Professionalism: Influencing The Environment And Care Of Patients

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, professionalism is defined as the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. A few pages to the left, efficient is defined as productive of desired effects, especially productive without waste, an efficient worker. A few more pages to the left, cordial is defined as showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval, a cordial welcome.

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.

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)

Raising the Standards in Nursing Care What defines professionalism in healthcare Professionalism in healthcare is defined as providing competent, judicious care for the welfare of the patient while maintaining patient autonomy and providing competent skilled care. One must exemplify behaviors of a professional and be committed to maintain a certain standard of care. This includes staying abreast to evidence based practices and continuing education for the best outcome of the patient. Nurses must have a specific skill set that maintains a standard of care while also adhering to policies and procedures. It is important to have a holistic view to care in order to treat the patient as a whole, treating mind, body and spirit; while also knowing limitations and acting within the scope of practice (Morrow et al., 2014).

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.

Language and behavior. In any profession, there is specific language that goes along with it. A nurse’s terminology is made up of mostly medical terms that are a person’s anatomy and physiological make up, medications, diseases, procedures etc. To be an effective communicator in this profession being up to date on medical terminology is a must. This is called the standardized language of medicine. “When everyone understands what a condition, medicine, or procedure is, they are able to fulfill their roles accordingly, whether that is delivering medicine or billing for a medicine” (PCC Institute of Health Professionals, 2017). Along with language expectations, there are ways a nurse is expected to carry themselves. Patients expect their nurses to be compassionate, keep them informed, and have good bedside manner. This means

Being respectful and considerate to your patient is necessary for providing excellent patient care. It is also important to be respectful and considerate to your colleagues; arriving on time, being a team player, doing above the minimum as often as you can are all excellent ways to show this. It is essential to ensure that the workplace is an “environment in which all colleagues enjoy equal respect and where they can advance to their full potential.” (Professionalism initiative, 2012) If everyone treated their colleagues with respect, it would make the workplace very hospitable and help provide better patient care, which is the main purpose of nursing. An environment without respect can become hostile and impair the growth of your colleagues and yourself which can lead to giving substandard care to your patients and their families.

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.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines professionalism as the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. Yet the White Paper on Pharmacy Student Professionalism says it is displaying values, beliefs and attitudes that put the needs of another about your personal needs. There is still another definition. The Medical Professionalism Project says professionalism is the basis of medicine's contract with society. It demands placing the interests of patients above those of the physician, setting and maintaining standards of competence and integrity, and providing expert advice to society on matters of health. In my opinion, a person's attitude, values, and behaviors

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.

Professionalism is a dynamic combination of several aspects of nursing. I think that the cores of nursing professionalism is caring and serving. This article examines the concept of professionalism in nursing along with my personal decision to enter this field. I got into the nursing profession because I wanted to help people and be able to advocate for their needs. Through my experience, I realize that nursing is a profession, not just a job. The article by LaSala and Nelson supports that nursing professionalism encompasses more than just professional appearance and should be considered in a variety of different settings, including the job interview

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.

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,