It is always interesting to have more than one answer to compare people’s opinions on some issues. Thus, the interview with a charge nurse gave me additional information and allowed me to see the similarities and differences in my peer’s and the leader’s attitude towards their professional identity. As well as my peer, the charge nurse considers professionalism as the core factor of constituting a successful medical worker. However, the approaches to defining professionalism differ in the two interviews.
The charge nurse identifies her role as a team member not within the team but from the outside: she is responsible for everyone’s coordinated work so that patient needs could be satisfied. As a result of the interview, I realized that she has a lot of duties, and sometimes she even does the things that are not her direct work. For instance, she said that when it is necessary, she helps the primary care nurses to do their job. I find such an attitude rather professional.
What concerns the charge nurse’s attitude towards professionalism, she defines it as the person’s ability to do his or her job, notwithstanding any obstacles. She says that while she is friends with some of the nurses, she does not let this fact interfere with her job. As for me, this is a very wise decision and a rather professional one.
Another indication of professionalism is the charge nurse’s opinion on her role as that of a steward of health care. She says that even though she does not directly give patients care, she does her best to arrange that they receive everything needed. It is difficult not to agree with her viewpoint. Indeed, sometimes, even when a person’s work is not seen, it does not mean that he or she does not do it.
I was even more positively impressed by the charge nurse’s answer to the question regarding professional advocacy and authenticity. These issues are rather crucial in the nursing environment (Grace, 2017). The charge nurse says that she balances between demonstrating the power and being an advocate, and such balance produces the best outcomes.
Having obtained the answers of two interviewees, I can make some general conclusions and provide a comparison and contrast between them. I would like to emphasize that both my peer and the charge nurse have approached the interview very seriously and gave thoughtful and professional answers. The similarities between the two interviewees’ answers concern the opinions about the diversity of their roles and the need for professionalism, advocacy, and authenticity.
However, the two people identified the role of diversity differently. While my peer associated her job with a variety of roles, the charge nurse enumerated a list of duties she has. Both interviewees agree that a leader should find a balance between power and professional advocacy. The major contrast in the two answers is whether a leader should be considered a steward of health care. While the charge nurse thinks that she definitely is one, my peer has quite the opposite opinion – that only those who directly take care of patients can be regarded as stewards of health care.
I am grateful for the possibility of obtaining the answers from these two people. Their approach to the interview was serious, and they gave me an insight into their professional identity and their personal understanding of crucial issues within the profession. Even though their opinions on some issues differ, they both explain their beliefs and sound persuasive.
Reference
Grace, P. G. (2017). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.