Thoughts Regarding Professionalism & Nursing

[Eilana]

As a nurse, how do you display professionalism ... what does 'professionalism' mean to you? What specific characteristics are needed in order to be a professional nurse nowadays? How does a nurse make a difference? Share your thoughts.

[leslie :-D]

EXACTLY! But this is precisely what happened when I presented my CNA course to the nurse leadership here. They feel that by teaching CNAs professional behaviors, we are in fact identifying and labeling them as a profession and apparently we don't want to do that as only RNs are a profession.

they aren't even remotely close in comparison.

kind of scary if you ask me, that the nsg leadership doesn't get it.

we are talking 2 different planets here.

and i didn't think it took a rocket scientist to figure that out.

[merricat]

i dont know-- i got criminal background (federal) through the state-- the state can revoke my right to practice-- i have to renew every 2 years-- this sounds like a license, not a cert. for CNA. i am wondering if the cert in title is just leftover from when it all began, in the eighties, with OBRA. i mean, ACLS is a cet, not a license. but CNA? sounds like l;icense. anyone?

[merricat]

Yup - ditto. They hold a certificate from a CNA curriculum governed by the state. In addition, since there is no "license," there is no governing body over the CNA certification (ie: BON, State Medical Board, etc).

in arizona, the BON does regulate your license and can handle complaints and may take your license away.

[merricat]

now i'm confused.

what does being professional have to do with one's profession?

it does not, really. but like the new loophole that allows RNs to not be paid overtime? that specificlly involves the use of the word "professionsl" and the definition of it (varies by interpretation but basically jobs that involve thinking more than physical labor).

[Q.]

i dont know-- i got criminal background (federal) through the state-- the state can revoke my right to practice-- i have to renew every 2 years-- this sounds like a license, not a cert. for CNA. i am wondering if the cert in title is just leftover from when it all began, in the eighties, with OBRA. i mean, ACLS is a cet, not a license. but CNA? sounds like l;icense. anyone?

I have never heard of the CNA certificate being referred to as a license in any state. A CNA is just that - a certification to be a nursing assistant. There is nothing wrong with a certificate, but it is not a license. Nurse Practitioners can get certified to prescribe- there is nothing wrong with certification.

Criminal background checks are done on ANY healthcare worker who will be working with patients, kids, the elderly, what have you. They are also done with teachers sometimes. That is not a license.

If you are a CNA, you would know if you had a license or not because you would have recieved it from your state. As you've pointed out, the AZ BON regulates CNA work, so clearly it varies by state, but in the state of WI, there is no such regulation. The WI BON only regulates LPNs, RN, and APN's. And, the Dept of Regulation and Licensing only governs those occupations which hold a license - hair stylists, pharmacists, therapists, etc.

License also infers a bit of autonomy; as a CNA you don't have any. You're tasks are all delegated acts from a nurse.

In the most basic sense, a certificate is this:

A document issued to a person completing a course of study not leading to a diploma.

A document certifying that a person may officially practice in certain professions.

A license is this:

a right or permission granted by a competent authority (as of a government or a business) to engage in some business or occupation, do some act, or engage in some transaction which would be unlawful without such right or permission.

CNAs do not hold a license.

[SandraCVRN]

To me professionalism is doing your own class asignments.

My thought exactly :chuckle

[boulergirl, CNA]

Aw geez, I think I just opened a can of worms. :chair: