Professionalism In Healthcare Research Paper

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (2017), professionalism is “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected to do a job well.” Medical professionals must possess occupational competence, ethical excellence, and exemplary patient relations. Occupational competence encompasses more than just job knowledge. While being technically competent to perform all necessary job functions is vital, a commitment to continually improve is essential. With the rate of technological advancements in the medical profession, continued education is required to stay abreast of changes. Self-reflection is also important to know when and where personal improvement is needed. High ethical standards, including honesty, integrity, accountability,

Everyone involved has much to benefit from the act of professionalism. Especially, in the medical / nursing filed, professionalism or the lack there of can be what makes or breaks a trusting, therapeutic, rapport and relationship with the patient. Which, in turn can make a world of difference in the healing process? It will be the first impression and the last thought that a patient takes away from the overall encounter with you. Being professional is good customer service.

Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.

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)

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 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.

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.

Christopher is the role model of professionalism with his knowledge, clinical skills, nursing values and experience but when asked to define it he responded, “Always represent in a manner that shows respect and integrity to others while carrying yourself in such a way that people look up to you”. With today’s society and the different cultures and religions it is easy to judge. Being a nurse in Long Island he is able to treat many people of all backgrounds and feels confident in his ability to treat everyone the same with dignity and respect to surpass the care that is

Professionalism means having good qualities, being courteous, conscientious, and showing professional character in the workplace. The characteristics of professionalism I feel are important are loyalty, honesty, dependability, courtesy, confidentiality, and attitude.

Professionalism is the ability to uphold responsible appearance, behavior and communication. It means that you look and present yourself as positively as possible whether in appearance or behavior. It means that you cannot come to work with wrinkled scrubs and four hours of sleep. It means to be a professional one must sacrifice values and opinions to uphold the appearance of the profession or workplace. To be a professional it means that one must sacrifice immature behavior and place more value on the goal of the task.

There are a lot of qualities that a nurse can exhibit when in the workplace. Many of these qualities can have a strong effect on patients and the connection a nurse can make with them. One of the qualities all nurses, and health care providers in general, should possess is a high standard of professionalism. Professionalism is “a specific style or behavior in the workplace” (Campbell) which is an umbrella with so many factors that fall under it and contribute to it. Some of these factors are different attributes and behaviors, some are the way a nurse approaches the patient, and some have to do with a code that the nurse follows everyday when they are working as a nurse. Professionalism is an important factor in building trust with patients, and this can be done in the code of ethics that the nurse holds themself to and in the ways the nurse interacts with patients.

Professionalism in nursing is an essential ingredient in achieving a healthy work environment and is enabled by the context of practice. Professionalism requires a body of knowledge, service to others, autonomy, self-regulation, code of ethics, and participation in professional societies. Professionalism is exhibited in the behaviors and attitudes of each individual nurse. The integration of core disciplinary values, knowledge, and personal reflection is the foundation of professionalism in nursing. Core disciplinary values include the values of integrity, respect for human dignity, caring, and advocacy. All nurses must have knowledge of legal, ethical, and practice standards.

Three professional characteristics I believe are important to the practice of nursing are first the ability to understand the scientific principal of Nursing, being able to removed personal biases from treating patients, and the ability to remain culturally flexible. Hood however (Hood, 2014) focuses deeply on the mechanisms, ethical standards, legal reinforcements, and personal conduct, which keeps the Nursing profession focused and aligned. But it is my belief that these three professional characteristics will allow the professional Nurse to work in any environment and be objective and rational as possible with dealing with the public.

We often consider a type of job that requires advanced education and training is a profession. Nursing is a profession that has different roles such as a caregiver, an educator, and a team leader. Another distinctive feature is nurses are working with other occupations that are also highly skilled. The author, Belvins (2016), mentioned: “nursing is a profession based on caring and advocating for the health of people, nursing practice is centered on the nursing process, and professional performance involves competent behavior in fulfilling the role of caregiver and team member” (p. 194). As you see from Belvins’ comment, patients’ safety and health profoundly relate to the nurse’s professional behavior which is professionalism. Then, what are the components of professionalism in the workplace? And, how to keep them?

The health status of an individual pertains to not only the absence of disease, but also to their overall well-being in a social, physical, spiritual, and intellectual aspect. Similarly, the healthy environment of a facility pertains not to the absence of error, but to the ability of the health care team to work together while optimizing the patients’ best outcomes. To create this healthy workplace, each health care professional must be willing to place the patient’s wants and needs above his or her own. As a nurse, it is extremely important to exhibit a manner of professionalism when tending to the patient. Professionalism is defined as a “commitment to secure the interests and welfare of those entrusted to one’s care,” (Taylor, Lillis, and Lynn, 2015).