Introduction:
Mirror, mirror on the wall…which one of the healthcare team am I? (M.Warren, 2018)
From the moment we enter the nursing school we are bombarded with tons of different information, from anatomy classes to the clinicals in surgical and medical wards, psychiatry, obstetrics and maternity, community settings, and so on. We interact with so many different people, other professions and specialties, it could be overwhelming. As we get closer to launching our professional career more and more, we understand the significance of professionalism, professional values, why it is important, and where do we stand. In this blog posting I will reflect on my professional identity, values, inter-professional collaborations, and regulations of the profession.
Professional identity:
While talking about my professional identity I like the Warren’s definition: “Relatively stable and enduring constellation of attributes, values, motives, and experiences in terms of which people define themselves in a professional role” (M.Warren,2018). If someone to ask me what I do, my answer would be I am a Registered Nurse with three main specialties: pediatrics, orthopedics, and perioperative. My actions are guided by my values of the discipline of Nursing, which leads me to think, analyze, and act as a nurse. I would like to believe that my colleagues, my clients, and their families recognize and appreciate the unique contributions I bring while providing care. What I found to be unique are my knowledge and values. Of course there is general Nursing knowledge gained during formal studies, but I am talking about that particular specialty knowledge that took years of practice to acquire, made me an expert in my field, and brings so much of professional pride and confidence.
Professional values:
Values can be described as one set of personal beliefs and attitudes about the truth, beauty and worth of any thought, object, or behavior. Values are action oriented and give direction and meaning to one’s life (Independent Nurse, 2012). Being a member of a regulated profession, I have ethical responsibilities to adhere to the values that underpins RN professional practice and expressed in Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (Canadian Nurses Association, 2017).
There are seven primary values:
1. Providing safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care
2. Promoting health and well-being
3. Promoting and respecting informed decision-making
4. Honoring dignity
5. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality
6. Promoting justice
7. Being accountable
I would like to add that I also value continuous grown, learning and improvement of my communication skills, critical thinking, and scientific knowledge, in order to be better positioned to accumulate, disseminate, and make use of evidence-based practice.
Inter-professional collaboration:
Nursing to me is a kind of profession that does not perform well by itself. We, nurses, are more like a middleman. Of course, as nurses we do have our own scope of practice, our unique set of skills, and our expertise, but we depend on other healthcare team members, as much as they depend on us. For example, it is physician who would order diagnostic tests and treatments, request consultations of other specialists, and so on, but it is us nurses who will implement the treatment plans, organize and follow up with the orders, and notify the other specialties of consultation requests. They also trust our judgment to notify them in timely manner if complications or unplanned events occurs. Our role is to advocate for our patients, and to do that we have to collaborate with different healthcare team members, communicate and coordinate the care with them.
Regulations of the profession:
Being a nurse, also means being a part of a very large group of professionals. There are more then seventy thousand of registered nurses in Quebec province alone, and more then three hundred thousand in Canada (Regulated nurses, 2017). To protect the public and ensure the best quality for Canadians, beside the self-regulation, our profession is regulated and guided on federal and provincial levels. On provincial levels by establishing and maintaining professional guidelines, licensing examinations and procedures, and implementing disciplinary actions if required. On federal level by providing different guidelines, recommendations, and specialty examinations.
Conclusion:
While reflecting on my values and professional identity, I realized how proud I am to be a part of such important, rewarding, and versatile profession. My hope is that other professionals value practicing ethically and collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team for all of us to offer good quality, patient centered care.
References:
Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. (2017). Retrieved from Canadian Nurses Association: https://www.cna-aiic.ca/~/media/cna/page-content/pdf-en/code-of-ethics-2017-edition-secure-interactive
M.Warren. (2018). Understanding healthcare practicioners' professional identities and what role professional regulation plays. Applied Sociology, 1-3.
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