Is nursing defined as a profession, practice or simply as work?

Nurses Activism

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NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN

10 Articles; 18,298 Posts

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
i just thought it interesting that whereas my nys rn license says on it: registered professional nurse, my pa rn license says only: registered nurse.

pa's rn law regs:

"an act

relating to the practice of professional nursing"

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

I practice very hard so my profession will work

I work very hard in my practice for my profession

My profession practices very hard to work

I practice all the time, I work all the time, I profess all the time

except when I am golfing

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

What does that tell you hahahahahaha

fronkey bean

491 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.
Good point. Just because a career may not be "professional" in the traditional sense of doctoring and lawyering, that doesn't mean a person is "unprofessional."

And the term "professional" has many different nuances and uses, regardless of the official webster's definition. A professional plumber or ball player may have no formal academic credentials. Is an entry-level software engineer who grinds out code in a cubicle as professional as an independent trial lawyer? If we concede that being a chef is a profession, what about a short-order cook? What about a short-order cook with decades of experience? That person could probably "cook circles" around most world-famous chef if they were put head to head in a busy coffee shop.

How about waitresses? Sure, it may not take long to learn and understand the basics, but to be able to perform the job adequately on a busy day is not a skill to be taken for granted. And to be able to perform expertly, keeping orders straight, fussy customers satisfied, dodge through a crowded dining room without spilling anything, demands experience. You can't have just anyone fill in at the last minute at a busy restaurant and have a successful business.

Granted, usually these job roles don't have people's lives directly in their hands, but every time we let someone get into a car and drive, we are giving them ample opportunity to take lives if they aren't careful and vigilant. If nurses are careful and vigilant and follow policy and use their training, their patients should be safe. But are they MORE professional than any other skilled worker? (yeah, I'm being a bit of devil's advocate here).:devil:;)

none of these other careers you mentioned will lose their livelyhood if they make a mistake. If nurses make an error in judgement they can lose their licence and their ability to practice their choosen profession. Waitresses, cooks, etc. may lose their jobs, but they aren't prohibitted from picking up and going elsewhere.

jjjoy, LPN

2,801 Posts

none of these other careers you mentioned will lose their livelyhood if they make a mistake. If nurses make an error in judgement they can lose their licence and their ability to practice their choosen profession. Waitresses, cooks, etc. may lose their jobs, but they aren't prohibitted from picking up and going elsewhere.

The point here is what does a person mean when they say "nursing is a profession and not *just* a job"?

My point was that I'd call anyone who does a job for an extended period of time with an attitude of building expertise in their practice - whatever it is - is a professional... so in my definition *even* waitresses are professionals as are short-order cooks as long as they have already passed through the novice stage and consider their work not just their primary means of earning money but as a practice that they will continually work to improve upon and strive to perform at the top of their game every time they go out there. Thus there are amateur athletes and professional athletes. There are college students working their way through school as waitresses and then there are professional waitresses. There are amazing hobbyist cooks and there are professional chefs. There are parents, spouses, adult children who nurse their relatives, sometimes learning pretty advanced stuff, and then there are professional nurses - for whom nursing is both a job and a practice to be continually honed.

fronkey bean

491 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.
The point here is what does a person mean when they say "nursing is a profession and not *just* a job"?

My point was that I'd call anyone who does a job for an extended period of time with an attitude of building expertise in their practice - whatever it is - is a professional... so in my definition *even* waitresses are professionals as are short-order cooks as long as they have already passed through the novice stage and consider their work not just their primary means of earning money but as a practice that they will continually work to improve upon and strive to perform at the top of their game every time they go out there. Thus there are amateur athletes and professional athletes. There are college students working their way through school as waitresses and then there are professional waitresses. There are amazing hobbyist cooks and there are professional chefs. There are parents, spouses, adult children who nurse their relatives, sometimes learning pretty advanced stuff, and then there are professional nurses - for whom nursing is both a job and a practice to be continually honed.

I think I understand what your saying JJ, any one who strives to do their job to the best of their ability and attempts to improve their performance is acting in a "professional" way. And I would further state that their are many RN's who, by their shoddy work habits act very "unprofessionally". However, someone "acting" professionally doesn't make them a professional. Years of studying a special body of knowledge, the willingness to pledge oneself to the well being of their client, and garunteeing your performance by placing your professional reputation and ability to practice your profession at stake, raises some "jobs" to the level of a profession. I'm not trying to be snobby, but if I am derelict in my duties as a waitress somebodies eggs get cold and I might get fired (no big deal, I can get another waitressing position at The Waffle House). If I am derelict in my duties as a nurse, I could delay someones treatment and/or cause them physical harm for which I might forfeit my licence and never be able to be a nurse again. There is a bit of a difference.

jjjoy, LPN

2,801 Posts

Defense lawyers may have people's lives in their hands, but other lawyers do not. Are they still professionals in your book? Do you not consider plumbers and electricians as professionals? Cosmetologists have to be licensed but they don't have people's lives in their hands. Is that a profession? Are EMTs and paramedics in a profession? They have licenses and people's lives in their hands. And as I've noted before, anyone who drives a car is taking other people's lives in their hands. One moment of carelessness could cause harm and death to others. And if we do cause harm or get caught breaking a crucial rule, our license will be taken away.

A related, interesting question is why do nursing schools make a point to explicitly teach that nursing is a profession? My school did that and gave a list of reasons based on some definitions of profession. Who were they trying to convince? I imagine that emphasis was to specifically counter previous nurse training where the nurses were taught to always defer to the MD, going so far as to always offer their seat. I imagine that professional emphasis was to encourage nurses to consider themselves as more than *just* a nurse and encourage pride in the important work that they do.

fronkey bean

491 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.
Defense lawyers may have people's lives in their hands, but other lawyers do not. Are they still professionals in your book? Do you not consider plumbers and electricians as professionals? Cosmetologists have to be licensed but they don't have people's lives in their hands. Is that a profession? Are EMTs and paramedics in a profession? They have licenses and people's lives in their hands. And as I've noted before, anyone who drives a car is taking other people's lives in their hands. One moment of carelessness could cause harm and death to others. And if we do cause harm or get caught breaking a crucial rule, our license will be taken away.

A related, interesting question is why do nursing schools make a point to explicitly teach that nursing is a profession? My school did that and gave a list of reasons based on some definitions of profession. Who were they trying to convince? I imagine that emphasis was to specifically counter previous nurse training where the nurses were taught to always defer to the MD, going so far as to always offer their seat. I imagine that professional emphasis was to encourage nurses to consider themselves as more than *just* a nurse and encourage pride in the important work that they do.

You don't think prosecuters have people's lives in their hands? What about adoption lawyers? Divorce lawyers? There are few aspects of law that do not profoundly touch peoples lives.

I don't know about plumbers but electricians do have a specialized body of knowledge they must learn to be able to obtain a licence and if they don't practice their profession correctly people and property are in danger so yes I would classify them as a profession. same w/ EMT's paramedic's and almost any one whose job can affect the course of another persons life. I don't know that giving some one an embarrassing hair-do quite rises to that standard.

As far as nursing schools emphasizing the professional definition of nursing to counter the view of nurses as nothing more than MD's handmaidens, I'm sure you're right and why wouldn't that be a good reason? Remember that the practice of medicine has not always been a respected profession. They were once refered to as butchers and ghouls among other things. As their methods became more scientific and knowledge more precise, they developed courses of study that insured those who studied medicine would perform at a certain minimum level upon graduation. Then they licenced those who graduated and demanded that they adhere to the standards set down by those in their profession earning the trust and respect of the public. Nothing wrong w/ nurses doing the same.

Believe me, I've been a waitress and no-one expected the level of performance that is demanded of me as a nurse. When I got an order wrong, no big deal, just go get the right order and forget about the tip. If I spilled the drinks all over someone (and I have) a sincere apology and a free meal fix it. Not so if I get someone's meds wrong or accidently yank out someone's IABP.

I am not a waitress to sick people. I am a nurse and I have studied hard and continue to hone my knowledge and skill so that I can increase pt comfort, decrease their hospital time, recognize signs of an impending problem in their recovery, etc., etc., etc.,.

jjjoy, LPN

2,801 Posts

Fronkey, I appreciate your perspective and willingness to engage in dialogue.

Your definition of profession seem to include all of those lines of work that involve life or death responsibility. And that's fine. I can see that as a reasonable requirement. But then what about lines of work that don't involve life or death? Is cosmetology as practiced by licensed personnel a profession? What about a software engineer?

A specialized body of knowledge? That covers a lot of lines of work. And I have no problem with that either. Professional housekeeping involves knowledge of a variety of equipment, chemicals and processes that most of us don't have. I say 'professional' because a housekeeper who doesn't know these things is just 'doing work.' Well, that's one take on it, anyway.

I agree that many lawyers do have people's lives in their hands, but many don't. They may have other people's money or business at stake, but not their physical well-being. That was my only point there.

Anyway, professions tend to develop over time, as the field gets more established. So emergeny pre-hospital care might originally have begun as a low-skill job that was a subset of medicine. As the field grew, however, specialized knowledge and skills of pre-hospital care developed and after time, these positions required more and more formal training specific to that area. At some point, it becomes it's own field with it's own experts and body of knowledge. And this is regardless of whether or not lives are at stake. That's my perspective at this point.

fronkey bean

491 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.

JJ, I think we may have to agree to disagree. Not all professions are life and death and not every one in a profession holds someone's life in their hands (ex. MD's who do chart review) but I do think their is a higher level of resposibility that goes along w/ having a profession as opposed to having a job. I realize there are grey areas but I don't think the health care field is one of those grey areas. If you choose to become a part of a health care profession, be it nursing, medicine, pharmacy, etc. where your decisions can seriously affect the health and well-being of another you take on the resposibility of a professional.

profession

1 any type of work which needs special training or a particular skill, often one which is respected because it involves a high level of education:

He left the teaching profession in 1965 to set up his own business.

The report notes that forty per cent of lawyers entering the profession are women.

Teaching as a profession is very underpaid.

He's a doctor by profession.

2 the people who do a type of work, considered as a group:

There's a feeling among the nursing profession that their work is undervalued.

3 the professions jobs which need special training and skill, such as being a doctor or lawyer, but not work in business or industry

I think our difference of opinion stems from the fact that I am using the first and third definitions of Profession and you are using the second. I have always thought of professionals as more than just a "group of people and I certainly think of nursing as more than just a "job". Mabey it is just my pride ( or ego) but I truley believe there is more than just a "job" and a paycheck involved in an occupation that involves constant vigilence, constant improvement, and a continuous and high level of personal resposibility all on behalf of others. Just MHO.:icon_hug:

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Personally I feel this is being beaten to death. Does it truly matter.

We work so we can afford to golf or whatever. Life is simple

fronkey bean

491 Posts

Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.
Personally I feel this is being beaten to death. Does it truly matter.

We work so we can afford to golf or whatever. Life is simple

Professionals tend to make more money. More money = more golf!

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