Written Scholarly Paper
Suzanne Bies
Century College
Nursing 2700
Written Scholarly Paper
What does it mean to be a professional nurse? If you asked that question to a group of people you would probably get a different answer from everyone. Before becoming a nursing student my idea of a professional nurse was someone who knew medicine and could take care of people. That is only a small piece of what a professional nurse is. They are so much more than that. Besides being at the bedside to administer medications and follow out orders from the doctor, nurses are educators, advocates, collaborators, and use critical thinking in assessing the clients they are caring for.
Lifelong Learning
Healthcare is continually evolving. Learning as a RN will never be complete. After obtaining licensure in Minnesota, an RN must participate in 24 contact hours of continuing education in a 24-month period (Minnesota Board of Nursing). This continuous learning is vital for an RN to stay educated and expand his or her knowledge base. With medicine being so complex, learning will be on ongoing process. Clients and their families put trust and faith in the team that is taking care of them. I feel it is an RN’s duty to be educated and to provide the best care possible to improve the client’s outcomes. My interest in nursing was sparked when I was very young. I had a brother who was born with an immune deficiency disorder and he spent a lot of time in clinics and in the hospital. I was always in awe of the nurses and what good care they took of my brother. As for a particular area in nursing, I have been drawn to women’s health, particularly Obstetrics. This field sparked my interest years ago while working in a family practice clinic. However, it was recently after I had my own experience as a OB patient that I really developed an appreciation of what a labor and delivery nurse does. Being in a high stress and vulnerable place, it was the RN that I trusted to get me through my experience. Values Values that I have identified as being important to the role of becoming a professional nurse are having concern for others, treating others with respect, being trustworthy, being dependable, and being honest. These values fall into the category of what Pearson (2015) states as essential values for a professional nurse. These five values are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice. When a nurse displays altruism he or she is concerned for their client and coworkers. When a nurse respects a client’s right to make their own decisions, this is autonomy. Showing respect for others is human dignity. Being honest and ethical is integrity and treating all clients equal no matter what their age, ethnicity, economic status, disability, or sexual orientation is social justice (Pearson, 2015, p 2564). The values that have been easy for me are being honest, having concern for other’s wellbeing, being trustworthy, and being dependable. The value that I feel I may need to work on is social justice. I have found it somewhat difficult to put aside biases I may feel towards people based on things like age, …show more content…
Why is spirituality important in health care? The holistic approach in nursing involves treating a person as a whole. “Holistic nursing practice recognizes the totality of the human being, the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotion, spirit, social/cultural, relationship, context, and environment” (as cited in Schouveller, 2016). Curing someone often involves the signs and symptoms the person experiences. Healing involves emotion, mind, and spirit (Schouveller, 2016). I integrated spirituality in the delivery of holistic nursing care when I was interviewing my assisted living resident for the wellness tool. I was able to ask him if he had a belief system and what gives him hope. The client I interviewed had very strong religious beliefs and did mention that he pulls strength from his faith when he is ill or having hard times in his life. At transitional care I feel like I integrated spirituality by asking the clients about themselves, listening, and offering presence. Spirituality is so important the health care that the Joint Commission mandates that it is assessed for every client who is admitted to an institution (Pearson, 2015,
Suzanne Bies
Century College
Nursing 2700
Written Scholarly Paper
What does it mean to be a professional nurse? If you asked that question to a group of people you would probably get a different answer from everyone. Before becoming a nursing student my idea of a professional nurse was someone who knew medicine and could take care of people. That is only a small piece of what a professional nurse is. They are so much more than that. Besides being at the bedside to administer medications and follow out orders from the doctor, nurses are educators, advocates, collaborators, and use critical thinking in assessing the clients they are caring for.
Lifelong Learning
Healthcare is continually evolving. Learning as a RN will never be complete. After obtaining licensure in Minnesota, an RN must participate in 24 contact hours of continuing education in a 24-month period (Minnesota Board of Nursing). This continuous learning is vital for an RN to stay educated and expand his or her knowledge base. With medicine being so complex, learning will be on ongoing process. Clients and their families put trust and faith in the team that is taking care of them. I feel it is an RN’s duty to be educated and to provide the best care possible to improve the client’s outcomes. My interest in nursing was sparked when I was very young. I had a brother who was born with an immune deficiency disorder and he spent a lot of time in clinics and in the hospital. I was always in awe of the nurses and what good care they took of my brother. As for a particular area in nursing, I have been drawn to women’s health, particularly Obstetrics. This field sparked my interest years ago while working in a family practice clinic. However, it was recently after I had my own experience as a OB patient that I really developed an appreciation of what a labor and delivery nurse does. Being in a high stress and vulnerable place, it was the RN that I trusted to get me through my experience. Values Values that I have identified as being important to the role of becoming a professional nurse are having concern for others, treating others with respect, being trustworthy, being dependable, and being honest. These values fall into the category of what Pearson (2015) states as essential values for a professional nurse. These five values are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice. When a nurse displays altruism he or she is concerned for their client and coworkers. When a nurse respects a client’s right to make their own decisions, this is autonomy. Showing respect for others is human dignity. Being honest and ethical is integrity and treating all clients equal no matter what their age, ethnicity, economic status, disability, or sexual orientation is social justice (Pearson, 2015, p 2564). The values that have been easy for me are being honest, having concern for other’s wellbeing, being trustworthy, and being dependable. The value that I feel I may need to work on is social justice. I have found it somewhat difficult to put aside biases I may feel towards people based on things like age, …show more content…
Why is spirituality important in health care? The holistic approach in nursing involves treating a person as a whole. “Holistic nursing practice recognizes the totality of the human being, the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotion, spirit, social/cultural, relationship, context, and environment” (as cited in Schouveller, 2016). Curing someone often involves the signs and symptoms the person experiences. Healing involves emotion, mind, and spirit (Schouveller, 2016). I integrated spirituality in the delivery of holistic nursing care when I was interviewing my assisted living resident for the wellness tool. I was able to ask him if he had a belief system and what gives him hope. The client I interviewed had very strong religious beliefs and did mention that he pulls strength from his faith when he is ill or having hard times in his life. At transitional care I feel like I integrated spirituality by asking the clients about themselves, listening, and offering presence. Spirituality is so important the health care that the Joint Commission mandates that it is assessed for every client who is admitted to an institution (Pearson, 2015,