The Importance Of Nightingale's Professional Identity In Nursing

The idea of how nurses can conduct themselves in a daily basis for some can be viewed as they have it easy or least make it look easy and for others it’s world’s best job. The truth is being a nurse is very difficult job and it can be very labor intensive and very rewarding at the same time. Just think every time you go into the doctor’s office or have an overnight stay in the hospital what all to do your nurse during their shift? In an ideal world and scenario nurses have the perfect amount staff with all the proper equipment readily available. The truth of the matter is that in most cases nurses are short staffed and must maximize their time effectively and effortlessly unbeknown to patients.

With the continued change and increased complexity of the identity of the nurse it has led to the confusion as to what role nurses play – are they caregivers or clinicians? With the continued evolution of nurses professional identity nurses have moved away from the feminine role of just merely caring and have moved towards taking on more masculine role which have traditionally been associated with power. As traditionally power is mainly associated with masculinity and caring, which is the core value of nursing, as associated with femininity. From this it can be said that nurses have evolved from being the overshadowed caregivers to now taking on roles that traditionally would not be associated with nursing however still keeping the care element. In order to establish exactly how the identity of nurses has evolved over the years and to understand what it is today, we will look at the history of nursing as well as looking at how professional identity is formed and what factors

Professional identity remains imperative to the nursing profession, as this profession is built on strong morals and core values, as nurses seek to provide safe, high-quality patient care. To develop a professional identity entails far more than acquiring experience in a profession; a professional identity reflects a mixture of internal and external modifications. While one does gain identity through developing a reputation in his or her profession of choice, he or she must also grow on an internal level, guided by values. Even as a nursing student, one can begin to perceive the acquisition of a professional identity.

The ‘6C’s’ were launched by England’s Chief Officer Jane Cummings who believes that the ‘6C’s’ stand for the commitment of each professional to provide outstanding care for patients, with dignity and compassion while continuing to remain consistent as they achieve excellent health and wellbeing outcomes (RCNI, 2015). The ‘6C’s consist of, care, compassion, competence, communication, courage, and commitment. However for this assignment the focus will lie primarily on courage, an important trait in life and in nursing practice (Dobos, 2015) .It allows us to be brave and do the right thing for the people that we are caring for (RCNI, 2015). Being courageous helps nurses identify poor practise and speak up reinforcing strategies to increase the best standard of care for patients. Various topics will be discussed throughout this assignment such as, why courage is important for nursing, how to be courageous as a nurse, the benefits of having courage as a nurse, and the current issues.

According to Nictitas, Middaugh, and Aries (2106), nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and are indispensable when it comes to quality patient care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. It is projected by 2020; there will be a shortage of over 500,000 nurses (Nictitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). A shortage of this magnitude will have a negative impact on our healthcare system. This paper will attempt to reflect on the issues that have resulted in the nursing shortage and discuss the future of the nursing profession.

In the essay “ Nursing’s Code of Ethics, Social Ethics, and Social Policy,” Marsha D. Fowler explains the history of Nursing ethics and what should be utilized in today’s society. Fowler explains to her readers what nurses should promote within the healthcare field. The purpose of her essay is to persuade her audience, whom are Nurses or someone who has background knowledge, into taking action. In order to explain the importance of ethics, Fowler uses two primary arguments emphasising, nurses need to have a stronger voice in policy making and they need to follow the code of ethics which was set for them. Fowler (2016) concludes in her article by encouraging nurses to take action and

Being a nurse is not always as easy and picture perfect as people paint it to be. A nurse is expected to act perfectly professional, even when tears, anger and all-around emotions are begging to come out. A nurse must always be the one that has their life together, especially when others do not. They are there to be the ones to hold and care for others in desperate times of need. Nurses are expected to be more than just a nurse, but rather an advocate, caregiver, support system and professional. There are 5 professional values that are associated with the description of a nurse.

“To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; that is to be a nurse,” was once said by Rawsi Williams. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to witness the amazing work of a nurse because of the constant negative portrayal of nurses in the media. The work of a nurse tends to be over looked every day in the media. “Nurses are nursing against the odds— striving to provide safe, high-quality, effective care in a healthcare system that is being savaged by obscene cost-cutting, nurse shortages and gross misrepresentation through media stereotypes,” said best by Ian Peate (Peate, I., 2016). The media’s perception of nurses is completely wrong. The television shows and movies are great for drama and entertainment but fail to accurately depict the real life of a nurse and all of the work they do. The media fails to portray an accurate representation of males as nurses, an accurate portrayal of the nursing practices performed on a daily, an accurate portrayal of the differences and nurses and physician’s duties, and an accurate representation of the physical and mental characteristics of a nurse. It is time for nurses to put an end to these stereotypes and change the way they are represented in the media.

Nurses ' voices need to be heard. Our perspectives are different based on our knowledge, experience and expertise. The "central idea of nursing is the pivotal role of nurses in delivering high-quality patient care" (Johnson & Billingsley, 2016). Our minds offer a valuable resource to the public. Through participating and increasing local involvement, such as professional unions, and conferences, nurses form an integral part of the healthcare world to the public eye. The research article, Convergence: How Nursing Unions and Magnet are Advancing Nursing (2014) concluded that the "dialectic between unions and Magnet has adanced and not hindered the profession".

The nursing shortage is nothing new or going away any time soon in the United States of America. The United States has seen a shortage before, but by 2025 we will see it crumble, if something doesn’t change. “Health Affairs reported that the nursing shortage will grow to 260,000 RNs by 2025 – twice as large as shortages that have occurred since the mid-1960s.”(http://www.villanovau.com) Most notably, patient safety is in jeopardy causing medical errors that otherwise would not occur. Nurses are also feeling frustrated and unappreciated within their careers causing these errors. It is important that the nursing shortage be talked about and addressed, before the impact of the shortage is too impaired to come back

Great discussion everyone! This far we have discussed and learned how economic reforms in healthcare system affect nurse’s ability to provide care. Weiss article challenges us to think how high turnover rates, increased float staff, increased workload and a move to a more supervisory role over non-licensed personnel creates difficulties in providing the ‘basic nursing care’ that ensures a space for ‘meaningful human interaction’. Austin’s article discusses the impact of economic reforms on nursing in a different manner. Austin contends that nursing is a ‘humanly fulfilling moral mission’ that revolves around ‘caring’. She claims that the meaning of ‘nurse’ ceases when the nature of nursing changes from moral practice to routinized activity.

Failure to address nursing shortage has therefore resulted into failure to reduce the rates of adverse outcomes or complications, failure to reduce hospital costs as well as significant financial as well as psychological costs to patients and their families. James Buchan and Ian Seccombe (1995) noted that the main issues for management arising from nurse shortage and absence are impact on quality of care, continuity of care, its productivity, effects on remaining staff with over work.

Modern nursing is built around comprehension and education, nurses students study a three-year degree which incorporates clinical placements and on-going skills training. Their predecessors have given today's nurses the foundations necessary to build a strong sense of pride and professional presence within society. Margaret McAllister states in her paper "In My Day"" that awareness of nursing history can assist in developing nurses' characteristics of resilience, which includes a strong specialized identity and the capability to think critically" (McAllister, M.2009). It is apparent the nursing code of conduct has derived from such past events. This essay will discuss some core concepts of nursing such as hope, trust, autonomy and professionalism/accountability. These core concepts help build and construct the identity of nurses. This essay will also explore what it means to be a nurse and discuss how this has changed over time including the way we view nurses today in the 20th century. Nursing is an excellent setting to study the process of legitimizing a new professional role distinctiveness because there have been momentous changes over

My philosophy of nursing is a statement I will stand by as a nursing student and as a graduate nurse and will continue to incorporate it into my daily care. In my eyes, nursing is the ability to provide safe, holistic care to all people regardless of their age, race, gender, social status, or sexuality. Nursing is a profession in which it is essential to be caring and respectful of all patients in which they may be experiencing the most difficult health situations of their lives and to provide culturally safe care.

I am a Registered Staff nurse who working at Bukit Batok Polyclinic. I am currently studying at the University of Sydney at Singapore Institute of Management pursuing Bachelor in Nursing (Post -registration ) programme. I am writing this letter because I would like to share with you my thoughts on the important of studying the discipline of nursing. I have a deep realization that it is important to study discipline of nursing.