Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the world and covers almost every aspect of health maintenance. This career focuses on providing care to individuals, families, and communities within the healthcare sector. Thanks to nurses, patients gain the ability to attain, maintain, or regain optimal health and quality of life.
You can become an advanced practice, registered, and licensed practical nurse. If you are considering a career as a nurse, you will most likely have to write several academic essays during your education. To create an excellent nursing essay, you must clearly understand what the field is and how it affects patient care. You should also be familiar with common procedures and their terminology.
Make sure to find strong evidence from reputable sources and write in a clear, concise, and organized manner. Reviewing different essay samples on nursing will also help you improve your paper’s structure and content.
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic presented one of the most challenging times for health professionals across the globe. Health professionals are under pressure, working long shifts without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), worried about spreading the sickness to their families, and in danger of infection from self-exposure. Additionally, isolation from the community...
Introduction In the nursing field, quantitative research plays an essential role in building the scientific evidence base of work. The main objective of this study is to study the main important factors that determine the need for quantitative research. This type of research allows an empirical approach in nursing to...
Abstract Both patients and healthcare providers benefit from culturally competent care. The individuals requiring care feel welcomed and understood, while nurses and doctors are able to build trustful and genuine relationships in which honesty is the core of communication. Depending on the heritage and environment in which the patient grew...
Introduction In healthcare, nurses are expected to offer quality care that is founded on the principles of compassion and patient-centeredness. With a specific focus on culturally sensitive care, nursing experts can deliver the best treatment possible for each individual. When no attention is paid to the patient’s unique needs and...
Problem Background Employee turnover bothers leaders in any sphere, and nursing is no exception. Nurses leave their organizations because of poor role clarity, burnout, a lack of communication, and no supervisory support (van der Heijden et al., 2019). Thus, nurse turnover is an issue that needs analysis to clarify how...
Introduction Patients’ values and beliefs may frequently clash with those of the nurse or other healthcare professionals in healthcare settings. Additionally, a patient’s values and beliefs might conflict with the suggested courses of treatment. Professional nurses must stand up for all patients without judgment while respecting their values and preferences...
Developing Course Elements Nurses are vital in the smooth operation of any country’s healthcare system globally. Therefore, training nurses to meet the needs of a country’s healthcare sector is important. The Course Role of the BSN Nurse in Promoting Community Health was developed using the ADDIE model. The first stage...
Practice Barriers for Advanced Practice Nurses in New York State There are many obstacles to practicing for different advanced practice nursing responsibilities. In my state, licensure portability is typically the biggest obstacle for nurse midwives, anesthetists, practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists. License portability is crucial to ensure the public has...
Introduction The nursing profession has significantly improved its ethical values, performance, and professionalism over the last several decades. According to Saleh (2018), one of the ways to succeed in nursing is to properly implement practice, research, and theory. This relationship is based on developing various skills and knowledge to promote...
Introduction Pain is a common and distressing symptom experienced by patients across different healthcare settings. While evidence-based recommendations are available, pain is still under-assessed and under-treated, with detrimental effects such as lower patient satisfaction, higher healthcare expenditures, and more prolonged hospital admissions (Dharsee et al., 2022). Thus, this study emphasizes...
The Selected APN Role and Competencies Women Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNPs) are qualified healthcare workers who adhere to the Nursing Practice Act’s standards of care in the states and have valid licenses and practice. They handle the overall non-gynecological requirements of women in primary healthcare, emphasizing general and integrated gynecological,...
Globally, the healthcare system depends significantly on the nursing profession for care delivery. However, in the US, this sector has been experiencing shortages of nurses in recent years. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the factors that cause these shortages, including a shift of focus to the increasing number of...
Summary Among the many situations that occur in medical facilities, improper administration of medications is one of the most common. Unfortunately, situations like Julie Thao’s are common due to many factors caused by the harsh conditions of the hospital (Lg15 1, 2012). Not long ago, there was an event that...
The goal of the assignment is to identify an issue worth analyzing and offering a helpful solution. The focus includes the nature of the issue, to better understand why a certain solution would be suitable to combat it. The scope encompasses such aspects as the need for change, the necessary...
Introduction Toi Native Plant Nursery (TNPN) have increased, which has led to problems with the inventory system. It resulted to the need for modernization of inventory process. The internal stakeholders are Max Wheeler and employees, who must find a way to improve quality of checkouts. External stakeholders are customers who...
A leadership approach called transformational leadership has the power to motivate followers to make progress. This is my style because I am a vivacious, enthusiastic, and passionate person. I feel committed to assisting each group member in succeeding, in addition to being interested in and engaged in the process. My...
Introduction The necessity for good leadership in healthcare and social care has become a common refrain in healthcare reform, stressing the importance of leadership in increasing quality. The commitment of the National Health Service (NHS) is to improve and promote strong, compassionate, and varied leadership at every level to jointly...
Introduction The process of learning and acquiring new skills and knowledge is very complex and depends on many external and internal factors. There are many theories on this subject, and this essay will analyze two of them: Thorndike’s learning theory and Piaget’s cognitive development theory. These theories are based on...
The purpose of this essay is to analyze various medical scenarios concerning hepatitis and gastrointestinal cancer risks. The first part focuses on the case of K.S., a 35-year-old homeless man with flu-like symptoms and abdominal pain. We explore the likely types of hepatitis he may have contracted and discuss diagnostic...
Gimenez, J. (2008). Beyond the academic essay: Discipline-specific writing in nursing and midwifery. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(3), 151–164. Web. The article investigates discipline-specific writing skills that nursing and midwifery students gain at UK universities. It also highlights the challenges that the students face in mastering writing tasks....
Introduction Nursing is an immensely demanding profession that requires a high level of accountability from practitioners. The codes of ethics presented by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) are two crucial documents that help regulate nurses’ conduct. They thoroughly explain the expected duties, competencies,...
Introduction The nursing practice and profession are experiencing significant changes due to the ever-increasing burden of diseases, the aging population, the adoption of digital care programs, and multiculturalism. It is vital to adopt work on continuous improvement through problem resolution and quality assurance (Larivee, 2019). Evidence-based research is often used...
Abstract This essay analyzes the problem associated with nurses’ incorrect prescription or administration of medications. The main hypothesis is that fatigue and psychosocial factors directly impact the efficiency of medical staff. This problem is relevant since its existence directly impacts patients and their health. Therefore, the main task of the...
The Board of Nursing makes these regulations a department of the state government. The Board of Nursing is in charge of the nursing regulation practice. It is also instructed to ensure that nurses follow existing laws and regulations. Comparison will be provided on the regulations in California and Minnesota state...
Psychological safety is an essential component of the well-being of people across all careers. The work environment can contribute to a person’s emotional health or cause them more stress. At the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH), the nurses working in the emergency department have a lot of pressure to perform...
Patient Safety Culture Analysis Karen Viani’s case primarily demonstrates the lack of cooperation between nurses as the patient did not receive the Laxis IV as appointed, which made her potassium level low. It was identified by the hospitalist who arrived on site because the in-charge nurse was extremely busy. This...
Introduction As a nurse, I will be able to develop a genuine connection with my patients and help provide them with high-quality treatment. My position will help me prepare patients for their care journey as well as what to expect after their treatment and for the rest of their lives....
When undergoing health problems causing elimination issues, patients face concurrent physical, psychological, and emotional challenges, the addressing of which might help patients improve their well-being. Elimination complexities are the problems related to natural bodily waste removal due to health issues. Indeed, researchers state that “toileting difficulties are known to be...
Introduction Nursing theories help nurses to better understand what they need to do during their work. There are several levels of them based on their abstraction levels: from meta paradigms and grand theories to conceptual frameworks and middle-level theories. I think theories are essential for efficient nursing practice, so I...
Introduction This paper delves into the role of advanced practice registered nursing practitioners (APRNs) in reducing unnecessary institutional barriers to their practice. The goal is to ensure they can work as per their education and accreditation as healthcare team members while enhancing health outcomes. According to the recently released research...
In nursing informatics, wisdom is defined as the use of knowledge, imagination, insight, and experience that is guided by ideals and directed toward achieving a common good. However, in some instances, nursing wisdom is typically based on a clinical judgment approach that revolves around the senses, emotions, and intuition (Booth...
Introduction Holistic nursing is an integrated approach adopted by caregivers to build positive relationships with patients and provide care in the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual domains. As a patient undergoes treatment, all the other factors affecting their lives are considered (Delaney & Bark, 2019). An example of holistic care...
Introduction Social determinants of health mostly cause unjust and avoidable disparities in health status within and across nations. The social settings in which individuals are born, develop, live, work, and age are social determinants of health (SDOH). The allocation of wealth, authority, and resources at the international, governmental, and local...
As a nurse, I aim to treat patients using the best evidence in my healthcare professional role. In this respect, evidence-based practice (EBP) is a systematic approach to problem-solving that improves public health quality and outcomes, reduces costs, and gives clinicians the freedom to fully perform their roles (Bianchi et...
My specialty area as a DP nurse is comprehensive assessment of the patients using Johnson’s Behavioral System theory that allows me to gain insight into their health-related predispositions and possible issues. Dorothy Johnson proposed with her behavioral system model in 1968 to move away from the concept of human needs...
Patients with hemodialysis are often medically fragile and require support in many areas of their daily lives. Hemodialysis is a procedure to remove waste and fluid from one’s blood, just like their nephron did. There are several potential barriers to educating patients with hemodialysis. These barriers include the patient’s ability...
The theory by Imogene King highlighted offers a perspective in the healthcare practice that one can resonate with. The post emphasizes that it helps to create the nurse-patient relationship as they strive to improve on that connection to achieve pre-set goals. It is a process that works because there is...
Considering that Nevada, and in particular the city of Las Vegas, is home to people of diverse ethnic groups, a number of healthcare issues are inescapable, especially healthcare disparities among the minority groups and inadequate healthcare services for those who access it. This is attributable to the lack of commitment...
Nursing has three powers that it can exercise to enhance its optimum contribution. The three domains are control over the substance of practice; that is, the content, the context of practice, and the control of the professionalism; competence. “The absence of power in the regulation of content and context of...
It has always been imperative to understand the quality of nursing because it is integral for providing care to patients and have a real impact on their health, especially in the realms of patient experience and safety. However, it is essential to note that not all work that nurses do...
Even though all evidence may be useful for medical practice, different types of evidence vary in their value for evidence-based practice (EBP). There are different levels of evidence, depending on its quality and methods. Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt provide a review of the strength-of-evidence rating pyramid that helps to visualize these...
In the role of nurse educators, professionals are expected to fulfill a wide variety of competencies to facilitate the effective performance of nurses in their respective positions. The competencies are broad and interact with each other in a cycle as one process leads to the fulfillment of another. For example,...
To successfully advocate and influence the political community, community health nurses must be politically competent. To do this, they need to be aware of the fundamental political concepts and how politics relates to nurses, patients, and healthcare. They also need to be familiar with theories of political processes, one of...
Nursing theory refers to a term within the body of knowledge that is utilized to promote nursing practices. The nursing theory offers the foundation for proficient nursing practices. In addition, it guides the nursing practice and offers insight into the future, present, and past of nursing. Nursing theory or practices...
Perhaps the most major change in my professional life came when I graduated and gained my first nursing position in a hospital. I went from being a student to a professional in what seemed like a short time. I was slightly nervous, but overall, I found it positive because it...
The activity of advanced registered nurse practitioners is crucial for every community. They can initiate and lead evidence-based projects to improve community members’ health, contributing both to the increase of the quality of care and improvement of patient outcomes. Thus, the activity of ARNPs is not limited to the hospital...
Strategic planning in nursing can be regarded as a critical element of the model for improvement. Application of a performance measure at the Veterans Administration Hospital in mental health required strategic planning for collecting the necessary data, minimizing the possible biases, comparing the retrieved data to the information from other...
A decision-analytic model assists decision-makers in getting a clear understanding of cost-effectiveness analysis and the consequences of incremental costs. Characterization of uncertainty such as parameter and methodological uncertainty is important when designing and interpreting any decision-analytic model. A good decision-analytic model addresses various aspects of health economic evaluation. Shared governance...
Since the development of nursing into a full-fledged profession, it has undergone numerous changes to get to its current status. Key among these changes was the restructuring of nursing education, which led to the emergence of the baccalaureate (BSN) nurses. These nurses are highly valued for their overall efficiency and...
The topic of elimination as a basic bodily function is very important to discuss and to raise awareness of due to the imposed psychological burden on patients who experience issues with it. Indeed, the health problems related to urinary or bowel emptying in patients of all ages and health histories...
The process of forming a productive team is crucial for ensuring the efficiency of organizational activities. Of special importance is the procedure of team organization in healthcare, where additions to the usual productivity can significantly enhance the well-being of the patients. Not only do such adjustments improve the quality of...
The Health Belief Model is a model that nurses use in elucidating and predicting the behaviors of patients in relation to their adherence to healthcare interventions. The model aims at changing psychosocial factors that shape the beliefs of patients and consequently change their behaviors in line with the healthcare services...
A theory and a model are important elements in research are they expound on the application of research findings. In nursing, a theory and a model enable nurses to understand the certain phenomenon and apply their knowledge and skills professionally. Despite their common usage, a theory and a model have...
According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), four areas should be transformed in order to improve the quality of care. The “Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) launched a powerful strategy in order to transform the nature of nursing.” The purpose of the initiative was...
I recently observed a male and a female nurse providing care to a group of patients. I observed that the female nurse was passionate about her work. She was courageous and ready to assist every patient. She appeared to communicate effectively with her patients. Men and women tend to have...
Studies “have shown that the number of malpractice cases against Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) has been on the rise.” Nurses might fail to deliver quality health care to their patients depending on a number of factors. This fact explains why there are several areas of potential liability for these practitioners....
Considering the quote ‘Prevention is better than cure’, it can be stated that the potential contribution of health professionals can be represented by their health promotion strategies and education of the population on how to maintain healthy lifestyles. A lot of people seek care from a medical professional only if...
I have been working in a small clinic. This non-profit organization supports the health needs of low-income families. The caregivers, nurses, and medical practitioners in the organization embrace the best health practices. I have identified powerful practices and competencies that have the potential to improve the quality of care. I...
The issue of unionization has several disadvantages and advantages. Such unions “are aimed at representing the socio-economic issues affecting specific classes of people.” These unions can present several benefits to nurses. For example, a union can improve the bargaining power of nurses. This approach will result in new benefits and...
Staff nurses have become an integral component in the learning environment particularly regarding aiding students on clinical placement. Medical training colleges have continually started embracing competent staff nurses who have the capability of offering high quality care while offering mentoring classes to the clinical students. The staff nurses must exhibit...
All nursing profession practitioners are bound by rules and regulations that govern how they go about their duties. In addition, they are always expected to show a prominent level of professionalism and etiquette while doing their jobs. According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement website, there are rules and guidelines...
Important Concepts in Family Nursing A family is an organism in that it is made up of different units/parts. Although each individual part is concerned with complete in itself, it is a member of the whole system. Just like an organic system, a family functions best when all of its...
The most difficult tasks for a nurse dealing with geriatric adults are the nutritional evaluation, mental condition, and functional status assessments. Nutrition is important in geriatric assessments since elderly people are vulnerable to nutritional deficiency. The vulnerability to inadequate nutrition comes as a result of lost appetite caused by loneliness,...
The theory of reasoned action, which is a behavioral theory, holds that before individuals perform certain actions, they weigh available options and choose one depending on the prevailing attitudes and subjective norms. Fundamentally, attitudes and subjective norms are parameters of reasoned action that determine behavioral intentions among individuals. In this...
The majority of the population is greatly dissatisfied with the current health care system provided. While an effective system can be deemed to be one that is efficient, acceptable and at the same time equitable, the current system has been observed to be lacking in these attributes. Even though many...
The World Health Organization (n.d.) is one of the largest health agencies that are concerned with global leadership in health matters. The projects of the World Health Organization (n.d.) are multiple, and they are aimed at the promotion of health and equality globally. Primary health care is one of the...
Professionalism in nursing encompasses an extensive set of qualities including academic and experience-based knowledge, professional, ethical attitude based on responsibility, and the skills of clinical practice and decision-making. According to Daly, Speedy, and Jackson, the primary purpose of nursing leadership is “to engage staff in a way that instills a...
The availability of various pathways to becoming a registered nurse is definitely a positive factor, and one can argue that it contributes to the improvement of care quality. All of the mentioned educational pathways – the bachelor’s degree of science in nursing (BSN); the associate’s degree in nursing (ADN); the...
Education is crucial for all career people in practicing their professions. This does not exclude the nurses for they are career individuals. The education for the nurses is offered through the nurse’s educators who ought to be trained clinicians and offer the education in an academic and clinical setting. Nurses...
It is advisable that the nurses should demeanor generational inventory of their working units. They should look at a team that considers generational mix, generational issues, and age profile. This is quite important for it helps to lock out the gaps that would be created by the aging staff. The...
The factors, which influenced the development of the nursing theory, are closely associated with the history of nursing and the development of medical science in general. Originally, nursing presupposed only caring for the deceased and wounded by creating the necessary environment for recovery. The appearance of Florence Nightingale in the...
American Nurses Association (ANA) American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Association for Vascular Access (AVA)
There are numerous roles in nursing that require different approaches and education that prepares nurses for the necessary tasks that lie within their duties. All the nurses have at least an RN allowing them to offer basic primary care. Most of the specialized types of nurses described in this essay...
The main factor in the overall practice environment that influenced RN turnover was the practice environment as a whole. This variable was measured by the PES-NWI score after correcting for RN features, units, and hospitals. Specific attributes under the overall practice environment included the tenure, age, and education level of...
It should be stressed that nurses should participate in healthcare legislation and policy amendment actively because, this way, they will be advocating for their clients. To effect change at the state level, nurses need to collaborate with other professionals since, first, they need to get experienced in interdisciplinary cooperation, informatics,...
In the provided scenario, I am one of three nurse aides (NAs) assigned to a long-term care unit with thirty-five residents and staffed with two registered nurses (RNs). I was instructed to cover the registered nurses’ (RN) patients while they distribute morning medications with my co-worker, Linda Evans. However, Linda...
Working as a nurse manager, it is possible to act as a change agent to maintain the accreditation status of a particular clinic. The use of control methods and those leadership standards that exist today contributes to increased monitoring over the productivity of subordinates and, as a consequence, the quality...
The quality of patient-nurse interaction can significantly define the overall patient outcomes. As stated by Nilsen et al., “the use of verbal and nonverbal interaction behaviors can help establish a synergistic care relationship between nurses and patients.” Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to both verbal and nonverbal communication...
Introduction The nurse retention crisis has become a pertinent issue that must be addressed sooner rather than later for the welfare of the American people. The role of nurses in the healthcare process cannot be overlooked and their retention is a priority to prevent a full-blown overload of the entire...
Introduction Medication administration errors may threaten patients’ safety and lead to negative health outcomes. When nurses administer and dispense medications to their patients, they should confirm the “five rights” of drug administration: “right patient, right medication, right dose, right route and right time” (Mulac et al., 2021, p. 1021). Therefore,...
The article under consideration is written by Angela F. Clark and entitled “Effect of a neonatal abstinence syndrome training program on nurses’ confidence and ability to use the Finnegan scoring tool.” The study is aimed to examine the effectiveness of a nursing education program on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and...
Summary Nurses must attend to the requirements of their patients. Legal, ethical, moral, and practical criteria are met in fulfilling this obligation. As a result of the trust placed in nursing staff to deliver the utmost medical care possible, this is warranted. In particular, prescription activities with a high risk...
The John Hopkins University School of Nursing is of unquestionable moral standing, and the institute articulates its core values like excellence, respect, diversity, integrity, and accountability. It would therefore be a reasonable assumption that the university would expect the same high values to be embodied in its students. I view...
In my opinion, a life well-lived is one that is lived in such a way that it makes a difference in the lives of other people. However, I believe that it takes more than mere raw skill and good intentions to make an optimal difference. A solid educational background proves...
Any situation which can potentially turn into a conflict is dangerous for any staff unity. However, even with the best management system, such situations are inevitable due to some basic human instincts. Regarding the case with holiday coverage, trying to find a compromise between all the staff members has a...
Abstract RN recruitment and retention, in a sense, is a vicious circle in the healthcare system, provoking several negative consequences for both the state and the individual. Sometimes, entering the profession can be a severe mistake for several specialists. Desperate, they quit medical practice and dissuade colleagues, acquaintances, and friends...
The list of functions and responsibilities of nurses working in adult or pediatric severe somatic (oncology/hematology, immunology, resuscitation, organ transplantation, etc.) and palliative medicine is extremely wide. Due to the proximity, intensity, and duration of their contact with the wards and their families, as well as due to the very...
Introduction Despite any circumstances, individuals are inseparable from their family bonds. This fact remains true when a person takes a visit to a doctor, as their well-being is directly linked to their blood ties, both physically and mentally. Family nursing is not a new concept, but it is barely acknowledged...
The profession of nursing plays an essential role in clinical practice by conducting medical procedures, supporting patients, and assisting doctors. Indeed, the nursing process can be defined as “a systematic method which utilizes scientific reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking to direct nurses in caring for patients effectively” (Semachew, 2018, p....
The problem that needs to be overcome in the daily practice of nurses is psychological burnout that occurs due to acute stress and loss of motivation. Burnout is a common phenomenon, especially in the daily activities of nurses; this ailment expresses itself in emotional exhaustion, overstrain, and frustration. All these...
Introduction Demographic factors intensify pressure on the healthcare system and demand new directions in healthcare provision. These factors include the variations in age, gender, income, race, and many more. Since healthcare providers such nurses are likely to treat patients of different ages, gender, income and race, it is required that...
Nurses have high work and skill demands, and they must master a wide range of skills to stay professional. The evolving professional environment for community/public health nursing has necessitated the creation of competencies that will shape practice, education, research, and policy recommendations. Nursing competence is typically viewed as a complex...
Nursing practice is one of the fundamental components of the healthcare system in any country, including the USA. The American Nurse Association (2010) outlined six basic areas in which American nurses can guide the public and political leaders to improve people’s health and wellness. Each of these key areas is...
Compassionate care is one of the fundamental and essential aspects of nursing practice. According to British experts, merciful care is a professional standard, a behavior model of competent, qualified nurses (Henderson & Jones, 2017). It is an attentive approach to solving the patient’s problems, the desire to relieve their pain....
Accreditation Standards Impacted Work at a medical facility is always associated with a variety of risks, both for the staff and the patients. During the process of care for a human body, many procedures and practices require interventions that are difficult to fully control, regulate, or perform to ensure that...
Introduction This case study will critically explore the person-centered, evidence-based care of the patient SJ and analyze an aspect of pain management with lower back pain to develop an appropriate plan of care that is safe, compassionate, effective, and holistic. The case study will also consider the most appropriate health...
Introduction Nurses are an essential component and driving force in improving health care and people’s health. They work closely with patients and see their needs, which gives them a unique experience and the ability to propose the most appropriate incentives. For this reason, this paper will consider one of the...
The concept of cultural sensitivity is widely used in nursing and health care. Cultural sensitivity can be defined as awareness of cultural differences in values, beliefs, and norms and appreciation of these differences in health care practice. Although many developed and developing countries have already implemented this concept in their...
The Theory of Caritative Caring Caritas as the motive for caring The caring process incorporates love and mercy Alleviating suffering as the mission of caring Helping patients to become the desired kind of person Emphasis on the concept of human dignity Note: Katie Eriksson began developing her theory of caritative...
History and Purpose of the Theory Madeline Leininger developed the theory in 1978; It is also called Culture Care Theory (CCT); The Sunrise model was added in 1997; The theory explains interdependence between care and culture; It discovers culture-related meanings, patterns, and practices. The theory was first introduced by Madeline...
Nursing is one of the most critical components of the patient’s recovery path. It includes the examination and the maintenance of a constantly stable condition of the patient (Barnett et al., 2020). In this paper, Katharine Kolcaba’s comfort theory in the practical application during COVID-19 will be used as the...
Nurse practitioners are often key change agents contributing to important transformations in the U.S. healthcare system. Being a nurse means being an advocate for the rights of the patient, other healthcare professionals, and oneself (Marquis & Huston, 2021). The proposed project is concerned with the implementation and evaluation of a...