Nursing : A Fine Profession Essay

To become a confident, self-aware and caring nurse, one should be aware of the fundamentals of the nursing practice. This paper will explore, describe and critically analyze the meaning of professionalism, accountability and responsibility within nursing. My reason for writing this paper is to investigate various nursing perspectives in the literature, while considering personal self-assessments and preliminary ideas. Nursing As a Profession

Professional nursing practice has been developing for several centuries. Nursing as a profession can be traced back to the early Christian era. Since then the perception of nursing practice has changed significantly. “Nursing is caring, commitment, and dedication to meeting the functional health needs of all people” (Craven &

In this paper I will discuss the definition of nursing; and share my thoughts on what makes the Ideal Nurse. I will also focus on my pursuit into the nursing profession, and how I will be influenced by entering the profession of nursing.

Nurses must display a knowledge of skills by portraying a functional ability to assess, treat, and prevent illness in the clinical setting. “The nurses are obliged to gain specialized knowledge, skills and training through the rigorous study of biological, physical and behavioral sciences and then use this knowledge to diagnose and treat patients suffering from different ailments. The patients treated must be under the supervision of skilled medical practitioners and the nurse must be equally directed by the expert medical practitioner. The prevention and management of illnesses, injury and ailments also forms some of the major tasks that have to be carried out by nurses. Politeness in expression, compassion for patients and proper uniform are also some of the main parts of professionalism in nursing.” (professonalism in nursing http://www.buzzle.com/articles/professionalism-in-nursing.html)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the personal nursing philosophy I intend to use in my career as a nurse and to explore my values and beliefs about the four metaparadigms – the patient, the nursing practice, their health and the environment, and the discipline of nursing in addition to discussing the nursing concepts relevant to my practice as a nurse practitioner. This paper also discusses the nurse of the future and the Synergy model definitions of the four metaparadigms and how they fit into my personal philosophy.

Nursing as a profession is an incredibly varied field, with as many opinions on how and why as there are nurses. It is therefore incumbent on each nurse to determine what aspects of nursing research and history will influence her practice. This work is presented as a Professional Nursing Mission Statement for the author. In the following pages, the governing bodies, ethical code, professional traits, nursing theorist and theory, and historical figure that guide personal nursing practice are presented with scenarios demonstrating their effects. Providing the building blocks for an individual approach to nursing will result in a deeper understanding of practice.

Nursing is an occupation in which professionalism (or lack thereof) can have a significant effect on not only patients and their health, but the nurse’s relationships with colleagues, patients’ families and even their community. A nurse must exemplify professionalism, especially in an environment that creates increased risk for loss of life or further injury. There are many aspects that are involved with professionalism in nursing, and many expectations set up on the nurse.

Accountability and Responsibility are two of the most important skills that a clinical nurse can display. These skills are taught beginning in nursing school, when learning about the ethical framework behind the nursing profession. Nursing is a skillful combination of science and art that places patient preferences above everything else. Not everyone has the unique ability to be caring and medically savvy. The American Nurses Association defines accountability as the ability to be answerable to oneself and others for one’s own actions (Battie & Steelman, 2015). Accountability plays a huge role in patient care and the process of learning the skills of nursing. Student nurses learn that nurses should be accountable for all actions, delineation of tasks to supportive staff, as well as nursing interventions. Responsibility is also intertwined with this idea of being accountable for one’s own actions. Responsibility refers to the specific accountability or liability associated with the performance of duties of a particular role. Nurses can either accept or reject specific role demands based upon their education, knowledge, competence, and extent of experience (Code of Ethics, 2015). This paper will discuss accountability and responsibility of nurses delving into assessing one’s own competence, techniques of learning responsibility, and the future of nursing accountability.

Mary considers “Competencies for registered nurses” is affecting her career the most. It helps her to maintain the high standards as a nurse. This document has been implemented by Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) to ensure the on-going education and compliance with standards for nursing care. It consists of four main parts. They are competences in professional responsibility, management of nursing care, interpersonal relationships and interprofessional care and quality improvement. It requires ability to show knowledge and judgment, and being responsible for own actions and decisions, while assuring safety of the patients, their independence and quality of life and health. Also it requires competences in client assessment and managing the care. The clients care should be sensitive to his/her needs. It is supported by nursing knowledge and evidence based research. Besides to comply with “Competences for registered nurses” the patient care should be cultural sensitive (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2007). Every 3

According to Maister (1997) "true professionalism means the pursuit of excellence, not just competence". Nurses must be competent in their pursuit of excellence. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement, rapidly expanding clinical knowledge and mounting complexities in health care mandate that professional nurses possess educational preparation commensurate with the diversified responsibilities required of them. Preparation of the entry level professional nurse requires a greater orientation to community-based primary health care and an emphasis on health

they also receive on the job training as education through trial and error while working

The definition of a profession is "a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation" (Webster Dictionary, 2008). By definition, I would consider nursing to be a profession, without a doubt. Nurses have spent too much time and effort in academic settings not to use the word profession. Nurses are taught and academically prepared by leaders in the nursing field who have the specialized knowledge that will specifically train nurses to meet the challenges of the profession. Nursing theorists, who are experts in nursing, have contributed great amounts of work to promoting nursing as a profession. According to Alligood and Tomey, "Nursing theory has been a prevalent theme in the nursing literature

There is still a debate ongoing as to if nursing is and occupation or a profession because nursing was viewed as an occupation not a profession. I think it is a profession because of the characteristics of the nursing profession which is (1) a body of knowledge, (2) code of ethics, (3) recognized authority by a profession group, (4) a professional organization that sets standards, (5) a strong service orientation, (6) autonomy, (7) ongoing research. It is also a profession that is always evolving in academic discipline and a science.

In order to critically examine the concepts central to the discipline of nursing it is important to clarify my understanding of what constitutes a discipline. Nursing literature has led me to understand that a discipline can be, in simple terms, thought of as a field of study with a unique perspective which gives rise to the nature and scope of inquiry of that field and therefore leads to a specialized body of knowledge (Parker, M & Smith, M, 2010). In attempt to cement nursing’s place in the professional world and in an effort to distinguish it from other disciplines it seems imperative that nursing itself agree on the discipline’s most significant concepts. Through early course readings it

Nursing is a profession that blends the rich traditions of the past with the ever changing realities of today's health care industry. Nursing is not simply an assortment of special skills and the nurse is not simply a person proficient in performing these specific tasks. Nursing is a profession. I believe this statement to be true because of several factors. The Title 19 Code for Nurses is titled "Standards for Professional Nursing Practice". The status of nursing as a profession reflects the values that society places on the work of nurses and how central nursing is to the good of society. "By being a professional we imply that the person is conscientious in actions, knowledgeable in the subject and