Professionalism in Nursing

Nurses Professionalism

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There's always a lot of talk (especially at administrative levels) about "professionalism" in nursing. A recent question here was "What can we do to promote professionalism?"

I'm not going to influence responses by expressing my opinions...I'd really like to hear your ideas.

Specializes in Internal Medicine Unit.
I'll disagree with the uniform thing too. :) I work at a children's hospital and it goes a long way to make the kids feel better. There are plenty of Drs. who have decorated their lab coats as well, to make patients feel more at ease.

Many of my geriatric patients enjoy the cartoons and colors, also.

think about other professionals. What do they do that gives the appearance of professionalism? Join professional organizations (like ANA)? Gain advanced certifications? Participate in activities that promote the profession (ANA again, as well as community activities like charity functions)? Walk the walk and talk the talk.

Specializes in ICU, Education.

It is really so sad what nurisng has become. It is such a difficult job already, and then to be treated so poorly before you even get your license and then after, says a lot about our tenacity (that we all stayed in the profession is a wonder). What I don't understand is, if we ALL were treated so poorly as new nurses (I think we all have at least 1 horror story, & mine was over 20 years ago), how does it continue to happen? If a nurse was degraded as a new grad, why does she then later degrade others?

As far as promoting professionalism, I would hope managers could set some standards. I just left a job where nurses were allowed to sleep @ the desk, read magazines & books (non nursing), surf the internet, etc. All this while either their pateints or their coworker's could have benefited from their help.

I've seen nurses take call lights away from people, ignore call lights and alarms, talk loudly and crassly at the station,gossip, degrade, gang up on others, etc. Now, I don't know why this behaviour starts, but I have learned why it continues. I have pointed out things to management, and all it would take is a little steering in the right direction. If someone is sleeping right in front of the supervisor, and not a word about it is said (she in fact gets complemented, gets merit raises,etc.) ,well of course she will still sleep, and so will some others. With the shortage, I think anything is acceptable as long as they show up for work.

That being said, I don't think true professionals, should have to be told how to be professional. It just goes to show you how many nurses are not true professionals.

The magnet status concept is steering the field in the right direction i think. We will have to see. If I am correct, in order for a hospital to obtain magnet status,a large number of their nurses have to have higher education & certifications ( have to continue to better themselves in their profession), also the staff nurses are to have large input on the running of the units and the care of the patients (self governance, unit based commitees,etc.), standards are suppose to be high,evidenced based practice in use, staff turnover low. Now this may be all window dressing, I don't know. I have never worked for a magnet facility. I do know that the hospital I just left was applying for magnet status, and if they get it I will lose all faith in the concept. I am very interested to see how it pans out, and my opinion about magnet status will be greatly be swayed by this outcome.

Doris

thank you, indigo girl and dorimar for thought provoking posts.

yes, i think it all begins in nursing school. student nurses are corrected in their action and thinking processes in ways that are unprofessional. can you imagine if cpa's were treated this way? substitute accounting for nursing and see if it still looks proper....

i think that if colleges and universities cared at all about "customer service" and giving good value for the dollar like other businesses that must compete to make a profit, they might be more vigilant in punishing unprofessional conduct among instructors, and vigilant in rewarding professional, excellent conduct as well. rewarding excellent instructors means better pay, and this would attract the cream of the crop of nurses to teach the new ones coming up.

as long as nursing instruction is low paid, the current instructors will extract their pay in the form of power tripping, abuse of students, general unprofessionalism, all the while labelling it "weeding out" of poor students and teaching of critical thought/action.

we get what we pay for, folks, and we don't pay enough to get truly professional instructors. we pay enough to get ones whose ego is pumped up in that *they* decide who will enter the holy halls of nursing, or who will be able to make a decent living by being a nurse, and this makes them feel very god-like. another place where this type of behavior is standard is the sorority system. pledges beg to get in, and must go through a period of servitude and abuse in order to become full members, and once they are, they continue the "tradition" of abusing future pledges.:o

i wonder how long the tradition of unprofessionalism will last?

Specializes in LTC and MED-SURG.
There's always a lot of talk (especially at administrative levels) about "professionalism" in nursing. A recent question here was "What can we do to promote professionalism?"

I'm not going to influence responses by expressing my opinions...I'd really like to hear your ideas.

I think a nurses can promote professionalism by first thinking of oneself as an educated professional and acting as such. Do nurses across the board think of themselves as professionals?

As nurses, we need to firstly take a long hard look at how we treat each other to begin with. RESPECT. How can we possibly promote professionalism when we dont even respect each other on a day to day basis. Bickering & bitching about who should do what (I refer to my comments on another thread about transferring patients right before a shift change)

It is different if you are working with kids.

Specializes in ICU, Education.

Pam UK, I know of which thread you are indicating, as i posted there as well. I do not consider it "bitching & bickering" when opinions are asked for, and discussion is in progress. It would be different if we were at work and complaining about a shift change admit. We are not. This is exactly what this forum is for ... to vent and discuss.

Doris

....

Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, Assisted Living.

Hmmm,Professionalism!!! lets see. maybe caring compassion, knowing your procedures, learning about different cultures so you can be sensitive to their needs, being open enough to make mistakes and correct them, Letting the boss know about your convictions (not legal, the ones in your heart). I think I would rather act professional and be comfortable than look professional and act unprofessional. What it boils down to is you can look like a real pro...but when you open your mouth....it doesn't matter if you are wearing an expensive suit or a furry muffin on your head(don't ask me where i came up with that), your words can either hurt or heal.

by L. Ron Hubard

A professional learns every aspect of the job. An amateur skips the learning process whenever possible.

A professional carefully discovers what is needed and wanted. An amateur assumes what others need and want.

A professional looks, speaks and dresses like a professional. An amateur is sloppy in appearance and speech.

A professional keeps his or her work area clean and orderly. An amateur has a messy, confused or dirty work area.

A professional is focused and clear-headed. An amateur is confused and distracted.

A professional does not let mistakes slide by. An amateur ignores or hides mistakes.

A professional jumps into difficult assignments. An amateur tries to get out of difficult work.

A professional completes projects as soon as possible. An amateur is surrounded by unfinished work piled on top of unfinished work.

A professional remains level-headed and optimistic. An amateur gets upset and assumes the worst.

A professional handles money and accounts very carefully. An amateur is sloppy with money or accounts.

A professional faces up to other people’s upsets and problems. An amateur avoids others’ problems.

A professional uses higher emotional tones: Enthusiasm, cheerfulness, interest, contentment. An amateur uses lower emotional tones: anger, hostility, resentment, fear, victim.

A professional persists until the objective is achieved. An amateur gives up at the first opportunity.

A professional produces more than expected. An amateur produces just enough to get by.

A professional produces a high-quality product or service. An amateur produces a medium-to-low quality product or service.

A professional earns high pay. An amateur earns low pay and feels it’s unfair.

A professional has a promising future. An amateur has an uncertain future.

The first step to making yourself a professional is to decide you ARE a professional.

Are you a professional?

I agree with the above poster. When I started as a new grad in the ICU I had a preceptor who only focused on the things I did wrong and was constantly correcting me and pointing out my mistakes. Because of this, I was constantly watching my back b/c I was scared to death I was going to make a mistake and be chastized for it and it severely restricted my ability to learn. I took it for about a month before going to my nurse manager about it. She promptly gave me a new preceptor who taught by encouragement and example.....needless to say, I did wonderfully with that preceptor and was on my own within two months!!! I think we should encourage, not discourage!!!

I had an even worse story than yours. The preceptor tortured me for a whole semester. I have no idea why she is why so abnormal. There must be a fault with everything you did.

Specializes in Cardiac x3 years, PACU x1 year.

L. Ron Hubbard huh?

Scary.

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