Personal Statement : Professional Integrity Essay

Professionalism in nursing is a key component to have. The nurse that exhibits professionalism can go far in a career. As nurses identify strengths and weaknesses, careers can change for the better. The strengths that I see in myself are optimism, good listener, and quick learner. When I think about who I am as a nurse, I don’t focus on tasks and to do lists. Although skills are important for patient care, there are psychosocial aspects that should be addressed.

I also believe nurses are professionals, and it is vital that nurses portray that role, no matter the circumstances. The nurse that cared for me acted very professional. Although she was funny and down to earth, she portrayed professionalism every time she was in my room. I knew she respected me, my friends and family and that made me respect her even more.

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.

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,

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)

Following the appropriate ethics is of extreme importance in the nursing profession. “Ethics are of universal concern and crucial in all professional healthcare” (Gustafsson & Stenberg, 2017, p.420). The leading goal in nursing is to achieve patient-centered care. According to Arnold and Boggs (2016), “Patient centered care focuses on fully partnering with the client to provide care that incorporates his or her values and preferences to give safe, caring, compassionate and effective care” (p.25). In order to provide a well-grounded, caring environment, nurses need to be able to balance their personal differences with the ethical care standards they are obligated to provide patients (Gustafsson & Stenberg, 2017). Nurses spend the most time with patients; therefore, they eventually will develop a “sense of rightness” (Gustfasson & Stenberg, 2017, p.420).

As the nursing profession progresses throughout the years, its nature becomes more complex in meeting the professional standards and codes of ethics that are required by all nurses. The American Nurses Association has a specific code of ethics that each nurse should follow and adopt as their own beliefs. The public and the patients should be the priority when providing care in the healthcare setting. The knowledge and education that nurses’ gain is valuable and allows them to encourage health, avoid illness, restore health, and aid in coping for those who are all ill. (LeMone, pp.192) Given that the code of ethics is put into place, there are many registered nurses who violate these codes in various situations. The following will discuss

Nurses follow the morals of acting honestly, fairly, and ethically while caring for the needy. They must hold colleagues to the highest standards of ethical conduct and professionalism. Additionally, nurses must show accountability in providing quality, safe care towards their patients. This is the core value of integrity, which nurses should uphold at all times. This paper will discuss the value of integrity in nursing and describe examples of the use and lack of integrity.

Integrity is a vital quality as a nurse related to the fact that patients literally entrust their lives to their healthcare team. According to Proverbs 10:9 "whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out." God is pleased with a person of integrity. I Chronicles 29:17a states "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity." Nurses have the ethical obligation to maintain competence and proficiency, and as Christians, they also are morally bound to develop the virtues of honesty and integrity.

Nursing is not an easy job and those who chose it as their profession are truly special people. Nurses are confronted with ethical decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. Often they know the right thing to do but because of circumstances like institutional structure and conflicts with others, obstacles are created and distress ensues (Jenner, 2001). It is during times like these that nurses must rely on the training that they have received as well as the code of ethics that has been set down for their profession in order to do the right thing.

Sometimes, our daily lives do not always allow us to operate in a in which our integrity is not compromised. For example, in daily nursing practice,

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.

The combination of professionalism and ethics can be equated with an extraordinary nurse because they are core components in the nursing profession and crucial to patient trust, confidence and wellbeing. Having a degree in nursing is not what makes one a professional. Professionalism is

It is important to integrate the concept professionalism into your nursing career because it allows you to flourish personally as a nurse but more importantly allows the patient to receive the care they deserve. Throughout the course of one’s nursing career there will be many slips and falls. Mistakes will happen but we as nurses are able to reflect and learn from them in a

Nursing, in my view, has always been a field in which moral courage was inherent. Nursing is one of the few fields in which individuals disregard their own personal wellbeing in favor of other people’s health. Moral courage is an elusive topic to define, as it is such an intangible concept. According to Murray, “moral courage is considered to be the pinnacle of ethical behavior; it requires a steadfast commitment to fundamental ethical principles despite potential risks, such as threats to reputation, shame, emotional anxiety, isolation from colleagues, retaliation, and loss of employment (2010.) To exemplify this issue, Murray continued to give an example of moral courage with a novice nurse named Emily.