly trickled out by Yates, and replaced by more loyal employees. After 25 years of service, Yates retired, and while naming his suggestion for a successor, the board quickly and surprisingly undermined his influence and hired Fred Chambers. Fred was a man of substance and experience, and they needed someone to come in and not only change he organizational culture, but improve it. Fred’s wife had advised against taking this appointment, yet Fred took on the challenge, and in this case analysis we meet Fred just as he is beginning to take in the breadth of this challenge. Organization culture at Woodland Community Center Corporation was based on the values imposed by Yates. He believed that â€Å"seniority was sacrosanct, and neither creativity nor hard work replaced it† (McShane 539). This created a dominant organizational culture that believed that loyalty to Alan Yates was all that mattered, considering that the employees enjoyed a secure work environment as few employees ere fired for poor work ethic. â€Å"The key to employee survival and its attendant rewards was loyalty, not competency. Furthermore, loyalty was the sole way to advance in the agency or to receive pay increases for the agency’s over 100 employees† (McShane 539). As Yates continued his tenure, the organization was becoming more incestuous and a breeding ground for a groupthink mentality. â€Å"the agency had one characteristic in common: they swore undying loyalty to Yates† (McShane 539). Although Yates dominated the organizational culture with his own values, there was still a certain subculture that opposed him. The employees who were not impressed by Yates created the counterculture considering that they directly opposed the dominant values in the organization. They tried to maintain the organization’s standards of performance and ethical behavior as one employee stated â€Å"we are committed to working for the betterment of the agency and its clients, and we will stay despite Yates preferential treatment of pet employees† (McShane 539). They tried to maintain the values that kept the firm aligned with the needs of the society and other stakeholders. The subculture opposed to Yates could have been helpful in changing the dominant culture upon his retirement, but the executive director was able to suppress it over time. Employees that were part of the subculture began to retire of slowly trickle out because they could not longer tolerate â€Å"employment injustices† (McShane 540). Each employee that left would then be replaced by a loyal Yates supporter, which made in the more difficult for the New Executive Director Fred Chambers to change contaminated culture. In reading about organizational cultures, our text places images of strong, adaptive cultures. Cultures where the employees strive to improve customer focus and carry on long standing traditions that have carried the success of the companies. However, in this week’s case study, we find a great example of what a weak organizational structure is. Alan Yates has instilled a weak organizational culture during his tenure at WCCC. While at WCCC Alan Yates has allowed an organization culture that has slide away from customer services and has not become adaptive. The organizational culture has become one were loyalty and servitude has more value than ability and knowledge. â€Å"The key to employee survival and its attendant rewards was loyalty, not competency† (McShane 539). From this quote, it is clear to see that Alan Yates has created a culture of â€Å"yes† people, loyal to him and unable to correctly serve their client base. Furthermore, the organizational culture is being eroded as â€Å"adaptive† employees leave the company (McShane 467). As stated before, the organizational culture is further weakened by Mr. Yates as more experienced and â€Å"adaptive† employees are alienated and replaced by â€Å"in-crowd† employees. As the experienced employees leave, they erode the company by taking away many of the â€Å"rituals, legends and ceremonies† of the company (McShane 464). As the more experienced employees leave the company, many of the rituals, legends and ceremonies that had made WCCC successful will be lost, as they will be lost in the transition to new employees. The text also describes the three important functions of a strong culture, â€Å"Control system, Social glue and Sense making† (McShane 466). Again, it is interesting to see how a weak organizational culture works. Looking at WCCC’s control system with Mr. Yates, it is evident that a â€Å"deeply embedded form of social control that influences employee decisions and behavior† is present in the company (McShane 466). The only problem is the control system is too strong and influential. An example from the case study cites â€Å"Both, regardless of how they arrived at the agency, had one characteristic in common: They swore loyalty to Yates† (McShane 540). As more employees became loyal to Yates, the control system became to strong. The weakest part of the culture is tied to the â€Å"social glue† (McShane 466). â€Å"Organizational culture is the â€Å"social glue† that bonds people together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience† (McShane 466). The case study talks of a â€Å"growing rift† among employees that are loyal or not to Yates (McShane 539). The organizational culture suffers from a split in the employees as more experienced employees feel left out by Yates. This effectively shows a lack of â€Å"social glue† within the organizational culture of WCCC. Overall, it is easy to see that the organizational culture during Mr. Yates tenure has been significantly decreased at WCCC. The company lacks any â€Å"social glue† that could improve employee moral and it further harmed by the overbearing control of Mr. Yates. During his 25 year stay at WCCC, Mr. Yates has turned the organizational culture to nothing more than a â€Å"yes† culture. Fred Chambers is well aware how much organizational change is needed at the Woodland Community Center Corporation. There are both driving and restraining forces for change found in this case which will make Fred Chambers’ new position of executive director a difficult one. It is his goal to effectively manage these forces in order to successfully point the Woodland Community Center Corporation into a new direction. Alain Yates left a divided and unhappy workforce for Fred Chambers to fix. â€Å"Yates had encouraged policies of â€Å"double standards† that de-motivated some long-term and industrious agency employees. (McShane 532) Yates had his favorite employees and those who were within his inner circle. Certain people had reserved parking spots, whereas others had to park far away and take the long walk to the building from their car in inclement weather. Others were not allowed to go to training sessions to further their knowledge while they stood buy and watched certain employees go to expensive out of state conferences. â€Å"Yates’s actions resulted in a small but noticeable agency fissure that led to a growing rift between employees who sought to excel and those who just got by on their loyalty. ( McShane 532) Employees wanted to be rewarded for their work ethic and not their loyalty. People would no longer go the extra mile if they weren’t in Yates’s inner circle. This is a definite driving force for change. Fair and equal treatment needs to be implemented throughout the corporation. Despite all of the negative practices that Alain Yates implemented, those employees who were not treated fairly did not leave WCCC. They were paid very well and had a drive to help the clients that the agency worked with. Eventually, most of these employees left and were replaced by loyal supporters of Yates. Chambers needs to drive home that sense of loyalty to Woodland Community Center Corporation’s clients to those employees who remained despite not being in Yates’s inner circle. These employees need to still be competitively paid and reassured that their work will be appreciated. On the other hand, most of the employees of WCCC are loyal to Alain Yates and Fred Chambers will have an up road battle to convince the supporters of Yates that he will do a great job. Fred Chambers will most likely face many restraining forces for change. In some situations employees may be worried about the consequences of change, such as how the new conditions will take away their power and status. In other situations, employees show resistance because of concerns about the process of change itself, such as the effort required to break old habits and learn new skills. †(McShane 490) Fred Chambers needs to set a standard of equality. Yates’s inner circle no longer exists, and these employees need to know that they have to step up to the challenge and prove themselves. One resistance to change is the fear of the unknown. Employees do not know what is in stored for them. People resist change out of worry that they cannot adjust to the new work requirements. †(McShane 491) Workers might not have performed up to their potential because they were favored by Yates. Another resistance to change is when a routine is broken. â€Å"This means employees need to abandon behavioral routines that are no longer appropriate. †(McShane 491) Employees will not be used to the style of Fred Chambers. He most likely wants to do things differently, and they will have to adjust accordingly. Fred Chambers needs to approach organizational change from an evolutionary perspective. Alain Yates had run the WCCC for twenty five years. Many of the employees had been there for a long time and have been accustomed to his leadership style. Fred Chambers needs to implement certain changes right away, but at the same time, one does not want to rock the boat too much. He must create a more equal and level playing field for all employees. Chambers must gain the trust of all his workers and prove to them that he is dedicated to them, the organization, and most importantly, the company’s clients. By being too aggressive in his actions, Chambers will not give off a good impression and turn a lot of people off. He needs to use tact and apply his experiences to his new position. Over the next year or two, employees will realize that they are valued by the work they do and not by the personal connections they may have. Fred Chambers is required to make a lot of changes, and to convince a staff who has been conditioned to be loyal to a man who is no longer at the helm of the ship. Additionally, it seems that decisions had been made that weren’t pro-business, only pro-Yates. These will need to be reversed, which will naturally result in push back from the employees who had had these perks-who wants to give up a good parking spot? We believe that change really needs to begin at the bottom with the employees. First, Chambers should hold a meeting, outlining some initial changes within the organization, as well as explaining what in the world would make the board make such decisions. Providing some transparency at the top would help build some trust from employees. It would be important to not dwell on the past, but to focus on the future. He should talk about how important it is that people focus on the increased productivity and services of the organization, as opposed to the past which was riddled with preferential treatment and poor business decisions. The opportunities here far outweigh negativity brought by employees entrenched in the previous culture. This is an opportunity to have the employees really concentrate and recommit to the mission and vision of the organization. Perhaps he could do a workshop outlining goals, and the mission/vision of the organization. The future of the organizations fiscal and organizational health lies in Fred’s ability to gain the trust of the employees and then steer them towards good work product output, expectations of advancement when warranted through good work, and perhaps some leaner times financially, if there need to be lay offs. Fred needs to make the employees feel as though they belong to an organization who works well together. Create a sense of belonging. This is how Yates succeeded in turning the culture in his way, and it won’t be too difficult to do the same. Chambers also has a leg up when it comes to cost cutting. He will be able to outline to the entire organization that expenses such as trips, far away conferences and training will not be available to anyone, regardless of the reason or connection. This will allow people to see that Chambers will not play favorites, which has been an issue of concern in the past. It also tells the employees that there are financial concerns, and they should be cognizant of where they spend money. While there will be some initial push back, Chambers can and we believe will succeed. He has experience in running non profits; he is a seasoned professional in dealing with non-profit staff. Chambers should approach this challenge with the belief that what one poor leader had done can be undone by a strong leader with a good understanding of the culture, the people, and a strong commitment to the success of the organization.

Nostradamus :: essays research papers

Nostradamus lived in the 16th century in France. He was a healer of the black plague, which was an incredible pandemic that struck Europe, killing thousands. But when his wife and two children died of it, he went in to seclusion and started writing his â€Å"visions.† He wrote them in verses of four that are called quatrains. Nostradamus was said to have predicted many things. He predicted what he called as â€Å"the three antichrists.† The first is believed to be Napoleon. The second antichrist he predicted, in which is said by most as his most incredible prediction, is believed to be Hitler. He wrote of the second being called Hisler. He is also credited with predicting the French Revolution, the American Revolution and the deaths of the two Kennedy brothers. Since the movie was made in the early 80’s, their present predictions aren’t really applicable to us. But he predicted the world was to become completely flooded after a giant earthquake which was to happen in the New City. The new city is believed to be LA, California because it lies on the San Andres Fault, which is a hotspot for earthquakes. He also tells of a great famine that would engulf the world. Probably Nostradamus’ most incredible predictions are the ones of the future. He is said to predict the third antichrist as one from the middle east which would bomb the new city and he gives the latitude of New York city. Not only that, though, he says specifically that the city would be attacked twice. This relates tremendously to the attack on the world trade center believed to be planned by Osma Bin Laden. But, even though it does say that the city would be attacked twice, it also says that the first attack would fail.

Nursing Case Studies on COPD

In this reflective piece of writing I will be explaining how chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects the patient physically, psychologically ,and socially ,I will also explain how the disease affects his daily routine and how it impacts on his family life. I will give an overview of the clinical signs and symptoms, how the disease alters the pathphysiology of the lungs, and what these changes cause within the body. I will be using the reflective model â€Å"What, So What, Now What â€Å" (2007). The patient I have chosen to write about is a seventy year old male who has been married for nearly fifty years. He has two grown up sons, both married with children of their own. Mr Woods has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease diagnosed ten years ago. Prior to this disease Mr Woods was a lifelong smoker, beginning at the age of fourteen years, smoking up to thirty cigarettes per day. Mr Woods condition has progressively worsened over the past few years, and he now requires home oxygen therapy. A patient was brought into the emergency department by the paramedics complaining of difficulty in breathing. On arrival he was tachypnoeic, had a respiratory rate thirty two and was found to have an audible wheeze. He stated that he had a productive cough and was expectorating green coloured sputum. The patient felt warm to touch. He looked pale, was sat upright, slightly leaning forward in a rigid posture on the ambulance stretcher. I was delegated the role of undertaking Mr Wood’s initial assessment, which included ensuring the patient was undressed ready for examination by a doctor, and also carrying out a baseline set of observations. I was happy to undertake this task, because I had the required training, skills and was deemed competent to carry out the necessary care required to look after Mr Woods. The nurse in charge informed me of Mr Woods medical history prior to me entering the cubicle, including what had precipitated his attendance to the emergency department which on that particular day had been his worsening shortness of breath. On entering the cubicle, I helped Mr Woods get undressed and into a hospital gown because any slight exertion made him more short of breath. I carried out a baseline set of observations. His blood pressure was 165/95, he had a pulse rate of 125 beats per minute, a temperature of 38. c, a respiratory rate of 32, on 2 litres of oxygen his saturation level was 88%, and his blood glucose level was 4. 4mmol/l. Although some of these observations are not within ‘normal’ range, for a person with COPD some of these observations maybe acceptable because the disease affects the path physiology of the lungs. The airways leading to the lungs, the bronchi, become inflamed. The inflamed airways produce too much mucus (sputum) which can lead to a p ersistent cough, wheeze and increasing shortness of breath. This happens because the air sacs (alveoli) become overstretched, rupture and merge which causes them to lose their elasticity. This causes the oxygen absorbing surfaces to be reduced, and with the narrowing of the airways gas exchange is less efficient (Parker, 2009). The lungs over inflate which reduces the air volume moving in and out of the lungs which can lead to tachypnoea (abnormally rapid rate of breathing), breathlessness on exertion, respiratory distress, abnormal posture I. e. leaning forward to help open the airways (Nursing Standard, 2001). Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease can have a tendency to have low oxygen saturation levels, usually around 88% on air. In healthy patients their levels are usually between 95%- 100%. COPD patients often need supportive treatment of 2 litres of oxygen to maintain oxygen saturations normally acceptable for that specific patient. However oxygen therapy higher than 2 litres may cause their carbon dioxide (CO2) levels to rise (Abrahams, 2009). As Mr Woods COPD had progressively worsened he had been commenced on home oxygen which he uses throughout most of the day. This helps him to undertake the most simplistic of daily activities of living. Mr Woods lives at home with his wife who, due to the impact of this disease on Mr Woods, has now become his main carer. She helps her husband with his daily activities such as washing, showering and preparing his meals. He needs help mobilising to the downstairs shower room, and, once there, needs assistance to get undressed. Whilst in the shower room Mr Woods needs to sit on a shower stool because he cannot manage to stand for any length of time due to breathlessness. He is also unable to walk upstairs because he gets short of breath on exertion so he has had a stair lift installed which enables him to go upstairs to bed. This enables Mr and Mrs Woods to fulfil both the physical and psychological aspects of their relationship. COPD can affect the psychological wellbeing of the sufferer. Before Mr Woods condition deteriorated he was able to go out, he used to enjoy going fishing with his sons and playing with his grandchildren. Because of his condition, Mr Woods is prone to feelings of inadequacy and depression. He also feels guilty because of his growing dependency on his wife for the simplest of daily tasks such as making a cup of tea or answering the door. Because of the growing demands of her husband’s worsening condition Mrs Woods now has to depend on other family members to facilitate her with tasks that Mr Woods can no longer undertake due to his COPD, and frequent visits to the hospital with recurrent chest infections. Whilst Mr Woods was in the emergency department it was my responsibility to make sure Mr Woods was comfortable and that his observations were done regularly and documented. I was happy to do this as I am deemed competent and have the required training to carry out these duties. I made sure Mr Woods was sitting upright as this would help him with his breathing by improving his lung capacity and making sure oxygen was prescribed by the doctor and administered via nasal cannulae as per trust policy. I noticed Mr Woods remained tachyponeic, so repeated his observations. Even though on 2 litres of oxygen his saturation levels still remained low so I informed the nurse in charge that Mr Woods observations remained unstable. A doctor was notified and the patient assessed which involved listening to his chest. The doctor then prescribed nebulisers, oral steroids and paracetamol. A chest x-ray was also requested. I had to ask a qualified member of staff to administer Mr Woods medication, because I am not qualified to dispense drugs to a patient as a student assistant practitioner as this does not fall within my scope of practice or within the boundaries of my role. I think the fact I know my limitations and boundaries make me a safe practitioner. I made sure I had documented Mr Woods observations and that I had informed the nurse in charge of his condition making sure that I had dated, timed and signed what I had written. I got my documentation countersigned by a qualified member of staff as stated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2008). The doctor asked me to cannulate and take some blood from Mr Woods. I was comfortable with this request because I am qualified to undertake the task. I explained to Mr Woods that I needed to put a needle in his arm and take some blood and that I would be leaving the cannula in his arm for any medication his may require later. I put the equipment together that I needed to cannulate, making sure that it was on a clean trolley and that I had a sharps bin. I then washed my hands, put on my apron and gloves following universal precautions. I then proceeded to cannulate Mr Woods explaining everything I was doing throughout the procedure. Once the cannula was in I disposed of my sharp in the sharps bin and put my dirty equipment in the clinical waste and then washed my hands. Mr Woods was then taken for his x-ray. Once labelled I then gave the blood to the doctor to send of to the path lab. I then filled in the cannulation documentation form as per hospital trust policy. I was pleased that I managed to get the cannula in on my first attempt because Mr Woods had terrible veins and I did not like the thought of having to put him through the procedure again as it can be quite painful and distressing. Mr Woods x-ray showed he had a chest infection for which he was prescribed intravenous antibiotics. Mr Woods was then transferred to the Medical Assessment Unit for further treatment by the medical doctors. Reflecting back I believe I have developed my knowledge about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Reading articles, text books and trust policies on COPD has allowed my to enhance my ability to recognise when patients are clinically unwell and have the confidence to highlight these abnormalities to the relevant members of the multidisciplinary team I. e. the nurse in charge and doctor, so the patient can be managed promptly and appropriately. Also the information I gained from talking to Mr Woods was invaluable in allowing me to gain insight and therefore a greater understanding of how the disease affected not only the patient but also his family on a day to day basis. Witnessing first hand the debilitating affects the disease process has on an individual such as Mr Woods and his family left me feeling a little sad due to the fact that my role as a student assistant practitioner limited my involvement in his treatment. Having been the first member of staff to attend to Mr Woods on his arrival to the department and to have spent time developing a therapeutic relationship with him I felt that involving another member of staff to carry out an aspect of care may make him question my abilities to look after him as I could not administer his medication. I could address this issue by explaining to the patient that my role as student assistant practitioner does not allow me to give medication but explain that I am competent in carrying out all other aspects of care. Developing my existing knowledge on the psychological and physiological affects of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease has been consolidated by caring for a patient that has attended the emergency department with this chronic long term condition. Extending my knowledge base on this condition and the long term effects it can have on the individual will ensure that I treat each patient on their needs rather than just on their condition. Also looking back on this assessment I believe I acted professionally, promptly and efficiently. I feel I carried out my duties to a high standard of care within the boundaries of my role as a student assistant practitioner which in turn enabled Mr Woods to receive the treatment and medication he required to ensure the best possible outcome. Looking after Mr Woods has shown that I can work effectively as a member of the multidisciplinary team. I am able to assess, implement and evaluate my care which has enabled other members of staff to witness my holistic and high level of care delivery within the emergency department. I believe this can benefit not only the patients attending the department but also help develop my role within the team.