Author: Emre Umar

Narcan in Schools

On February 1, 2019

The opioid crisis in America known no age boundaries. As a result, schools have taken the step of making anti-overdose drugs available to school nurses around the country, hoping to prevent deaths from overdose among opioid using teens. As recently as 2014, 76 teens died of prescritohn opioid overdoses alone.

The National Asociation of School Nurses has called for “the safe and effective management of opioid pain reliever (OPR)-related overdose in schools be incorporated into the school emergency preparedness and response plan.” The 2013 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) stated almost one in four teens reported abusing or misusing a prescription drug at least once in his or her lifetime.

In 2015, New York joined Vermont, Massachusetts, and Delaware in allowing public school nurses to add naloxone to their inventory. Other states with similar policies include

Also through the use of materials dedicated to the prevention of usage, schools and school nursing staffs can hopefully save students from the dangers of opioid abuse.

Russian Prison Body Art

By Emre Umar

On January 24, 2019

In Uncategorized

Although tattooing in prison is a worldwide phenomenon, perhaps nowhere was it more important than Russia, or to be more accurate, the Soviet Union.

In ancient Greece and Rome, tattoos were used to mark criminals. This was also done in 19th century Russia, against the will of the prisoners. However, over time they evolved to be an in-group marking, and one of honor at that.

The important of the tattooing peaked in the Soviet era, in the 1950s, where the consequences for having body art that was considered unearned were severe, up to and including death. Examples of meanings (from Wikipedia):

Cross – The traditional “thieves’ cross” is usually tattooed on the chest. This was very common.
Ships – With full sails it can indicate someone that has fled from custody, a gulnoy or gulat, or that a wearer is a nomadic thief who travels to steal.
Dragons – Indicate a “shark” or someone who has stolen state or collectively owned property.^[

Although the heyday of Russian/Soviet prison tattooing and art is past, its influence lives on today and is a part of pop culture in the country.

Servant Leadership Theory

By Emre Umar

On November 30, 2018

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The concept of servant leadership began as an ideal described by Robert Greenleaf many decades ago. Servant leaders are known to put the needs of their team before their own, nurturing them and helping them reach their potential above all else.

Over the decades, the theory has been evaluated, tested empirically, and refined. The concept of servant leadership can be applied to some of the most well-known management theories and often times have a significant impact on organizational performance. Future research can take these ideas and apply them to find out if the evidence suggests they are true.

The servant leader may have the ability to affect organizations in a significant manner that improves individual, group, and organizational performance, and also makes those associated with the organization better than they were before. If that is the case it could revolutionize the way organizations are managed in the future.

Transactional Leadership Theory

By Emre Umar

On November 2, 2018

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The transactional leadership theory started in the mid-20th century by Max Weber, the German sociologist and economist who did a great deal of work on bureaucracy. Transactional leaders respect authority and structure, managing people within a set framework within an organization they adhere to. Today it is largely contrasted with transformational theory, which is seen as a more proactive, less punitive style of management.

One strength of it is promoting performance via rewards, which is a positive trait of transactional leadership because it recognizes good effort and performance and can positively reinforce the good behavior.

A second strength is that transactional leadership is effective to help retain the status quo. Bass and Avolio partially describe transactional leadership as “leadership that supports the status quo through mutual leader and follower self-interests across three dimensions: contingent reward, active management-by-exception, and passive management-by-exception.” While status quo maintenance may not always be a positive trait for a company, in times when the existing state of affairs is in a positive state, the ability to continue that harmony is seen as a benefit.

A third strength is the standardization of expectations for all employees. If a rather rigid set of standards have been culturally and organizationally established by the leader, employees know what is expected and know that if they do not perform up to a certain level there will be a set of escalating consequences administered.

A Brief History of Classical Management

By Emre Umar

On October 3, 2018

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The practice of management goes back to 3000 b.c., to the first government organizations developed by the Sumerians and Egyptians, but a formal study of management is relatively recent. The early study of management as we know it began with what is now called the classical perspective.

The classical perspective on management emerged during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The factory system that began to appear in the 1800s posed challenges that earlier organizations had not encountered. Problems arose in tooling the plants, organizing managerial structure, training employees (many of them non-English-speaking immigrants), scheduling complex manufacturing operations, and dealing with increased labor dissatisfaction and resulting strikes. Between 1880 and 1920, the number of professional managers in the United States grew from 161,000 to over 1 million.

These professional managers began developing and testing solutions to the mounting challenges of organizing, coordinating, and controlling large numbers of people and increasing worker productivity. Thus began the evolution of modern management from the classical perspective.

A Former Inmate’s Popular YouTube Channel

By Emre Umar

On August 15, 2018

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

An interesting look at prison via the thoughts of someone who spent time in federal prison for a bank robbery. Big Herc is a former inmate with a popular YouTube channel where he speaks about his experiences in prison and also tries to keep people from ever ending up there like he did.

In this episode, he discusses the opiate crisis in a correctional facility through the lens of the inmate.

Prison in the Movies: The Shawshank Redemption

By Emre Umar

On December 13, 2017

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

An all-time great “if it’s on, I’m watching it” movie, the Shawshank Redemption was not a massive success at the box office. Based on a novella by Stephen King, it made a modest $58 million upon release. But it became such a highly regarded film once it found a larger audience via cable and home video that it’s now ranked first all-time on the IMDB 250, their list of greatest films.

The conditions in the fictional Shawshank, if truly indicative of the time period, are considered far below current correctional standards. But they most likely color people’s impressions of what incarceration continues to be like today. The prison where the movie was filmed, Ohio State Reformatory, was built in the late 19th century and was ordered closed in 1986 due to its overcrowded, often inhumane living conditions. It actually remained in operation until 1990, when its replacement facility was finally completed. It is still used today for movie, TV, and music video shoots.

Many people believe the movie’s enduring popularity is because of its compelling narrative of maintaining hope in even the darkest of circumstances. Andy never gives up his fight even though most people around him believe he is foolish for doing so. The perseverance he had to (SPOILER ALERT) slowly chip away at a wall to allow his escape required great mental fortitude (and some luck). Andy rebels against a system designed to remove any will and freedom of action, and in the end he is rewarded.

The Beginnings of the NCCHC

By Emre Umar

On August 2, 2017

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care is the main organization setting the standards to which providers of health care in correctional facilities adhere. But before the NCCHC, there was a project led by the American Medical Association to improve the level of care provided in jails and prisons. Seeing it as woefully inadequate, the AMA took the first steps to creating their Jail Program in 1971.

By 1976, they had a developed program, and began accrediting sites who met their strict standards as the first correctional health care accreditation program. By 1979, the program was in 23 states. As the AMA program grew and because it’s own independant entity, those involved realized it was time to spin it off. In 1983, the NCCHC was formed as a non-profit organization to keep the mission of the AMA Jail Program alive, which it has done up to the present day.