Nursing And Professionalism

Behaviors associated with nursing professionalism go far beyond how nurses practice in a clinical setting. Alidina describes professionalism as “a multidimensional concept that provides nurses with opportunities to grow personally and professionally (2013, p. 128). This shows that professionalism has many different components. Alidina also uses “Miller’s Wheel of Professionalism.” This model uses a wheel to represent different aspects of professionalism. The different behaviors that are represented are “adherence to code for nurses, community service orientation, Professional Organization Participation, autonomy and self-regulation, Publication and Communication, development and use of theory and research, and continuing education and competence (2013, p. 129-130).

The professionalism of nursing is influenced on the knowledge that nurses inherit and the progression of their role over many years. The knowledge of a nurse is undefined because the knowledge of a nurse is constantly progressing, evolving in its profession (Akthar-Danesh , Baunman, Kolotylo, Lawler, Tompkins & Lee 2013), the role of a nurse cannot be displayed or portrayed by knowledge, that is constantly changing due to many factors(Nursing Times , 2005 ). To elaborate on the knowledge of a nurse you would be bias to think that the knowledge of the nurse doesn’t reflect on the professionalism of a Nurse, therefore they influence one another, during a career of a nurse. The professionalism of a nurse is represented through many factors; the

A professional appearance is a main concern when being evaluated; a clean, firm, appropriate attire is required at all times. A nurse must comply with the facilities standards of uniform, with proper protocol. A clean uniform is a healthy uniform, while a nurse holds a prior engagement in the field of

Professionalism is a very important key in the nursing profession. It is what paints a good image for a business or, in this case, an organization, people will most likely choose the professional organization over the unprofessional, because with the nurses that are professional they have great quality in customer service. Examples being, nurses that are professional aren’t rude or disruptive, they handle business in a kindly manner, following directions and policies etc. Unprofessionalism in nursing practice continues to hinder the expansion of the field. There are many things that nurses do that are highly unprofessional at the workplace. A few major unprofessional mistakes nurses tend to do is, bullying, breaking HIPPA, and behavior. To me, these are the biggest mistakes that really pop out at me.

(2004) stated that, “motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under

In a highly respected profession such as nursing, professionalism is an important element to staying employed and setting one’s self apart from the rest of the applicants when competing for a potential job. By definition professionalism are the qualities and traits that describe a professional. While knowledge is crucial in any profession, according to an article published by the University of Kansas (2012), “all medical professionals must strive to retain those humanistic qualities integrity, respect, and compassion that constitute the essence of professionalism.” Whether you work in a hospital or administration these three qualities encompass the core of nursing and exemplify what it means to be a professional.

Professionalism to me is being honest, having a high level of integrity, striving for excellence, respecting others and providing quality care with compassion.

What does Professionalism mean to me? Professionalism in my term means it is someone who is very dedicated to their profession. It is an important and great decision to follow by the rules and ethics of professionalism. If we did not have anyone that cared about their profession it would cause a lot of problems in our society today. It could cause a lot of disruption in your workplace. In order to abide by professionalism you must take pride in your job, percieve realistic goals and values, and know what your expectations are.

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

Nightingale said, “The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm”. The history of nursing initially begins with Florence Nightingale. Before her era nurses had a tarnished reputation (Glasper, 2017). They were poorly educated and incompetent people. Nurses such as Mrs. Bedford Fenwick wanted to change the image of nursing. They did this by leading a campaign for professionalism. Which led to the culminated Nurse Bill receiving is royal assent in December 1919 (Glasper, 2017). July 27, 1921 was the official opening of the nursing register, there are currently 688,927 nurses registered with the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) (Glasper, 2017). The NMC code has four themes of professionalism, “Prioritizing

Professionalism in the workplace, is the absolute key to having a successful, and smoothly run business. Professionalism is something that must be maintained by every individual within the work setting, especially in health care, whether it is the janitor, activity director, nursing assistant, doctor, or even the head administrator. Professionalism encompasses many aspects, such as teamwork, attitude, environment, knowledge, morals, and ethics.

To be a person who is deemed professional you have to have a sense of leadership. Leadership in the healthcare field means you have to be willing to teach others. You help build and maintain a culture that facilitates professionalism. As a leader you do not participate in workplace pranks. Another important aspect of professionalism is honor and integrity. To have honor and integrity in the workplace you need to be forthcoming with information; and not hold important information for your own benefit. You can admit your own errors. You deal with confidential information discreetly and appropriately. One of the most important attributes regarding professionalism is respect. You have to respect institutional staff and all staff representatives. You have to respect patients rights and dignity and their privacy and confidentiality. A person who is professional has to have caring, compassionate and have communication. You treat the patient as an individual taking into account lifestyle, religious beliefs, and ethnicity. You communicate bad news with sincerity and compassion. You deal with sickness, death, and dying in a professional manner with the patient and the patient’s family members.

A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. While striving for professionalism, nurses need compassion, patience, empathy, strong moral and ethics, accountability and the commitment to always act in the best interest of their patients. Nurses are held accountable for providing quality, safe, and effective nursing care (Hood, 2014). A professional nurse has the responsibility to continually improve and implement nursing standards while maintaining integrity by involving themselves in various tasks. Regular involvement in reading professional literature and sharing of evidence- based research with other healthcare personal helps increase knowledge and skills. This nursing ability can be used to encourage the actions of others in the healthcare team resulting in improved patient care. Nurses should encourage each other to become involved in hospital committees, provide an environment to encourage the discussions of ethical dilemmas, promote professional growth of nurses to voice their concerns and share viewpoints to address issues. “A professional nurse should expect to commit to a life of continuous learning growth and development”. (Hood, 2014, pp. 29). Nurses choose this profession to help others. As professional nurses we must maintain our ethics, values, characteristics, and commitment to drive our profession forward (CCN, 2015). Nurses must be autonomous, accountable, and be able to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel. Being autonomous as a nurse means having control over their practice (Hood, 2014). It allows a nurse to take risks while being held accountable for ones’ actions (Hood, 2014).

Professionalism plays an important role in how a patient and their family views you and creates a judgment about the care you as a nurse would provide to them or their loved family member. To gain their trust, the nurse should present themselves in such a manner that leaves no room for doubt in their mind that you are the best nurse for the job! There are a few things that the nurse can perfect to help boost this image. These things are attitude, appearance,

Other attributes of a professional nurse would include genuine compassion and caring for patients. This helps to instill feelings of hope in times of turmoil, while