Introduction
The choice of profession is one of the most significant steps in the life of every person. And if a person decided to connect own life with nursing, it says much about personal traits, interests, and goals in life. Being a nurse cannot be compared to being a driver or being an accountant, because this profession touches human lives at those times, when people require for help, support, and advice. Nursing is considered to be one of the most respected jobs in the whole world; and in their turn, nurses should demonstrate their respect to patients, ethical code, duties, and team members. Steve Y., a nurse anesthetist in the hospital, (personal communication, November 27, 2009) admits that “showing respect and care for our patients is a must”. This is why it is crucially important to consider numerous values and professional duties in order to correspond to this profession, be helpful to people, and have a chance to improve the services in the chosen sphere of life. Nursing professional roles and values are closely connected to quality care about patients, attention to confidentiality of information, proper carrying out of the established duties, and the abilities to deal with other spheres of medicine in order to help a patient and provide him/her with the necessary information.
Ethical leadership as an obvious point to consider
As I understand the idea of ethical leadership in nursing, it means that very type of leadership, where much attention is paid to the rights and dignity of patients, team members, and other people around. Leaders have to represent their values and explain ethical codes and other important rules to follow in a clear and comprehensible way. The code of ethics for nurses clears up that nursing practice is usually positively affected by the guidelines, which shape properly ethical behavior (Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements). All nursing practice is based on the respect for human rights and worth. Assisting the patient and the recognition of the concept of self-determination is another ethical point that has to be considered.
For example, patients have to understand that their problems and their treatment is confident information, and nurses are the first people, who have to prove it. Bill P. from the educational department says that all information is usually stored in computers and protected by passwords (personal communication, November 20, 2009), and David S. (personal communication, November 22, 2009) confirms that HIPAA rules aim at protecting information about patients and provide medical personnel with an opportunity to use this information to present proper treatment, to learn patient’s history, or to improve patient’s physical condition.
Professional standards for nurses should develop nurses’ responsibility to society. David S. from the research department informs that according to these standards nurses have to be careful with information that is shared with patients and providers. Such kind of standards will never spoil nursing professionalism and will certainly lead to self and professional improvement that is so important in this sphere of life.
Competence in nursing and healthcare system
In order to function properly in the role of a nurse, it is obligatory to be aware of the Code of Ethics, necessary federal and state regulations, and standards, which define nursing practice. If some of these points are interpreted wrong, this practice should be regarded as questionable. The regulations on federal level deal with the necessity to have educated nursing staff, offer well-organized care plans, ensure patients about necessary treatment, and promote quality of life for each resident of the hospital, etc. State regulations for nursing practices are based on the federal ones, however, cover more narrow issues like licensing medicines, checking of criminal background, or ignoring racial identities while providing treatment. These regulations both federal and state identify what steps have to be taken to become a competent nurse and provide effective services.
Harry S., from administration (personal communication, November 24, 2009) points out that interpersonal competence is important because it motivates people, develop communication, solve negotiations, and improve the relations between hospital residents. Competence usually affects human self-respect and self-esteem. Id a nurse does not want or cannot follow the regulations and ignore the idea of competence, the outcomes of this practice cannot be successful or effective. It is necessary to take into account this very concept at the beginning of education, because some theoretical material and literature may demonstrate what it actually means to be competent and why people should develop such qualities like respect, understanding, and patience for a couple of years in order to achieve good results.
Roles of nurses vary considerably but are grounded on the same basis
Almost all nursing roles are grounded on the evaluation of personal performance and the ability to cooperate with the member of own team, with patients and their relatives, and other residents of the hospital. For example, a registered nurse has to deal directly with patients and with their families. It is necessary to connect a patient with the health care system, observe each change in a patient and take the necessary steps to maintain treatment, and ensure patients that everything is under control (personal communication with Bill P., November 20, 2009). The role of the Chief Nursing Officer is also important because it requires not only proper background awareness about standards and regulations, but also connection to patients, abilities to negotiate and explain information, and readiness to solve problems and offer various ways out.
Unique roles of nurses cannot be combined into one group and named as “unique”. In fact, each role of nurse is as ordinal as well as unique. On the one hand, nurses have to care about patients, provide them with all the necessary information about treatment and services, and connect them with relatives and doctors. On the other hand, each of the above-mentioned roles may be considered as unique due to its inside requirements, personal approach, and constant development. Nurses have to be available 24/7; nurses have to take care about patients and know information about doctors; nurses should be ready to help individually if doctor’s help is impossible in time. These roles of nurses make everyone believe that hospitals may exist some time without doctors, but absence of nurses will be noticed in a minute.
Summary of interviews and personal understanding of nursing
In general, interviews’ findings turn out to be very informative and captivating. The representatives of different departments present own vision and share personal understanding of nursing values and roles. The peculiar feature of the interviews under discussion is that all interviewee admit that the major role of nurses is to be close to patients, be able to provide them with necessary care and support, and be responsible for communication between doctors and their patients. Nurses also take care about information that is known about a patient, his/her history, and other peculiarities, which may become important during treatment. If a nurse makes mistake in his/her job, the whole treatment and patient’s condition may be under a threat. These interviews prove that nurses at any department play a crucial role, and their work has to be appreciated, because a nurse “coordinated with other nurses and doctors to meet goals set for patient needs based from formulated treatment plans” (personal communication with Bill. P., November 20, 2009).
My personal understanding of nursing and nurses’ values and roles have been changed considerably after the interviews. Of course, I know that nurses take an important place in the hospital, however, only now I comprehend how significant and indispensible their role can be. Communication within a hospital is obligatory, and one of the roles of nurses is the ability to connect patients with other nurses and with doctors, to inform doctors about the history of patients, and to observe the changes of patients’ health in order to provide doctors with a chance to diagnose and treat people properly. The Code of Ethics defines the roles of nurses clearly, however, only people, who deal with nursing every day, are able to explain how significant this job may be; and I am proud that I get a chance to learn this from real interviews with people, who take care about human health constantly.
Conclusion
Nursing practice is one of the most important and influential practices in this world. Nurses play a very important role in this life because only they are able to connect doctors with patients, to inform patients, and to support them just when it turns out to be crucial. It is very difficult to imagine hospitals without nurses, their professionalism and the ways of how nurses comprehend values and regulations considerably influence general work of hospitals. Nurses have to respect each resident in the hospital, be aware of standards, and remember about such concepts like human worth and dignity. If some of these points will be ignored, people will be deprived of the opportunity to use effective medical services and be sure that their health is in reliable hands.
Reference List
Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. (2005). The American Nurses Association, Inc. Web.