Professionalism Is Essential For Providing Quality Care

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

February 2010 This is a companion document to the Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Nurses

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.

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)

Integrity is crucial to the nursing profession because it creates trust with others. This sense of trust facilitates open communication with patients and colleagues (Ridge, 2015). For proper communication to occur between a nurse and patient, honesty and sincerity are required. Good communication improves the quality of care provided to patients. Integrity driven nurses, possess a strong sense of themselves and act in ways of doing what is right consistently. Consequently, healthcare focuses on holistic care, meaning all aspects of a patient’s life must be considered, and the only way this

I learned that as a nurse it is my duty to always consider my own well being, along with my patient’s. I must keep a high moral character both in the workplace and in my personal life. I must continue to educate myself and keep myself up to date with all the latest nursing practices and research. I must subject myself to peer review and evaluation. I must never let my personal feelings about a patient’s lifestyle affect my care for them. When met with a tough choice that places me in an ethical crisis I must keep a good head on my shoulders and always have my patient’s best interests in mind. If I feel that a situation at work is in direct conflict with my personal values or my oath to be an ethical nurse I must go through the proper channels to work through the problem.

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.

Nursing surrounds the concept of patient care physically, mentally and ethically. The therapeutic relationship that is created is built on the knowledge and skills of the nurse and relies on patient and nurse trusting one another. The use of nursing skills can ensure these boundaries are maintained, it allows for safe patient care. Professional boundaries are the line that nurses cannot cross, involving aspects such as patient confidentiality and privacy, ensuring legal aspects of nursing and the boundaries put in place are not breached. However, nurses accepting financial or personal gain from patient can also cross these professional boundaries. It is only through education in this area that the rights of patients can be preserved, as

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.

I believe that trust plays an important role in nursing as it is closely linked with positive outcomes such that it aids in educating clients and lessening anxiety. This is achieved by enabling a safe and open environment between two individuals, particularly between nurse and client as well as nurse and their colleagues. In a nurse-client relationship, the establishment of trust allows free interaction where the client feels safe to express oneself thereby providing accurate information which ultimately enables the nurse to foster care appropriately to the client’s needs. In order to gain a client’s trust, the nurse would take risks and expose their inner self and show other attributes such as confidence, empathy, and loyalty. Also, trust

Professional behavior is defined as the way a person acts towards others in a professional setting. As a nurse this could be mean the way you respond or act towards patients, supervisors, and co-workers. The way nurse’s respond is important because it can affect the patient and others around them. Nurse’s are held to a higher standard when it comes to being trustworthy and professional. They are expected to hold values of Beneficence, nonmaleficence, and autonomy. Black mentioned the definition of beneficence is determining what is good or best for the patient. Autonomy is when the individual has the right to make their own decisions in health care. Black (2014) defined nonmaleficence as the duty to not put the patient in harm. To behave in a professional way can allow the nurse to create a therapeutic relationship with the patient. Allowing the patient to trust that the nurse’s response is in the best interest and respect of the patient (NCSBN). By having the best interest in the patient’s outcome, the nurse would abstain from attaining personal gain at the patient’s expense. The space between the patient’s vulnerability and the nurse’s power is where professional boundaries are met (NCSBN).

This essay discusses public expectations of nurses, nurse-patient relationships and how to set their guidelines through professional behavior and professional boundaries, what they mean to nurses, and the connection between professional behaviour and professional boundaries.

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.

Delivering high quality and safe healthcare to patients should be the number one priority for all Registered Nurses and all other healthcare professionals in the workplace and community. This applies whether it takes place in homes, schools, small community clinics or larger city hospitals. Over time guidelines and procedures are put in place, constantly monitored and often altered to ensure that proper care is received by each and every patient, no matter the situation or level of care required. Since the patient will spend most of their one on one healthcare time with the Registered Nurse (about one third). Allowing them to participate in their own care is an important part of their hospital stay and the impact of the therapeutic

Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in the community. This means that nurses are trusted to enter into therapeutic relationships that adhere to the concept of patient care physically, mentally and ethically. The therapeutic relationship that is created is built on the professional knowledge and skills of the nurse and the patient trusting in the nurse’s ability to care for them. Professional boundaries are an intricate aspect of a nurse’s daily work. These boundaries are based on trust, respect and the appropriate use of power. Breaches can be classified as boundary crossings, boundary violations or sexual misconduct. Breaches of boundaries lead to violations of a nurse’s professional responsibility. Nurses must maintain