RN Interview for my nursing course

kcalohagirl · Nov 4, 2007

Hi everyone!
I am hoping to find an RN to help me complete this interview. I have to write a major paper on professionalism in nursing and part of the paper requires me to interview an RN. Confidentiality will be maintained as I will be using a fake name in my paper. I just need someone to help me out and provide me with solid answers to each question! Thanks in advance!
The questions:
What does it mean to be a professional? What do you consider professional nursing to be today?
What leadership characteristics do you consider to be essential for a professional nurse today?
In way ways do you think that nurses can make a difference, both with patients/clients and the health care system?
Thanks to anyone who can help me out. I don't personally know any RNs so I am very stuck.
Jessica

Hi Jessica. I'm only about 18 months out of nursing school myself and I TOTALLY remember having assignments like this. So, let me try to help.

To me, being professional means to behave in a way which inspires trust both with your collegues and your patients. It also means (to me) that you should seek out additional educational opportunities not just because a certain number of CEUs (continuing education) is required to renew your license, but because gaining this knowledge will enhance your practice.

Professional nursing today involves so many different things. You need to be your patient's advocate. You need to be willing to stand up to the intern writing orders and tell them why you don't think the order they are writing is appropriate. You need to take opportunities to learn. You need to educate the patients. Find a tactful way to tell the CHF patient that they are on a fluid restriction, or the patient in room 1 who is always on the call light, (and is aphasic and anxious as well) that you have other patients to see, you do care about them, and that you will not forget them. . . .(I had kind of a rough night last night, sorry). Sometimes, being professional means that you have to show patients "tough love". Patients don't always get what they want, but we do try to give them what is best for them at the time.

Leadership characteristics that are important for a professional nurse:

I think the ability to admit that you don't know everything and to ask for help when you know you need it. All nurses need to be able to feel they can ask for help and not be put down for it, but I think it especially important for a nurse in a leadership position (like a charge nurse) to realize her limitations and to realize when she might be out of her depth. That can be a hard thing for anyone to do.

I also think a nurse in a leadership position should have enough experience that she can be a resource for other, less experienced nurses on the floor.

She should also be willing to speak up and advocate for her nurses. If your floor is running shortstaffed and your nurses are constantly floating to other floors, your leadership needs to try to ensure reciprocity.

I think nurses can make a difference by not being intimidated and by speaking up to advocate for their patients and for themselves. Also, by being current w/ both medical practice in their specialty and in evidence based practice in nursing, they can contribute to the best possible outcomes for their patients.

I hope that helped some, sorry I get a bit long winded sometimes.

TrudyRN · Nov 4, 2007

hi everyone!
i am hoping to find an rn to help me complete this interview. i have to write a major paper on professionalism in nursing and part of the paper requires me to interview an rn. confidentiality will be maintained as i will be using a fake name in my paper. i just need someone to help me out and provide me with solid answers to each question! thanks in advance!
the questions:
what does it mean to be a professional? a professional in any field is someone who does that particular line of work as their major or sole way of making a living. they have become pros by virtue of education, experience (including that obtained while a student) and instruction. they are equipped to perform their duties correctly and fully and to be leaders in their particular field. their is also an implied sense of dedication to the work and a willingness to make sure the profession is highly thought of by the public. a professional is, shall we say, called to enter his or her field, rather than just be doing it to put bread on the table - although most of us do work to be able to care for our families and ourselves. a professional is devoted to the work, the client, the field but sometimes unscrupulous employers exploit this. that is why there is such an upheaval in nursing today. nurses want to be professional in the care they give but employers make them work with too little staff, force overtime on them, and so on, thus making it very hard, if not impossible, for nurses to act professionally. how can we be professional if we are exhausted? how can we give excellent care if we have too many patients? how can we be highly thought of and respected if some of the people we work with (doctors, patients, other disciplines of workers) think of us as less than professional? therefore, we must calmly, quietly, persistently educate others about how valuable we are and what it is that professional nurses are able to do. we are the docs' eyes, ears, and hands at the bedside. we are there when therapists and social workers are at home at night, on weekends, on holidays. nurses can go to the kitchen for food when dietary is closed. nurses do housekeeping when that department is closed. we draw blood and collect other specimens when the lab is unavailable. you see? we do it all. this is both good and bad. i want to suggest you read about nurses who "forced" themselves into the front lines in various wars, civil war, revolution, etc. they sometimes dressed as men in order to infiltrate the front lines. sometimes they paid their own way to get to the sick and wounded soldiers. once there, they worked day and night to care for the health and sanitary needs of their patients. they traveled with the soldiers in order to help the doctors with surgeries, they saw to the care of the soldiers in the field hospitals, they fed, toileted, bathed, shaved them, etc., they wrote letters home for them, they cooked for them, they changed bandages, they notified the docs when problems arose or dealt with them themselves, as the docs were also extremely busy. they kept any necessary records. they knew they could provide an extremely valuable service to their country but often did not get paid. soldiers got pay and pensions, nurses did not. it's different today, of course, but these volunteers paved the way for you and me. we must do the same for those who will come after us.
what do you consider professional nursing to be today? this is a nurse who has the above qualities.
what leadership characteristics do you consider to be essential for a professional nurse today? confidence, ability to perform necessary duties, excellent ability to communicate and to understand human nature so as to form and maintain good relationships with others. a nurse should be above reproach when it comes to maintaining the patients' privacy, the nurse must not steal the patients' belongings or take advantage of the patients in any way.
in way ways do you think that nurses can make a difference, both with patients/clients and the health care system? see above. education is the key. we must tell the public what it is that we do. we must educate those we work with. we must embody the qualities i have described.
thanks to anyone who can help me out. i don't personally know any rns so i am very stuck.
jessica

thank you for the opportunity to answer your queries, jessica. i have a renewed respect for myself now. let us know how it goes for you.

weimaraner · Nov 4, 2007

Thank you SOOO much for helping me. You have no idea how much I appreciate your help!

Jessica

TrudyRN · Nov 8, 2007

Delighted to help. BTW, "professional" must also have a legal definition - check with some state Boards of Nursing to see their definitions of what a professional nurse is, as compared to a practical or vocational nurse.

What are you studying?