isyulli: society

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Jumat, 15 April 2011

Pharmcists Should Stay Out of Mental Health

Pharmacists should stay out of health treatment and do what they do best - glorified clerks. They have no training in curing disease. Their education is solely based on chemical analysis. They are scientists not physicians. Ask their advice and they tell you what is written on the packet.

Now the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is saying pharmacists are qualified to treat people with mental illness. They may "give" drugs to such patients but they do not prescribe them. Heaven help us if they get involved will-nilly in advising those with mental disorders. Having someone continually talking in your ear about how to take your prescription medicine it not going to help one recover.

Doctors need direct contact with a patient to give the greatest assistance. Having a pharmacist in the middle is only going to mess things up. A mental patient is already stressed. Saying pharmacists will reduce medication errors is implying that they have qualifications to oversee physicians. Obviously, they do not have such expertise.

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Health

Sabtu, 26 Maret 2011

Religion is Weakening But It Will Not Die

The world is at war between those who believe in God and those who do not. Christianity is becoming less relevant to some as they lead busy lives. Islam is still strong and growing. The other religions are still important to many, particularly when there are hardships in life.

All religions are under threat as people clamber for democracy in countries where whole societies revolved around the dictates of the prevailing religion. From census data taken in 85 Western nations, it was found that the number of people ticking "unaffiliated" is increasing. Though the formula predicts total extinction of religious belief it is doubtful that this will actually occur. Even when a religion is outlawed people tend to go underground with their beliefs. It comes to life again when circumstances improve.

The thing is, we will never really know if there is a God. Many go to church as "insurance", just in case there is life after death. Religious books give us answers to the questions in life. Science may "disprove" such things as Adam being created just five thousand years ago but these books are so complex that a reader will find an answer somewhere in there amongst the complicated and confusing text.

~~~~~Religion~~~~~

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Sabtu, 15 Januari 2011

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Gives Money so Flood Affected Pharmacists Can Get Back into Business Quickly

Talk about looking after your own - the better off looking after each other. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is setting up a register of pharmacists affected by the floods. Pharmacists in unaffected states are offering to give financial help.

This is disgraceful! What about patients who cannot get necessary supplies, now? This is a case of a privileged group looking after themselves. It should be condemned. It is okay for them to give money to each other. The ordinary person gives a general donation and it is given to recipients based on need.

At a time like this some people think only of money. Getting food, warm clothing and needed medications should be the main priority. The PSA should be giving millions of dollars to welfare organisations for this purpose, not thinking of setting up shop as soon as possible to make money.

The truth is pharmacists don't compete with each other. It is like a "buddy" club.

~~~~~Health~~~~~

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Senin, 29 November 2010

Ethics as a Subject in Schools

According to the NSW government, ethics is the nearest thing to religion. There is an admission here that religion somehow dictates the mode of behavior in adulthood. In centuries past this was most definitely true. You have only to read the accounts of people who were at deaths door, like being adrift at sea in a boat, to perceive that life after death was paramount in people's thinking. Not going to hell was also important.

Teaching ethics as an alternative to religious education in schools seems to be a logical option. Next year the NSW government will allow parents to choose secular ethics as a subject for their children instead of religion. Some would argue that religion does not really teach people how to behave in society. It is more important than that. Believing in God is paramount, not how one behaves toward his/her fellow Man. Behavior is secondary to being submissive to God.

The problem with ethics is the supposition that there is a correct way of social interaction. Stealing and lying, for example, are condemned. But business is part of our daily lives. Isn't the act of selling really stealing? There is something unethical about buying a tonne of apples on the cheap, then putting them is small bags and selling them at a high price. That is basically what all trade is - the act of buying in bulk and selling individually. To live in an ethical manner would involve the adoption of non-market principles of activity. Living in a commune where everything is bartered would be ideal.

The NSW Government has confused ethics with abiding by state laws and the rights of people as determined by the state. If ethics as a subject is to be a building block of education there will inevitably be calls for the "correct' curriculum. There will be difficulties because what is right for one person is wrong for another. Is it wrong to take a life for example? Most governments "dictate" that doctors shall not take a life under any circumstances. If you are a soldier though it is perfectly okay to kill someone.

Ethics then is similar to religion in that the most important facets of the "subject" are hard to pin down. And like religion, ethics is a battleground for differing views. Making ethics a school subject is not going to be a simplistic way of "settling" the issue of religion vis-a-vis society. Indeed, it may cause more problems.

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Kamis, 18 November 2010

China's Mental Health Problem

It is no wonder China is experiencing a rise in mental illness: production line work is the most demoralizing you can do. Oddly, it is the executives in China's industry who are committing suicide. This could be due to party officials being "given" jobs running large modern businesses, Party work is much different than running a company.

Mental illness is shockingly high in China with 17.5 per cent of the population suffering from the malady. The issue is - Why has the rate risen so quickly in China? Of course, a little thought will inform: the largest nation in the world has adopted the Western economic system rapidly. The system was just "dumped" on the people who were told the old ways were bad. The old ways provided guaranteed employment and generous pensions, even housing was a given. My, how things have changed.

The Western "disease", the industrial strike, has occurred in recent times. In the past this state of affairs would have been "stomped on" quick smart. With the country pushing for higher productivity and wages pegged at a low level it is no wonder something had to give.

New mental health treatment programs have been set up offering the latest medications. With no real cure on the horizon and only symptomatic relief available, the source of industrial labor for the world must surely have to look at the real cause - modern industrial society with all its uncertainties.

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Senin, 18 Oktober 2010

Germany Disappointed With Immigration "Experiment"

If Germany expected immigrants to become German by living there it is no wonder people are disappointed. The best one can hope for is that the children of immigrants born in the new country will be fully integrated. If a model of "multiculturalism" was needed Australia could be the example. In the 50s, 60s and 70s the term "wog" was prevalent. Though Australians should have more correctly called people from the Mediterranean region "waps", these Greek and Italian "new Australians" quickly moved into enclaves of major cities. They not only imported themselves, but corner store businesses sprang up selling goods that no native born Australian would buy. The stores did quite well from the local clientele.

It was common to hear people on buses and in queues speaking the language of their mother country. Australians were not offended by this because the new people were hard working and they didn't try to change Australian culture per se. Their culture just ran "alongside" the dominant culture. If one was lucky, an invite to a party or a wedding was offered. There was this congruency between the cultures. All enjoyed having a good time where alcohol was consumed. Even Asian societies have this in common.

Today new arrivals come from the Middle East and Africa and they are predominantly Muslim. It is no wonder a clash of cultures occurs. While Christianity strongly affects Mediterranean societies freedom of the individual is paramount. Islam expects the individual to live strictly by the laws of this religion. This means no alcohol and no enjoyment. Fundamentally, the problem is a religious one. If the hope is for the children of Muslims to be socialized into their new country Islam needs to be interpreted in ways that for the most part do not clash with the dominant culture. Children of immigrants who strictly follow the ways of their parents are doomed to a life of not fitting in.

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Senin, 02 Agustus 2010

Memories Are Not Real

Childhood memories are figments of your imagination. If you believe that you'll believe anything. Children in the UK were asked to recall memories of things their parents said didn't happen. But how do we know if children were trying to please their parents? Most children live in a dream land anyway. So asking them to recall seeing Santa Claus is just "baiting". And asking them about flying through the air is "hypnotising" for dream recall.

If you broke your leg as child you certainly remember that, and whether the sun was out when it happened. The pain makes it stay in your mind. One thing that really remains is the care one receives from others. You remember things done with grandma because she was always kind and forgiving. Furthermore, really horrible events like being involved in a road accident and then taken to hospital remain as clear as the day they occurred.

We wouldn't have an identity without memories. We are the sum of our experiences. Taking that away from someone is condemning that person to live in the forever "now". Debate is rife about whether learning is anything of value. For example, a day after taking exams most of it is forgotten. But a university degree or any other academic test is something the individual values and society values. Whether you actually remember things taught is quite irrelevant. You have gone down that road and reached the destination. Surely, that is what life is about: having experiences, chronologically, with the past leading to the present and into the future and remembering certain milestones.

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Jumat, 12 Maret 2010

Some Registered Psychologists Are Deemed to be Undertrained

The standards of psychological treatment in Australia is in question. The Psychological Society of Australia has been accused of allowing the industry to employ only partially trained psychologists. Six qualified practitioners have made this claim. Although psychologists register with the society not all are qualified.

If this is the case it is appalling. How could untrained people possibly be allowed to treat the sick, particularly if these patients are suicidal.

Apparently, clinical psychologists are fully qualified though they can be members of the society, whereas the remainder of registered psychologists are not trained. GPs refer patients to a registered psychologist who then treats the patient. The counselling is subsidized under Medicare. Over the last five years the Government has paid out twice as much to the practitioners than was budgeted.

A deeper look into the issue shows, however, that some academic bigotry is involved. Clinical psychologists who complete a degree followed by a Masters or Doctorate are saying registered psychologists who do a degree and two years supervised training are under qualified. This could be a case of an elite trying to freeze the others out of business.

The US and Britain insist on a Masters or Doctorate ticket. Australia says two years post degree training is enough.

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Kamis, 18 Februari 2010

Pharmacists Are Trying to Get the Right to Prescribe Medications

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is pushing for chemists to have the right to prescribe medications. There is no way this will happen, however. The pharmaceutical body which represents 75 percent of Australian pharmacists claims chemists know more than doctors about new drugs. Considering doctors purchase all the latest journals and publications on medicine this statement is untrue.

Considering chemists were given the right to provide sick notes for employees to give to their employers and they didn't give the notes when asked, gaining presciption writing privileges would not be acted upon - unless of course there is big money in it.

The Pharmaceutical Society is asking the Government to fund a training program so chemists can advise consumers on asthma, diabetes and tobacco. This would be a waste. When you ask for advice about the simplest of things they seem to give very simplistic answers. Comments they give when they sell items is certainly not academic in nature.

It is ridiculous for chemists to make a decision on extending heart medication to patients, for example. If someone has a heart attack in the street you don't call a chemist. General Practitioners will "fight like crazy" to protect the right to prescribe. In the hands of a pharmacist it would surely be a licence to print money. And what about addictive medications? People will go pharmacy shopping to get these drugs.

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