Nursing Situation
Working at the Utah General Hospital has given me the experience to witness recycling as a subscription to environmental sustainability. The hospital has adopted a recycling process for oximetry pulse probes as an end to cut down the costs of health care services in the facility. Since its implementation, the hospital has saved approximately $120,000. By recycling the oximetry pulse probes, the hospital supports the conservation of the environment. Initially, the oximetry pulse probes were dumped in a safe public dumping site outside a Utah town. Nevertheless, the used oximetry pulse probes formed part of non-biodegradable waste materials. This research outlines how recycling oximetry pulse probes can be a way of saving funds and the environment from non-biodegradable biohazards.
Reducing Expenses
In the medical profession, much of health care waste is disposed of on a daily basis. Most of these materials are placed in waste materials handling bags that are expensive to purchase (Richardson, 2014). In addition, they are non-biodegradable and pollute the environment in the long run. Recycling oximeter pulse finger probes in the Utah hospital has helped to save a substantial amount of funds since its implementation. The saved funds are allocated to the other medical departments in the hospital. This has been immensely beneficial to the hospital since the costs of health provision have escalated over the last few years. The recycled oximeter pulse finger probes can still offer the patients the same quality of service initially offered by the earlier version of pulse finger probes. This is with an added advantage of conserving the environment from pollution.
Impact on the Environment
The environment is considered an important social factor in health. It has a profound contribution to why some people are healthy while others are sick (Health, Environment and Nursing, 2013). In medicine, nurses have a big responsibility of taking care of the environment. This can be achieved if they agree to support the environmental conservation campaign of using recyclable oximeter pulse finger probes. The code of ethics governing registered nurses (CNA) supports the participation of nurses in environmental health-related issues. CNA mandates nurses to be the leading advocates in supporting health environmental conservation measures such as recycling. The pictorial representation below represents a simple system that can be used to support environmental conservation. It also portrays the imminent threats if health environmental conservation measures are employed.
Holistic Nursing in Conserving the Environment
Holistic nursing gives nurses a system of thoughts, practice, and methodology of response in bringing healing to the forefront of the health care system (Keegan, 2012). By practicing holistic nursing, nurses are able to integrate self-responsibility, spirituality, and self-care into their lives (Keegan, 2012). In terms of conservation, such nurses can employ the qualities of holistic nursing in safeguarding the environment. Holistic nurses take it as their responsibility to promote all functions of environmental conservation like recycling. They are leaders in advocating and supporting environmental conservation campaigns in and out of a health institution.
Conclusion
Environmental conservation is of paramount importance in supporting good health. Recycling oximeter pulse finger probes is among the best ways of protecting the environment from non-biodegradable waste materials. It also helps in saving the healthcare system millions of dollars each year. The saved funds can be allocated to other medical areas that need urgent financial support. Nurses have a big role in supporting health-related environmental conservation measures. If the environment is well conserved, the health status of numerous persons around the world will be safeguarded.
References
Health, Environment, and Nursing. (2013, September 19). Retrieved July 07, 2015, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3sugUMVAPk
Richardson, J. (2014, May 21). The Use of Evidence-Based Sustainability Scenarios in the Nursing Curriculum. Retrieved July 07, 2015, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw9rknh0RnE