Criminal justice system in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal justice system in Australia - Essay Example There are various types of criminal justice systems – the adversarial and the inquisitorial are two of the systems more commonly used by various countries and territories. This paper shall focus on Australia and its adversarial system. It shall discuss the thesis: When all is said and done, the current criminal justice system is about as fair and equitable as we can reasonably expect. This paper is to be analysed based on the Australian justice system as it applies its adversarial system as a fair and equitable tool. Discussion The adversarial criminal system is a common law system of carrying out proceedings where the parties, not the judge, have the task of establishing the issues being disputed and of investigating and further advancing the proceedings (Law Reform Commission, 1999). In contrast, the inquisitorial system is the civil code system where the judge has an important responsibility. The term adversary implies â€Å"opposition.† ... The crucial consideration in this system is the fact that the most number of fair resolutions of crimes are likely to occur with both sides being allowed to argue cases effectively before a fair and impartial jury (Schmalleger, 2007). In effect, it is not up to the prosecution or the defence to establish the guilt of a party, it is up to an impartial party hearing the case. As a result, it can be easily deemed that advocates on either side, arguing their side of the issue before an impartial judge can be considered the best means of achieving justice in the criminal justice system (Schmalleger, 2007). In instances however, when the system is seen as a means of seeking fault in a crime, there must be a thorough awareness of the limitations of this system. When all is said and done, the Australian adversarial criminal justice system is about as fair and as effective as can be reasonably expected. The Australian criminal justice system is fair and effective because the main goal of an a dversary system is to â€Å"prevent private justice by retribution† (Law Reform Commission, 2004, p. 24). The aim of this system is to secure procedural fairness within the society, a fairness which provides both sides of the issue a chance to express their side and be given equal protection by the system. The jury system has always been known as the linchpin of the system because in most of the cases, the judges play an active role, and the jury, a passive role (Associated Content, 2006). This is especially crucial for the defendants who are often defended by overworked and underskilled defenders (Associated Content, 2006). The judge plays an active role because the system has to depend on the ability of the advocates who are representing the

THE ROLE OF THE NURSE PRACTITIONER Research Paper

THE ROLE OF THE NURSE PRACTITIONER - Research Paper Example The FNP works and functions in a similar manner like a physician even though she lacks the same knowledge and qualifications of a doctor. In family settings, the family nurse practitioner makes routine check-ups on the physical condition of the family as well as diagnoses any form of illness and other minor injuries (Aries & Middough, 2010). Roles of a Family Nurse Practitioner in Hospital Environment A major responsibility of a nurse practitioner is preparation and maintenance of medical documentation of a certain family. She is responsible of updating the charts of her findings on the condition of a patient after the completion of diagnostic tests. A family nurse practitioner adds the new information into the patients chart. All these forms of medical communication between the nurse practitioner and the patient and between the patient and the physician in addition to any other healthcare worker involved have to be stored by the nurse practitioner in the personal file of the patient . This medical information is added to the medical history of the patient such that it can be used in future by other physicians who may be attending the patient (Hamric, 2008). Since a nurse practitioner acts under the surveillance of the attending physician, she should possess perfect communication skills and sufficiently work as expected with other attending physicians who are treating a certain specific member of a family. During the process of treating a patient, the family nurse practitioner has to be involved in the process as a she acts as a part of the medical team. It is a requirement that she shares her medical knowledge of the patient with other medical professionals as well discussing the condition of the patient in an effort to gain some knowledge about the patient which may be important at a latter date (Coffman & Edward, 1998). It is the responsibility of the family medical practitioner to discuss the condition of the patient with the doctor or any other visiting phy sician so as to receive an input approval from the doctor or the physician. In addition with collaborating with the doctor, the family nurse practitioner has to work hand-in-hand with other nurses and therapists for the betterment of their patient as they will provide important advice which will be very useful during the process of caring and treating the patient. Provision of proper medication and elderly care is also a part of their duty. After people get aged, they develop many complications where in some worse cases they get mentally retarded thus it is also a duty of the family nurse practitioner to oversee that they get the right medication as well as care (Aries & Middough, 2010). This nurse further observes the complaints of the patient and conducts a diagnosis on the patient’s health and determines the course of medication to be observed in accordance with the medical history of the patient. The family nurse practitioner has the mandate to demand lab tests or X-rays of a patient by lab physicians with reference to the condition of the patient so as to make recommendations on the type of treatment the patient is supposed to receive. For instance, a middle aged female may approach a female nurse practitioner with complaints of fatigue and based on her examination of the condition of the patient, the nurse practitioner has the liberty to order for lab tests to be conducted on such a patient so as to diagnose the scope of the