The Healthcare system has seen enormous hospital restructuring during the last decade, but nursing practice should be of high quality at all times. It has become clear that professional nursing is a fundamental element of excellent patient care and healthcare organization in general.
These days, there is much debate on defining the role of a nurse, containing necessary educational requirements and other preferred elements for entry into the profession. The purpose of this paper is to describe the meaning and main components of professional nursing practice from a personal point of view.
The Meaning of Professional Nursing Practice
The professional nursing practice applies to the efficient delivery of its services. It consists of basic nursing moral principles and keeping the safe surroundings. One of the simplest and clearest nursing definitions is that it puts “the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him”. Many healthcare professionals find it the most helpful. Nevertheless, its explanation is more wide-ranging in fact.
According to Katz (2007), “nursing is a profession that has its own code of conduct, its own philosophic views, and its own place in the health care team…Nurses work under their own license. That means that nurses are completely responsible for their work”. Indeed, nursing is a specific job, which not every person can do.
An ideal nurse should possess numerous qualities. They are widely followed, even though there are no officially established rules drawn by the organization. Nurses are answerable for endorsing the overall health and caring for their patients. With their treatment, the spread of diseases can be prevented. It is evident that the services of this occupation influence human life. Consequently, its characteristics must be clearly defined.
The Components of Professionalism in Nursing
Professional nursing practice is the ability for caring and compassionate in relationships with patients. Thus, it must depend on strong ethical values such as privacy, moral integrity, flexibility, collaboration, respect for others, and accountability for all actions. From the ideal outlook, the work of nurses can become proficient only with the implementation of the special guide.
The Code of Ethics is the illustration of rules for qualified nursing care and proper fulfillment of professional obligations. It involves the list of integral values needed for the nursing practice. Constant self-development is also vital for being a professional nurse.
The research shows that a care model centered on patients provides the highest level of their satisfaction and gives rich opportunities for personnel simultaneously. Though a professional nurse has a client-centered focus, she should be ethical and caring in interactions with patients’ relatives (family/patient care) and other medical staff (teamwork and joint efforts to family/patient care). Hence, the interpersonal skills have to be the above-average ones in order to prevent possible complications.
Professional practice requires competency in the field of technical skills. That is why it must be founded on knowledge and experience. Moreover, it needs deep awareness in certain areas in addition to basic knowledge. There must be the capability of critical thinking in the process of decision-making, which also includes listening to others and sharing ideas with them. Besides, even an experienced nurse should carry on her development of the specialty.
In a professional setting, there must be a wide variety of opportunities and resources for nursing knowledge improvement. For instance, these are training programs, internships, mentorships, learning partnerships, conferences, education classes, and other informal and formal activities, which encourage professional development.
What Nursing Means to Me
Professional nursing reproduces a specific work tactic: a nonjudgmental manner and open mind, partnership with other health specialists, the high organization in managing time and activities, which means the ability to work independently in the case of necessity and accomplish multiple complex tasks at the same time.
Describing professional treatment, it is significant to mention a clear understanding of the restrictions as well as the rights and responsibilities. Without a doubt, the professional nurse must have a balanced lifestyle for performing her duties.
Culture and the uniqueness of the patient should be taken into consideration when developing a treatment plan for the separate individuals. The successful nurse does not care for patients with different cultural backgrounds similarly. The latest investigation related to cultural nursing care proves that the chances of positive patient recovery increase with professional nursing practice.
On the other hand, there is a lack of knowledge in evidence-based practice and research methods in order to improve the positive patient results. It is claimed that only those who afford the full scope of treatment and attention can be named as nurses.
What Professional Nursing Practice Means to Me
As a result, it seems that professional nursing practice is an art that not everyone is able to master. It is an ever-changing and multifaceted occupation. The key features are determined as follows: personal commitment, tolerance, mutual respect, competence, collaboration, application of medical judgments together with critical thinking. They all are derived from the nurses’ input.
Moral integrity is considered to be the primary quality of a professional nurse as it describes wisdom, moral courage, truthfulness, honesty, and sensitive patient care first of all. In spite of the required database and experience, confidentiality and respect for others should characterize any medical worker. These characteristics are also essential for meeting the hospital’s need for the healthcare environment’s transformation responding to the technology advancement and varying public demands.
Professional nursing is a work that alleviates patient suffering. However, nurses take care not only of patients but also the work for their families.