Lidice Clua. Week 6 Florida National University Nursing Department BSN Program Nursing Role and Scope Prof. Lourdes Castaneda, MSM, RN, CNML October 9, 2018 Image and Professional Role Development of Nurses 1. What Do You Think About the Current Image of Nursing? The nursing image dates back to the founder of nursing, Florence Nightingale famous for her excellent nursing work during the Crimean war (Lynn McDonald 2017). She was also said to make night rounds to her patients using a lantern. Historically, nurses have struggled to outline the image of nursing and the role of a professional nurse. Regardless of the different opinions and views, nurses are gaining ground when it comes to a positive nursing image. I think that the public value the nursing profession currently. This is evidenced by the fact that nursing has enjoyed the honor of being the most trusted profession in terms of ethical standards since 1999 except once in 2001 when it came second after firefighters in 2001. The nursing is now currently being viewed as an autonomous intellectual profession that requires a high level of focus, commitment and dedication to acquiring advanced education. However, though success is evident, there remains to be a gap between the nursing reality and the perception of the public about nursing. The current image of nursing is changing significantly, and the media depictions of nursing now include men as nurses. The nursing profession has gained more respect, high technicality, and high touch. Though there have been men in the profession, more men are now looking to become nurses more than ever. Other factors that are playing a part in improving the nursing image include patients’ interactions where nurses present to patients with respect and confidence wearing distinct nursing uniforms, communication with the public during community healthcare education and participating in political activities. Though the negative image of nursing is still depicted as the ‘naughty nurse’ or ‘nurse rachet’ is still prevalent in the media, the flawed portrays have given professional nurses the chance to show the public what they actually do (Sandy Summers, Harry Summers, 2014). The image of nursing is evolving continuously as more nursing roles continue being depicted through the in the restructuring of nursing health care environment from war zones to emergency rooms. Research studies continue to prove how competent nursing care plays a significant role in reducing mortality rates. The future of most nursing jobs will be found in the expanding nursing roles into disaster preparedness, emergency and integration of informatics and technology into the profession. As the various aspects of health care delivery evolve through the century, the role of nurses and their image will continue to change. 2. What Factors Facilitate Professional Role Development in Nursing? Nursing professionals are expected to respond and recognize the overabundance of new demands arising to the increasingly complex and ever-changing healthcare system. The evolving field has increased accountabilities, lots of new accreditations and regulations, professional proficiency and financial priorities that require adaptation from the nurses (Masters K. 2015). Various factors facilitate professional role development in nursing. Some of these include; • Current Image of Nursing Discussion

Increased Leadership Opportunities The nursing profession has seen increased leadership opportunities in recent years. More nurses are encouraged to participate in leadership positions in the nursing associations and even the state legislature. This is in the quest of promoting the participation of nursing professionals in making healthcare policies. Also, nurses can enrol in nursing leadership positions including; nurse manager, nurse leader and nurse administrator. • Increased Role of Informatics and Technology Technology and informatics advancements have seen an increase in the amount of healthcare data through information technology. Technology advancements in healthcare have created more specializations and departments that have led to new professional role development in nursing. More nurses can also join the field of informatics to perfect the appropriate changes to the clinical procedures. • High Emphasis on Community Health Today, population health is receiving more emphasis in the focus of reducing the money spent on treatments. Community health care is providing new roles to nurses to enhance the prevention of diseases and educating the public before the health problems escalate and need more costly interventions. • Emerging Illnesses and Healthcare Settings Outside the Hospital Today, new diseases are arising now and then. Nurses hence need to be more involved in research and experiments to collaborate in finding health solutions. More so nurses continue to roll into the emerging health settings outside the hospital such as emergency centers, disaster preparedness and others. The profession of nursing is developing steadily. In the same way, nurses must remain open to evaluation and collaboration and stay confident in the development of new roles. Nurses should continue committed to improving their professional skills through continuous learning. References Florence Nightingale, Nursing, and Health Care Today, Lynn McDonald 2017 Role development in professional nursing practice, Masters K. (2015). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Saving Lives: Why the Media’s Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk by Sandy Summers, Harry Summers, 2014 Rony Marino Week 6 Education and Socialization to the Professional Nursing Role Question 1: Nurses are part of the community and the society at mostly recognized nurses as a profession that provided a valuable service for the community. The society holds certain expectations to the nurses. Some people expect nurses to perform specific social functions other than medical functions. They are considered more like social workers than health professions. Current Image of Nursing Discussion

Thus, there remains a gap between what people think about nursing as a professional and the reality of nursing. Since the Nightingale era, nursing has been seen as an independent professional that is not equal to other medical professions (Masters, 2018). The oppressor, however, has not been the public, but rather the physician and other medical professions. One of the main reasons for this is associated with gender disparity in nursing. Women, in particular, have been the dominant gender in nursing for a long time. The implication is that most female nurse lacks confidence in dealing with conflict with other dominant medical professional dominated by men (Finkelman, 2017). Today, however, things have changed, and nurses are seen as equal to other medical professionals. The roles of nurses have always been considered inseparable from the medical professions. Perhaps the problem with current images of nursing can be associated with the media. The T.V and other media have done very little to shoes the realistic images of nursing or what the nurses do. In T.V and movies, the nurse is depicted as mere handmaiden without a say in the medical dilemma. In T.V dramas such as the Grey anatomy or the Private practice, there is very little attention to the actual role of nursing. In some of those established medical drama, nurses are almost nonexistence nonprofessionals. In these programs, nurses are routinely marginalized compared to other health care teams and in some cases, perceived as sexual objects or subservient to other dominant medical professions. To the public, this destroys the image of nursing or their role as primary caretakers. The nurse spends most of the time with the patients as compared to other health professionals, and therefore are a critical part of the patient outcome (Kemppainen, Tossavainen, & Turunen, 2013). Since television is the primary source of information to the public; a change must be made to transform the perception of the nursing profession and depict the realistic nature of the profession. Question 2: Experiences with caring role models and mentors in clinical practice and education environments have been identified as a critical factor for professional role development in nursing (Felstead & Springett, 2016). Many nursing students have reported these to be decisive factors in their ability to gain confidence as nurses. The caring culture is highly associated with educational experiences and teaching on key clinical skills and better clinical judgment. Many other social influences impact the role of development in nursing or the professionalization process. Kelman identified several stages that impact role development; this includes compliance, identification, and internalization (Masters, 2018). Compliance occurs when a person accesses the influence of another person to gain a positive response. Identification occurs when a nurse student develops attitudes of a role model and understands that such behavior will enable him to develop professionally. In particular, this stage, the nursing student tests their role, and to be independent, he or she accesses the experience of tolerance. In the last stage, professional norms are incorporated into their self-concept. Bernet, on the other hand, identified five stages that describe role development. In particular, he identified the novice stage, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert stage (Masters, 2018). In each of these stages, education, skills, and knowledge are the key factors that facilitate role development. In every stage, the student gains knowledge and experience, and this allows the nurse to move to the next stage in the profession. Parandeh et al. (2014) also claim that culture is also an important factor in role development in nursing. In particular, the most important aspect of nursing is professional values. While these values can be gained through education, culture is the primary facilitator of professional values development. References Felstead, I. S., & Springett, K. (2016). An exploration of role model influence on adult nursing students’ professional development: A phenomenological research study. Nurse education today, 37, 66-70. Finkelman, A. (2017). Professional nursing concepts: Competencies for quality leadership. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2014). The nursing profession: public image, self‐ concept, and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 295-309. Kemppainen, V., Tossavainen, K., & Turunen, H. (2013). Nurses’ roles in health promotion practice: an integrative review. Health Promotion International, 28(4), 490-501. Masters, K. (2018). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Parandeh, A., Khaghanizade, M., Mohammadi, E., & Mokhtari Nouri, J. (2014). Factors influencing the development of professional values among nursing students and instructors: a systematic review. Global journal of health science, 7(2), 284–293. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v7n2p284 …