Prayer in Igbo Cosmology: The Case of Mbieri, Mbaitoli LGA, Imo State, Nigeria

The religious life of an Igbo man has experienced great changes through the ages. The modern religions have also influenced the people so much that the Igbo of the present generation have questioned the origin of prayers, while others doubted the efficacy of prayer. There are also arguments as to how prayer comes about and whether it started with Christians, or whether the Igbo great grandparents who followed the traditional religion actually prayed. This study is aimed at settling these arguments by exposing the originality of prayer in the life of an Igbo man, as well as significant roles played by prayer in Igbo traditional religion. This study will benefit students, teachers, researchers and the Igbo society as a whole. This study made use of the survey method in finding out the nature and role of prayer in Igbo cosmology, using Mbieri, in Imo state, Nigeria as a case study. Related literatures were reviewed, research questions were formulated and posed to 50 people through oral interview. Data were collected and analyzed critically. The interpretation of the data showed that prayer plays a significant role in Igbo traditional religion, and that the originality of prayer in the life of an Igbo man forms the basis for the implantation of Christian prayer. More so, prayers are efficacious and have existed in Igbo land before the advent of Christianity. In which case, it was not an invention by Christianity; rather Christian prayer found traditional prayer a fertile soil on which it built. The study therefore recommends that there should be cultural involvement Christianization in order to achieve a balanced religion. Christianity should be more deeply planted in Igbo culture so that Ndigbo may ever praise God with their names, their language, their music, and indeed all aspects of their culture. Attention should also be drawn to the fact that imported religion is characterized by proliferation of churches, greed, corruption, embezzlement and a lot of ill practices aimed at tricking the unsuspecting Igbo into believing that miracles abound where they are not, thereby turning the sick and needy into religious prostitutes.Keywords: Igbo cosmology, Originality and efficacy of prayer, Christianity, Traditional religion, NigeriaInternational Journal of Development and Management Review (INJODEMAR) Vol. 7 June, 201

Implementation and Development of Emergency Department Pharmacist-Driven Patient-Care Transitional Model: A Discussion of Our Experiences and Processes

Frequent preventable emergency department (ED) visits is an area of great concern among healthcare administrators. Although pharmacist interventions have been shown to reduce re-hospitalizations, studies demonstrating reduction in ED utilizations among the elderly are limited. Additionally, factors influencing readmissions in the ED are multifactorial. Hence, some healthcare systems struggle to reduce readmissions using pharmacy services. This has been a major issue facing care provided to the elderly in the ED. As healthcare care systems develops and implement a collaborative pharmacist and physician/mid-level provider comprehensive transitional model of care in the ED, the quality of care provided to the elderly will be enhanced which will ultimately translate to reduced inappropriate ED visit and re-hospitalization with corresponding reduction in financial burden placed on both the patient, caregiver and the society. Therefore, the objective of this article is to discuss our process with implementing pharmacist-providers transitional model in the ED. The intent is to elucidate some pharmacist-intervention principles and a pharmacist-driven, patient-care transitional model that would provide direction for other healthcare systems to improve ED visits within their locality.   Type: Idea Paper &nbsp

Effects of Medication Reconciliation Service Provided by Student Pharmacists in a Tertiary Care Emergency Department

Objective: The primary objective of this case study was to evaluate the impact of a medication reconciliation service (MRS) provided by student pharmacists in an emergency department (ED). Methods: Eligible patients were assigned to two groups, MRS or non-MRS. Patients in the MRS group were seen by student pharmacists while the non-MRS group followed usual care. As part of the services provided by the student pharmacists, medication reconciliation was provided under the supervision of a clinical pharmacist. At the conclusion of their ED visit, patients were asked to complete a survey addressing knowledge of medications, confidence in medication taking and patient satisfaction. To evaluate the impact of provision of MRS by student pharmacists on readmission rates in the ED, the electronic health records of the institution were queried for subsequent inpatient hospitalizations and ED visits. Results: Based on the study, patients in MRS group were more likely to be satisfied with the education provided to them in the ED (p=0.016) and had greater confidence in taking their medications (p=0.03). Sixty days post ED visit MRS group readmissions were significantly lower compared to non-MRS group (P= 0.047). Conclusions: Students' participation in the provision of medication reconciliation led to reduction of readmission in the tertiary care ED, improved patient satisfaction and confidence in medication use.   Type: Case Stud

Effects of Medication Reconciliation Service Provided by Student Pharmacists in a Tertiary Care Emergency Department

Objective: The primary objective of this case study was to evaluate the impact of a medication reconciliation service (MRS) provided by student pharmacists in an emergency department (ED). Methods: Eligible patients were assigned to two groups, MRS or non-MRS. Patients in the MRS group were seen by student pharmacists while the non-MRS group followed usual care. As part of the services provided by the student pharmacists, medication reconciliation was provided under the supervision of a clinical pharmacist. At the conclusion of their ED visit, patients were asked to complete a survey addressing knowledge of medications, confidence in medication taking and patient satisfaction. To evaluate the impact of provision of MRS by student pharmacists on readmission rates in the ED, the electronic health records of the institution were queried for subsequent inpatient hospitalizations and ED visits. Results: Based on the study, patients in MRS group were more likely to be satisfied with the education provided to them in the ED (p=0.016) and had greater confidence in taking their medications (p=0.03). Sixty days post ED visit MRS group readmissions were significantly lower compared to non-MRS group (P= 0.047). Conclusions: Students’ participation in the provision of medication reconciliation led to reduction of readmission in the tertiary care ED, improved patient satisfaction and confidence in medication use

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead