Professionalism in Nursing and My Professional Identity
Tina L. Jessup
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
The current form of nursing began back in the 1850’ with Florence Nightingale. But what is nursing? Nursing as defined by the ANA (2004) is “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” ( p.7). With this definition in mind what does nursing mean to me? Through evaluation of my philosophy of nursing and my professional status, I hope to answer this question and establish my professional identity.
Philosophy Of Nursing
As professional nurses’ it is important for us, to establish a personal philosophy of the profession we practice. I believe many times as nurses we lose focus of why we chose our profession. Many times we become stuck in a routine and simply have the feeling that we are just working as nurses, not actually having the experience or feeling of being a nurse (Ohlen &Segesten, 1998). This is why it is important for us to establish our own philosophy and frequently reflect back on it, to remind ourselves of the bigger picture. As stated by Kearny-Nunnery a philosophy is the “the nurse’s personal definition of nursing” (2008). In order for us to begin to form a personal philosophy, we participated in Chapter 1 Interactive exercises focusing on human beings, environment , health, nursing, and statements that we thought were proven facts regarding nursing. I practice nursing in a fast paced critical care unit. I take care of critical, acute or chronically ill adult patients. Promotion of health and wellness is a key component of providing care to these patients. My definition of health is doing what is best physically, mentally and emotionally for our complex human bodies in order to maintain them.
With these three definitions in mind, nursing to me is an ever changing, fast paced profession that requires caring, compassionate, unbiased individuals willing to go above and beyond to provide care to individuals no matter what their situation. It is important for us as nurses to remember that we are caring for human beings who are in an environment that is unfamiliar and typically frightening to them. It is not for us to judge a person because of their personal health or stature in life. As Virginia Henderson said, ” we are there to assist individuals in a healthy recovery or a peaceful death” (1966).
Developing a philosophy of nursing is crucial in providing exceptional care to our patient populations. These patients rely on us as skilled, knowledgeable, professionals with a passion for what we do. It is important for us to remember the reason we are in this profession. We must occasionally reflect on our “philosophy to analyze how [our] professional practice is enhanced in [our] ongoing quest for knowledge and expertise in [our] profession (Kearney-Nunnery, 2008).
Professional Status
Merriam- Webster dictionary defines a professional in the following way: “characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession” (2005). As nurses we conform to standards of a profession and must recognize our professional status in order to provide quality care to our patients. Miller and Associates (1993) proposed a nine category behavioral inventory to assist us in evaluating our professional status (p. 294). The categories include educational background, code of ethics, participation in professional organizations, continuing education and competency, communication and publication, autonomy and self-regulation, community service activities, nursing theory and knowledge, and research involvement. With the help of the Chapter 1 Interactive exercises I was able to evaluate my own professional status in these nine categories.
I graduated from Forsyth Technical Community College in December of 2005 with an Associate’s Degree of Nursing. In addition I have a Bachelor’s of Art in Elementary Education, which I received in 2000 from High Point University. I have a basic understanding of the code of ethics and incorporate those ethics into my daily nursing. My involvement in professional organizations is very limited. I am not a member of any organization. Continuing education is something required for licensure and within the hospital I work. I do not typically do more than what is required. Very rarely do I read nursing and scientific literature or do internet searches on nursing topics. I do frequently do a self assessment of my learning needs and seek out opportunities within the hospital to refresh my skills. I have very little involvement in discussion groups, on-line chat groups, institutional committees, or practice committees. I practice autonomy and self-regulation to maintain standards within my unit, by utilizing my critical thinking skills, and being aware of personal resources and limitations within my scope of practice. At present I am not involved in any community services. I do incorporate theory into my practice but as Kearney-Nunnery states there must be greater involvement in this process (2008). And finally use of findings from evidence-based practice is essential to the nursing care that I perform, and is implemented on a daily basis.
Upon review and evaluation these nine categories, it is evident that the majority of my professional status is weak. It is crucial that I begin to develop and grow in all nine categories in order to truly be called a professional. I have begun to do so with furthering my education through working on my Bachelors in Nursing. I plan to become more involved in professional organizations, especially one’s relevant to my specialty, participate in more health- promoting community activities, and just simply become more involved. I must truly exhibit the characteristics of a professional in order to be considered one.
Professionalism in Nursing
It is important for us to maintain a high level of professionalism. As stated before, a professional is a person who conforms to technical and/or ethical standards. As nurses we conform to both. According to the review of literature nurses displaying professionalism will portray similar characteristics and belief systems.
LaSala and Nelson believe that when it comes to professionalism “first impressions transmit powerful messages” (Lasala & Nelson, 2005). The two main attributes they discuss are professional appearance and professional behavior. Patients, families and coworkers make assumptions about individuals initially based on the way they look and the attitude that they exhibit. Nurses have such an integral role in the health care delivery system so it is important for us to create a positive image to our clients. Our image is important to the development of our careers.
Pinkerton describes six characteristics that help in determining whether a job is a profession or not (2001). These characteristics are” education of the practitioner, having a code of ethics, compensation commensurate with the work, being organized to promote needed service, having autonomy, and being recognized by government with licensure. In examining these characteristics they are very similar to Miller and associates behavioral assessment. However, Pinkerton discusses how compensation and nursing shortage is unfortunately affecting professionalism in our field and must be addressed. She believes nursing satisfaction is declining because of these areas, in turn, affecting professionalism. I believe Pinkerton is accurate in her assessment, if nurse satisfaction is low professionalism will also be affected.
In the next article professionalism is believed to begin when we are students and continues through our careers. Beginning to develop our professionalism as students sets a foundation as we grow and develop as nurses. Servodidio also relates professionalism to the years of experience the nurse has, higher education, participation in professional organizations, and being certified in your specialty areas (2008). This article gives specific examples of things we can do to enhance our professionalism such as being on time, detail to our appearance, having an open door policy, avoid gossip, empower one another and “be self sufficient with a can do attitude, find meaning in your work, be flexible, and be open to change” (Servodidio, 2008).
Smalley also recognizes Miller and associates behavioral assessment. She believes that “each nurse who practices and exhibits these characteristics of professionalism moves the field as a whole to wider recognition” (Smalley, 2005). Nurses are responsible for their own growth and development, and they must be self-motivated in order to achieve a higher level of professionalism. Nurses who are more actively involved and pursue these nine attributes described by Miller and associates tend to have a higher degree of satisfaction. When nurses are more satisfied the patient is more satisfied, propelling professionalism forward in a positive light.
Conclusion
After review of the literature and evaluation of my personal philosophy and professional status I have a better understanding of Professionalism in Nursing and what it means to my career path. Professionalism to me is a combination of attributes, including appearance, behavior, involvement and growth in the nine behavioral categories proposed by Miller and associates. I believe as I grow and develop in my professionalism incorporating all of these positive attributes I will become more of an active participant in delivery of healthcare and improve patient and nursing satisfaction (Smalley, 2005). Writing this paper has really helped me to focus on the implications for my career plan. It is crucial that I become more active and involved in the characteristics I discussed. I believe this is important as I work toward a Masters in Nursing and becoming a Practitioner. Professionalism will follow me all along my career path. Maintaining the highest standards of a professional identity will prepare and guide me as a further my career.
References
American Nurses Association. (2004) Scope and Standards of Practice.Washington, DC: ANA Publications.
Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2008). Advancing Your Career: Concepts of Professional Nursing. (4th Edition). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
LaSala, K.B. and Nelson, J. (2005) What contributes to Professionalism? MedSurg Nursing. 14(1), 62-67. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from EBSCO Host
Miller, B.K., Adams, D. and Beck, L. (1993). A behavioral inventory for professionalism in nursing. Journal of Professional Nursing, 9, 290-295.
Ohlen, J. and Segesten, K. ((1998) The professional identity of the nurse: concept analysis and development. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 28(4), 720-727. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from EBSCO Host
Pinkerton, S. (2001). The future of professionalism in nursing. Nursing Economics. 19(3), 130-131. Retrieved October 10,2010 from EBSCO Host
Smalley, J. (2005). What’s your nursing philosophy? Nursing Management.36(12), 59-61. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from EBSCO Host
Servodidio,C. (2008). Maintain professionalism in your daily nusing practice. ONS Connect. 19. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from EBSCO Host
