Professional Identity In Nursing Essay

This essay focuses on the impact of historical development of nursing on contemporary representations of the nursing profession. It examines the professional identity of nursing and further discusses the contribution of modern nursing, social, cultural and political factors that influences the professional identity of a nurse. The essay also looks into the professional regulations and the role of the nurse’s and midwifery Council (NMC) in the protection of the public. Finally, this essay will discuss nursing education, the media, stereotype, and their impacts on nurses as well as demonstrate my understanding as a student nurse to challenge the professional identity of nurses.

An ongoing debate for the requirements to become a Registered Nurse (RN) has been unsettled. Several different educational pathways lead to an RN licensure; however, the minimum educational requirements must be standardized at the baccalaureate level for several reasons. Spetz and Bates (2013) published that a growing number of hospitals prefer hiring nurses with a Bachelor Science in Nursing (BSN) as this increases the status of the nursing profession (p. 1). Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), as well as a certificate on-the-job training Diploma are two other educational pathways to become an RN, which can be disadvantageous to the nursing profession in several ways (Tollick 2013; Spetz and Bates 2013). If entry-level nurses

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

Title: Using examples relevant to your discipline, define professional identity as it relates to health and human service delivery and discuss how industry, professional and quality agencies guide the provision of the safe and effective patient or client care in your discipline.

With an ever-increasing body of knowledge in the field of nursing, more education is being required to enter the field of nursing. Many healthcare institutions are raising the educational requirements in order to become employed or maintain employment in their facilities. Healthcare organizations are transitioning to hiring registered nurses (RN) who have a higher level of education, such as, a graduate from a Baccalaureate Degree Nursing (BSN) program. The goal of these institutions is to have nurses with a broader array of skills that can meet the growing demands of our patient population. BSN prepared nurses are recognized for their well-rounded skills in critical thinking, management, case management and health promotion versus Associate Degree nurses (ADN)/Diploma nurses that focus on direct patient care.

Professional Organizations have been developed for a variety of occupations. These organizations provide a structured approach to improving the profession through education, political action and providing additional resources for their members. Throughout the United States (US), nursing students are encouraged to become active members of their profession by joining a professional nursing organization during school and post-graduation. There is an assortment of associations available to the new graduate. The largest professional nursing organization in the US is the American Nurses Association (ANA) (American Nurses Association, 2014). ANA has state chapters that include district branches that offer membership like the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) (American Nurses Association). There are also organizations that focus on specialties like the American Psychiatric Nurses Association or advanced degrees like the Greater Knoxville Area Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (GKAAPRN). These organizations are essential to the advancement of the nursing profession through advocacy, legislation, and impacting standards and scopes of practice as well as the codes of ethics.

Initially, I have to admit, I was torn between my thoughts of the proposed goal of 80 % of nurses being BSN prepared by 2020 in the healthcare workforce. However, after conducting further research on the topic, it is evident that this goal can only result in positive outcomes. As Edwards (2012) discusses, BSN and MSN prepared nurses are more equipped to manage the care of individuals, families, and healthcare facilities than those who are not. Some may argue that experience is key in the healthcare field, not necessarily the number of years of education, and dismiss the proposal. However, on many occasions I have witnessed experienced nurses, who are not BSN or MSN prepared, say, "I do it this way because this is how I've always

Some people think a nurse is a doctor’s assistant or even someone who gives injections. However, healthcare system has been changing over the last few decades, which has caused nurses’ roles to change and expand. The needs of patient care require a holistic approach, therefore challenging and requiring the profession to have a broad nature of discipline. In order to offer that specialized service to society, the nurse is required to obtain a bachelor’s degree and keep learning throughout his or her career. For that reason, this paper will discuss three major roles of baccalaureate nurse as defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

When I walked into the facility, I noticed a client was waving at me to come over to the client. I walked over to the client and the client started spelling out my name in sign language. I had taken a sign language camp several years ago. I started to do sign language with the client. To see the smile of the clients’ face was uplifting. Having this experience, I was able to establish my professional identity by communicating with a deaf client who wanted someone to sit down and play a game of Monopoly. As stated in the article Nursing Professional Identity: an infant or the one with Alzheimer’s, Professional identity includes acquiring insight to professional functioning, creating professional ideals and values. It can be defined as attitudes,

In the nursing world today, the type of degree a nurse holds is usually not something others pay attention to. The main focus is teamwork and providing the safest, timeliest, and best quality care for the patients. It is becoming increasingly clear that maintaining and improving the health of the population requires team-based care (Landman, Aannestad, Smoldt, & Cortese 2014). While nurses provide care for patients, it is difficult to differentiate between an associate degree nurse and a baccalaureate degree nurse. I have always found it easier to tell the new, less experienced nurses from the more experienced nurse that has been practicing for years. After starting the RN-BSN, I have now been able to see the differences that will affect

The nursing profession has evolved throughout the years, but more rapidly in most recent years. The educational roles and responsibilities, in particular, have transformed in alignment with hospital organizations, to provide a more patient-centered focus on the delivery of care. As a member of the largest healthcare profession, nurses work in diverse settings and are the main providers of healthcare services. “Nurses are well poised to meet these needs by virtue of their numbers, scientific knowledge, and adaptive capacity, and health care organizations would benefit from taking advantage of the contributions nurses can make” ("Institute of Medicine," 2010, p. 2).

Recent research has shown that hospitals and health care organizations that employ a higher number of bachelors prepared nurses see better patient outcomes as a result of the nurse having a greater capacity to practice (Impact of Education, n.d.). Studies have shown that bachelors prepared nurses practice more confidently and as a result can react faster to patient situations resulting in better outcomes (Impact of Education, n.d.). Also a bachelor’s prepared nurse is trained more extensively in “clinical, scientific, decision making, and humanistic skills, including preparation in community health, patient education, and nursing management and leadership” (Baccalaureate Degree, 2001) The education that patients get in how to care for themselves after leaving the hospital leads to better outcomes once they are gone and less recurrence of

To have a professional identity as a nurse you must have courage. Giddens states that “in the context of professional identity courage has two meanings: (1) to affect change and (2) to stand in opposition for moral rightness (pg. 383). This means that nurses need to be able to be confident when they stand up for their patient. They also need to have courage to speak up when another member of the health care team does something that is not professional or goes with the agency’s policies. Having courage as a nurse means that you can relay details of a conversation you had with a patient to the provider when the patient does not agree with the care being offered. According to Giddens, a nurse with can also have physical courage or moral courage

The nursing workforce plays an essential role in our health care system and the role of nursing is evolving due to shortage of nurses, new emerging technology within the healthcare system and the needs to provide quality of care in the most cost effective ways. The focus of this paper is to analyze the roles and the required skills of the baccalaureate prepared nurse in the 21st century healthcare system. In addition, I will also describe my career development plan for personal and professional growth while incorporating the Texas Board of Nursing Differential Essential and the AACN Essentials of a Baccalaureate Education in the following year after my graduation from the University of Houston.

Nursing lacks the standardization requirements that other professions require which leads to failure to unify nurse’s identity in allocating the furtherance of education in the profession (Black, 2014). Lack of resolution in these educational requirements undermines the nursing development as