Professionalism In The Nursing Profession

Professionalism in Nursing

Professionalism is a word that is often used, however a true understanding of what it means can be lacking. Words that come to mind when thinking of what professionalism encompasses are appearance, language, knowledge, respect, involvement, behavior and leadership. While these are only a few descriptive words, they are important words none the less. Professionalism is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well; the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.”

Responsibilities

Being a professional nurse requires more than showing up to work every day to

Social media seems to be an area that causes tremendous concern for student nurses and nurse educators. The use of social media is becoming an area of trepidation as students are using the social platform as part of the learning experience. Relationships on social media can span from social to professional relationships yet confidentiality is often inadvertently compromised even when patient names are not being used. Due to the number of people who have access to a social media platform the littlest of information shared from one person to the next can lead to identifying factors and compromise a patient’s privacy (Westrick, 2016).

Maintaining confidentiality would be incomplete if it did not include accountability. Nurses, just as other professionals, need to be accountable for their behavior. In terms of confidentiality there are many actions that can be taken against the nurse who breaches a patient’s privacy. Among actions that can be taken are those from state boards of nursing, employers as well as legal action. Nurses who act unprofessionally in their conduct and have used language about patients which compromises their confidentiality have be charged by state boards (Westrick,

More specifically it is how nurses go about their daily vocation and the contributions that they make to the profession. These contributions are made through actions and behavior. How do nurses treat patients, patients’ families and each other? Are they accountable? How is the nurse enhancing their skill set and knowledge? What are nurses doing to advocate for patients and the profession? These are all the questions the professional nurse must examine. Gaining insight into the definition of professionalism and explaining behaviors which exemplify professionalism will allow the student nurse to better prepare for their role as a registered nurse. If a student starts acting in a professional manner in the beginning of their studies these behaviors will translate into a habit and habit will become