A Nurse is an individual that can be described in multiple ways depending on the person. This is because a nurse impacts people on various levels. One word that describes all nurses, is a professional. Nurses have the responsibility of being professional. They are patient advocates, counselors, and educators. The purpose of this paper is to describe how nurses use important skills to practice as a professional and explain different ways a nurse can easily violate boundaries within the profession. Developing into a Professional
“Learning appropriate emotional responses geared to effective nursing care is central to the formation of character and skills of being a professional nurse of learning any professional practice” …show more content…
144). There are multiple documents that support this statement. Patients trust that nurses will protect them during challenging times like injury and illness. The American Nurses Association (ANA) talks about therapeutic relationships. Trust in a therapeutic relationship is broken when a nurse puts his or her own needs before the patients. Sometimes the nurse will take advantage of situations and access confidential information to benefit their self, not the patient. A nurse that acts with such intentions is selfish. Trust is a onetime deal. Once someone’s trust is broken, people never fully gain that trust back. This shows the importance of practicing within professional boundaries, for the safety of the patient and the nurse. Although, it is the nurse’s responsibility to provide appropriate patient care (American Nurses Association (ANA), …show more content…
There is a fine line between what is considered professional and what is not. Professional boundaries help protect both individuals; The professions power and the client’s vulnerability. According to the ANA nurses must maintain therapeutic and professional patient-nurse relationships, while staying within professional role boundaries. Nurses need to keep in mind that they are not friends or family members with the clients they are working with. The professional boundaries help keep everyone in check. The nurse decides what amount of contact with the client is needed to keep the therapeutic relationship within the boundaries. Too little help can be a problem and being too helpful is not desirable either (ANA,