NURSING

AS A PROFESSION

Mr. Johny Kutty Joseph

Assistant Professor
SMVDCoN
 Definitions
• Profession: a type of occupation that meets certain
criteria that raise it to a level above that of an
occupation.
• Profession: is a calling that requires special
knowledge, skill and preparation.
• An occupation that requires advanced knowledge
and skills and that it grows out of society’s needs
for special services.
 Definitions
• Professional: a person who belongs to and
practices a profession
• Professionalism: demonstration of high level of
personal, ethical and high level of skill
characteristics for a member of a profession.
 Definitions
• Difference between Occupation & Profession.
According to Webster:
– Occupation: is defined as what occupies or engages, one’s
time, business and employment.
– Profession: is defined as a vocation requiring advanced
training and usually involving mental rather than manual
work, as teaching, engineering, especially medicine, law etc.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
High Intellectual Level Of Functioning:
Modern nurses use assessment skill and knowledge,
have the ability to reason and make routine
judgment depending on patient’s condition.
Professional nurses functions at a high intellectual
level. Florence nightingale raised the bar for
education and graduates of her school were
considered to be highly educated.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
High Level Of Individual Responsibility And
Accountability:
Nurses must be accountable and demonstrate a high
level of individual responsibility for the care and
services they provide. The concept of accountability
has legal, ethical and professional implications that
include accepting responsibility for action taken to
provide client care as well as accepting
responsibility for the consequences of action that
are not performed.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Specialized Body Of Knowledge:
Nursing has developed into an identifiable separate
discipline, a specialized body of knowledge called as
nursing science. It was compiled through the research
effort of nurses with advanced educational degrees.
Although this body of specialized knowledge is relatively
small, it forms a theoretical basis for the practice of
nursing today. As more nurses obtain advanced degrees,
conduct research and develop philosophies, and theories
about nursing, this body of knowledge will increase in
scope.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Evidence Based Practice:
Almost all the currently used nursing theories
address this issue in some way. Evidenced based
practice is the practice of nursing in which
interventions are based on data obtained from
research that demonstrate that, the findings are
appropriate and successful. It involves a systematic
process of uncovering, evaluating and using
information from research as the basis for making
decisions about providing client care.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Public Service And Altruistic Activities:
Individual is the focal point of all nursing models and
nursing practice. Nursing has been viewed
universally as being an altruistic profession
composed of selfless individuals who place the lives
and well being of their clients above their personal
safety. Dedicated nurses provide care for victims of
deadly diseases with little regard for their own
welfare.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Well Organised And Strong Representation:
Professional organizations represent the members of
the profession and control the quality of
professional practice. In India TNAI & SNA are the
two organizations that represent nursing in today’s
health care system. Many do belong to specialty
organizations that represent a specific area of
practice.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Code Of Ethics:
A code of ethics document may outline the
mission and values of the business or
organization, how professionals are supposed to
approach problems, the ethical principles based
on the organization's core values and the
standards to which the professional is held. Some
of the ethical principles are autonomy, justice,
non-maleficence ...
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Competencies And Professional License:
Nurses must pass a national licensure examination to
demonstrate that they are qualified to practice
nursing. Only after passing the examination the
nurses are allowed to practice. The granting of a
nursing license is a legal activity conducted by the
individual state under the regulations contained in
the state’s nursing practice act.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Autonomy And Independence Of Practice:
In reality nursing is both an independent and
interdependent discipline. Nurses in all health care
setting must work with physicians, hospital
administrators, pharmacists and other groups in the
provision of care. In some cases nurses in advanced
practice role eg. Nurse practitioners can do establish
their independent practices. To be considered a true
profession, nursing will need to be recognised by
other disciplines as having practitioners who practice
nursing independently.
 CRITERIA OF PROFESSION
Professional Identity And Development:
Until nurses are fully committed to the profession of
nursing, identify with it as a profession and are
dedicated to its future development, nursing will
probably not achieve professional status.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION
A basic profession requires an extended education
of its members, as well as a basic liberal
foundation.
A profession has a theoretical body of knowledge
leading to defined skills, abilities and norms.
A profession provides a specific service.
Members of a profession have autonomy in
decision-making and practice.
The profession has a code of ethics for practice.
 Definitions of Nursing
The unique function of nurses in caring for
individuals, sick or well, is to assess their responses
to their health status and to assist them in the
performance of those activities contributing to
health or recovery or to dignified death that they
would perform unaided if they had the necessary
strength, will, or knowledge and to do this in such a
way as to help them gain full or partial
independence as rapidly as possible
(Virginia Henderson, 1977)
 Philosophy of Nursing
A philosophy of nursing is a statement, sometimes
written, that declares a
nurse’s beliefs, values, and ethics regarding their care
and treatment of patients
while they are in the nursing profession.
Although the philosophy may seem solely academic and
too cerebral to be of any use, it is vital to approaching
your profession in an appropriate manner.
When you develop a personal philosophy of nursing, it
benefits your career and the lives of the people you
provide care to and their families.
 Philosophy of Nursing
Nursing is a profession that can make a significant impact in
the lives of many. Being so, there are certain qualities that I
feel are necessary to be an amazing nurse: compassion,
honesty, and respect.
During these present times, it is so easy to be task-oriented
and constantly on the go.
As nurses, we will have multiple patients at a time, so there
is potential to treat the diagnosis and not the individual.
I truly feel that these three qualities ensure that nurses will
provide patients with best care possible.
 Philosophy of Nursing
Compassion:
Compassion, in my opinion, is a must-have quality when it
comes to nursing.
A nurse without compassion treats only the diagnosis, and
a person’s health is made up of more than one
component: physical, social and mental wellbeing
(Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, 2014).
Being able to empathize with patients, builds rapport, and
creates an environment that is inclusive of the physical,
social, and mental aspects of health.
 Philosophy of Nursing
Honesty:
Honesty is something I value personally; if I
were a patient, I would want to know
exactly what was happening to me, and
what the plans are for my treatment.
Being honest, builds trust and credibility with
the patient. Patients are more cooperative
with health professionals they deem
trustworthy.
 Philosophy of Nursing
Respect:
Respect is another quality that builds rapport with the
patient.
Patients want to be treated with dignity and involved with
their treatment.
Being respectful to patients encompasses getting to know
them, their culture, and beliefs; it helps to distinguish a
treatment plan that the patient will be cooperative with.
These qualities are crucial in nursing because each person
should be treated as an individual and not a diagnosis.
 Objectives of Nursing
Maintain and promote wellness, prevent illness, care for and
rehabilitate the sick of disabled through the human science of
nursing.
Reduce stress.
Provide comfort to the client during diseases process.
Provide service to individual families and societies.
Work independently with other health workers assisting the client
to gain independence as quickly as possible.
Develop interaction between nurse and client.
Focus on a man a living unity and man’s qualitative participation
with experience.
 Characteristics of Nursing
Nursing is caring.
Nursing involves close personal contact with the recipient of care.
Nursing is concerned with services that take humans into account
as physiological, psychological, and sociological organisms.
Nursing is committed to promoting individual, family, community,
and national health goals in its best manner possible.
Nursing is committed to personalized services for all persons
without regard to color, creed, social or economic status.
Nursing is committed to involvement in ethical, legal, and political
issues in the delivery of health care.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Caregiver
The caregiver role has traditionally included
those activities that assist the client
physically and psychologically while
preserving the client’s dignity. Care giving
encompasses the physical, psychosocial,
developmental, cultural and spiritual levels.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Communicator
Communication is an integral to all nursing
roles. Nurses communicate with the client,
support persons, other health professionals,
and people in the community. In the role of
communicator, nurses identify client problems
and then communicate these verbally or in
writing to other members of the health team.
The quality of a nurse’s communication is an
important factor in nursing care.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Teacher
As a teacher, the nurse helps clients learn
about their health and the health care
procedures they need to perform to restore or
maintain their health. The nurse assesses the
client’s learning needs and readiness to learn,
sets specific learning goals in conjunction with
the client, enacts teaching strategies and
measures learning.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Client advocate
Client advocate acts to protect the client. In
this role the nurse may represent the client’s
needs and wishes to other health
professionals, such as relaying the client’s
wishes for information to the physician. They
also assist clients in exercising their rights
and help them speak up for themselves.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Clinical & Ethical Decision Maker
Here the nurse uses the critical thinking skills
throughout the nursing process and makes
decisions in collaboration with client and
family members.
As a decision maker she collaborate and
consult with other health care team
members.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Counsellor
Counseling is a process of helping a client to
recognize and cope with stressful
psychological or social problems, to developed
improved interpersonal relationships, and to
promote personal growth. It involves providing
emotional, intellectual, and psychological
support.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Change agent
The nurse acts as a change agent when assisting
others, that is, clients, to make modifications in
their own behaviour. Nurses also often act to
make changes in a system such as clinical
care, if it is not helping a client return to health.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Leader
A leader influences others to work together to
accomplish a specific goal. The leader role can be
employed at different levels; individual client,
family, groups of clients, colleagues, or the
community.
Effective leadership is a learned process requiring
an understanding of the needs and goals that
motivate people, the knowledge to apply the
leadership skills, and the interpersonal skills to
influence others.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Manager
The nurse manages the nursing care of individuals,
families, and communities. The nurse-manager also
delegates nursing activities to ancillary workers and
other nurses, and supervises and evaluates their
performance.
Case Manager
Nurse case managers work with the multidisciplinary
health care team to measure the effectiveness of
the case management plan and to monitor
outcomes.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Research consumer
Nurses often use research to improve client care. In a
clinical area nurses need to:
– Have some awareness of the process and language of
research
– Be sensitive to issues related to protecting the rights of
human subjects
– Participate in identification of significant researchable
problems
– Be a discriminating consumer of research findings
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Expanded role of the nurse
Clinical Specialists
Is a nurse who has completed a master’s degree in
specialty and has considerable clinical expertise in
that specialty. She provides expert care to
individuals, participates in educating health care
professionals and ancillary, acts as a clinical
consultant and participates in research.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Expanded role of the nurse
Nurse Practitioner
Is a nurse who has completed either as certificate
program or a master’s degree in a specialty and is
also certified by the appropriate specialty
organization. She is skilled at making nursing
assessments, performing P. E., counseling,
teaching and treating minor and self- limiting
illness.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Expanded role of the nurse
Nurse – Midwife
A nurse who has completed a program in midwifery;
provides prenatal and postnatal care and delivers
babies to woman with uncomplicated pregnancies.
Nurse Anaesthetist
A nurse who completed the course of study in an
anaesthesia school and carries out pre-operative
status of clients.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Expanded role of the nurse
N u rs e E d u c a t o r
A nurse usually with advanced degree, who beaches in clinical
or educational settings, teaches theoretical knowledge, clinical
skills and conduct research
N u rs e E n t r e p r e n e u r
A nurse who has an advanced degree, and manages health-
related business.
Nurse administrator
A nurse who functions at various levels of management in health
settings; responsible for the management and administration
of resources and personnel involved in giving patient care.
 ROLE & FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
Expanded role of the nurse
Nurse Researcher
Nurse researchers are scientists who study various
aspects of health, illness and health care.
Nurse researchers identify research question,
design and conduct scientific studies, collect and
analyze data and report their findings.
This is a highly specific category of nursing with
various additional training in research
methodology and tools used to perform research.