The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) plays an important governing role in the nursing profession and it has developed many guidelines and policies to ensure the better practices of registered nurses and nursing students undertaking their clinical practice within Australia. The Nurses guide to professional boundaries (2010) clarifies the professional boundaries that nurses working in Australia must be prepared to achieve to be the best nurse possible. The guide explains the need to see each care recipient based on their specific needs at the time and to maintain a professional distance in order to reach the best possible outcome for the patient. The Social Media Policy (2008) provides a framework for nursing professionals to …show more content…
(Berman, A.,etc 2010) Patients in medical settings are normally in a very vulnerable situation and the medical personnel have a responsibility to ensure that the position of power that they have been entrusted with is not abused and the care recipient is made to feel as comfortable and as supported as possible while receiving the care that they require.( McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2010). Personal boundaries must be tightly adhered to and a high level of professionalism must be displayed at all times by the nursing personnel on duty regarding the patient and their family. Maintaining a professional distance and not becoming overly involved is essential in maintaining the therapeutic relationship that assists in the healing process for the patient. The nursing staff in a medical setting have a responsibility to not misuse the power that they have been given by crossing boundaries such as inappropriate relationships with a person or a family member of the person in their care. This is taken very seriously and can lead to misconduct in the workplace (Daly, J., etc 2009). This is opposite to the motion of under involvement by the nurse in care situations. Under involvement is when the nurse does not do enough in relation to the care and can be considered to be neglectful leading to the lack of necessary treatment for the care recipient. Nurses are required to provide adequate and detailed documentation regarding the care that they have provided to a
Nursing is one of the most intimate health care professions. They are connected to their patients as soon as they are admitted into their care right through until they are discharged into someone else’s care. With this, nurses have a strict professional identity and scope of practice to prevent a nurse from over stepping their professional boundaries. A nurses’ duty of care does go beyond the average healthcare professional but still does not impair the
As a Registered Nurse is a crucial component to ensure that there is effective communication between the nurse and patient. As well as being respectful to the person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights. This is because everyone is different, and due to this it is important that I am being cautious to each person’s individual needs.
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
The ‘zone of helpfulness’ describes the centre of a continuum of professional behaviour. This zone is where the majority of interactions between a nurse and a person in their care should occur for effectiveness and the safety of that person. ‘Over involvement’ of a nurse with a person in their care is to the right side of the continuum; this includes boundary crossings, boundary violations and sexual assault and inappropriate relationships with the
Not all patients are capable of independently identifying and articulate their care needs, so the nurse also adapts the role as an advocate. Clarity and continuity in a trusting environment enables good communication. Progressive identification of needs takes place as nurse and patient communicate with one another in the interpersonal relationship (Peplau 1988, p. 84). Being considerate to the needs and vulnerability of patients is a moral attribute, as nurses are accountable for the care they deliver.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) are responsible for; developing standards and setting codes and guidelines for the nursing profession (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2015, para.1). Nurses need to meet the professional standards of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia they can do this by being registered with the board to meet the established professional standards in Australia to protect others and the public (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2017, para.1).
The number one priority of the Registered Nurse should be to provide holistic, patient-centred, safe and evidence based care to every patient. Patients who are admitted into hospital or seek healthcare services externally through clinics or the community usually expect to receive the safest and the highest quality of care possible from that facility. Registered Nurses have a major responsibility to ensure that this is achieved. To help guide nurses and other healthcare workers in the right direction, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia created and enforced the “Registered Nurse Standards for Practice”. These standards aim to assist healthcare practitioners in providing high quality and safe care to every client. The standards also aim to prevent any form of harm or negative consequence to the patient during and after their time in any healthcare facility. This paper will discuss the reportedly increasing issue of elder abuse, the responsibilities of the Registered Nurse and the associated Standards of Practice when faced with a patient or family that is experiencing this type of harm. The standards discussed in this paper will be Standards 2.5, 2.9 and 6.6.
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 have a professional responsibility to ensure that safe boundaries are kept in the relationship between patient and Nurse. It is these boundaries that provide the nursing profession with integrity, and according to Baca (2010, pp.195) it is essential these boundaries be maintained because of the difference in power between the nurse and patient. However, boundary violations can occur, when a nurse crosses from the zone of helpfulness to over involved, the ANMC (2011 pp.3) believes that when a violation occurs a nurse is behaving unprofessional manner and misusing their power in the patient nurse relationship. This misuse of power can be categorized into 3 types; boundary crossing, boundary violation and the extreme form of sexual misconduct. Often by mistake a nurse could cross the boundary without thought, a
According to the ANA (American Nurses Association), it is the duty of nurse to protect the patient’s rights, safety, health and advocate for the patient. By treating the patient in an open area, invades their privacy, can cause embarrassment and most of all jeopardize trust between the patient and care giver. This negligent care could also lead to legal ramifications in the future against the hospital. By breaking this trust, the patient may also omit valuable information that could affect their treatment ultimately causing them harm. Some patients may become noncompliant with their prescribed treatment. It is essential that effective communication between patient and care provider occurs at all times. . Healthcare providers are obligated to give safe and effective care.
Everywhere you go and in everything you do, professionalism comes in to account in some way or another. Professionalism has been defined as, “a strict adherence to courtesy, honesty and responsibility when dealing with individuals or other companies in the business environment” (Clarke, 2015). When it comes to the career of nursing, professionalism is taken to a whole other level. Not only does professionalism come in to account with your business professionals and peers, but you have patients with whom professionalism is highly practiced as well. Professionalism in nursing means that you are able to handle all the responsibilities given to you in an efficient and proper way. It means that when you are given an order that needs to be carried out by a doctor or a patient who needs your help, you adhere to what is being expected of you in a timely manner. Physicians put trust into nurses in order to carry out orders that are needed to save patients’ lives. If you’re not looked at as professional and responsible, it is going to be very hard to have a successful career. Responsibility is what nursing is all about. Professionalism in nursing means that along with taking on big responsibilities, you have discipline. Discipline in nursing is crucial to being successful. Not only to keep your patients safe, but so that you personally are on the ball and looked at by others as professional, therefore, making you a great nurse. Professionalism means that you have the
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.
Nurses are subject to a plethora of legal, ethical, and professional duties which can be very challenging on a day to day basis. Some of these duties include respecting a patient 's confidentiality and autonomy, and to recognize the duty of care that is owed to all patients. As nurses our duties are always professional; however there are legal implications if these duties are breached. We also must consider when it is okay as nurses to breach these duties and therefore ethical issues arise. As nurses one of our main priorities is to advocate for our patients, without our own personal feelings on the matter taking over.
Professional nurses encounter a variety of legal ethical and bioethical issues on a daily basis. For this reason, it is essential that all nurses are aware of current state and national legislation, acts and guidelines and the implications of these for nursing practices as well as legal processes, principles of open disclosure and the role of a coroner in the health sector. In this way, nurses can adhere to the overarching guidelines for practice as well as working within the code of conduct, competency standards and scope of practice. This paper will provide an overview of legal and ethical parameters of professional nursing practice.