Professionalism In Healthcare Research Paper

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.

“Autonomous nursing practice as defined as full command of expert knowledge and allowing for accountability and authority in decision making” (Creasia & Friberg, 2011, pg. 47). A doctor will more likely see a nurse as a professional once they show competence and autonomy, which in turn, will provide a positive nurse-physician relationship due to the trust built between professionals. A physician must be able to trust a nurse’s judgment and assessment skills to be able to provide a collaborative care for the patient. The wheel of professionalism is designed to compare nurses' professional behavior with other professions, which places university-based education as central to professionalism, which then leads to a strong code of ethics, professional recognition and continuing education to maintain nursing competence (Yam, 2004). As a nurse achieves a status of professionalism, a nurse will view oneself as an equal partner in the health care team, which in turn will boost confidence and support for a more proactive and confident nurse.

The professionalism of nursing is influenced on the knowledge that nurses inherit and the progression of their role over many years. The knowledge of a nurse is undefined because the knowledge of a nurse is constantly progressing, evolving in its profession (Akthar-Danesh , Baunman, Kolotylo, Lawler, Tompkins & Lee 2013), the role of a nurse cannot be displayed or portrayed by knowledge, that is constantly changing due to many factors(Nursing Times , 2005 ). To elaborate on the knowledge of a nurse you would be bias to think that the knowledge of the nurse doesn’t reflect on the professionalism of a Nurse, therefore they influence one another, during a career of a nurse. The professionalism of a nurse is represented through many factors; the

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)

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.

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.

Professionalism to me is being honest, having a high level of integrity, striving for excellence, respecting others and providing quality care with compassion.

Professionalism for a nurse begins when he or she begins attending nursing school. For example, a student can demonstrate professionalism to classmates and instructors by turning in assignments on time, working diligently, and confronting conflicts in a mature manner 2. By providing a professional environment in class, instructors and classmates will have more respect for that particular student as he or she progresses through clinicals, other course work and eventually into a career as a Nurse. When a nurse has graduated, she can continue her professionalism by continuing her education. Due to the fact that medicine is an ever-changing field, it is important for a nurse to stay up to date on her skills and knowledge. For example, by continuing to learn, a nurse can provide the best care for a patient

Professionalism as a whole is expected of everyone, and is not something that should have to be commended, because I feel it is a standard. There are varying degrees of how to act professional, and not everyone has the same opinion on what is professional and what is not. Problems arise when there are differing opinions, because which person is right? It is easy to have a clear picture of what professionalism is when there are actual guidelines in place, such as the licensed practical nurse (LPN) guidelines. These guidelines, or scope of practice is written out by the board of nursing in the state of practice (Potter et al., 2011), and then more specific guidelines are written within individual facilities based on the state.

Professionalism in nursing is an essential ingredient in achieving a healthy work environment and is enabled by the context of practice. Professionalism requires a body of knowledge, service to others, autonomy, self-regulation, code of ethics, and participation in professional societies. Professionalism is exhibited in the behaviors and attitudes of each individual nurse. The integration of core disciplinary values, knowledge, and personal reflection is the foundation of professionalism in nursing. Core disciplinary values include the values of integrity, respect for human dignity, caring, and advocacy. All nurses must have knowledge of legal, ethical, and practice standards.

Three professional characteristics I believe are important to the practice of nursing are first the ability to understand the scientific principal of Nursing, being able to removed personal biases from treating patients, and the ability to remain culturally flexible. Hood however (Hood, 2014) focuses deeply on the mechanisms, ethical standards, legal reinforcements, and personal conduct, which keeps the Nursing profession focused and aligned. But it is my belief that these three professional characteristics will allow the professional Nurse to work in any environment and be objective and rational as possible with dealing with the public.

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.

We often consider a type of job that requires advanced education and training is a profession. Nursing is a profession that has different roles such as a caregiver, an educator, and a team leader. Another distinctive feature is nurses are working with other occupations that are also highly skilled. The author, Belvins (2016), mentioned: “nursing is a profession based on caring and advocating for the health of people, nursing practice is centered on the nursing process, and professional performance involves competent behavior in fulfilling the role of caregiver and team member” (p. 194). As you see from Belvins’ comment, patients’ safety and health profoundly relate to the nurse’s professional behavior which is professionalism. Then, what are the components of professionalism in the workplace? And, how to keep them?

The health status of an individual pertains to not only the absence of disease, but also to their overall well-being in a social, physical, spiritual, and intellectual aspect. Similarly, the healthy environment of a facility pertains not to the absence of error, but to the ability of the health care team to work together while optimizing the patients’ best outcomes. To create this healthy workplace, each health care professional must be willing to place the patient’s wants and needs above his or her own. As a nurse, it is extremely important to exhibit a manner of professionalism when tending to the patient. Professionalism is defined as a “commitment to secure the interests and welfare of those entrusted to one’s care,” (Taylor, Lillis, and Lynn, 2015).