Introduction
Nursing is a career that requires so much professionalism. This is because one must gain public trust. Nurses must therefore offer their services with much regard for human dignity and must protect the privacy of their patients. Nurses should therefore assume responsibility and accountability for their actions towards the patients.
Nurses should also apply the best attitude, skills and knowledge during their practice. It is by showing competence that embers of the public will have trust in them and they will see professionalism in them (Blais & Hayes, 2006). This essay looks at some examples of professional nursing behaviors from their narratives in the book “Meditations on hope: Nurses stories about motivation and inspiration” by Sergi, P. (2009).
Nursing concepts
Sergi, P. (2009). Meditations on hope: Nurses stories about motivation and inspiration
This book contains several narratives by nurses illustrating how they struggle to maintain their spirits high and be optimistic so that they can able to help those that they care for. They try to give hope to their patients even those with the least chances of surviving.
Professionalism
The main aspect of professionalism that is observed in nurses is the way they communicate with the patients and how they act towards them. Professional acts include how they deliver sad messages to the patients especially those concerning the death of loved ones. This is an area that requires the nurse to apply a lot of knowledge and skills to ensure that he or she does not evoke hostile emotions on the affected person.
Professionalism is seen in the first chapter in the book, “Breaking bad news,” where the narrator talks about how they approach patients who have discouraging laboratory tests such as those indicating a sexually transmitted disease in a pregnant woman, or a patient with cancer, or telling a parent that his child has died. When breaking such news, the narrator explains that the first thing they have to do is to eliminate the difference between the nurse and the patient. They do this by hugging the patient or holding their hands.
The narrator says that when a child is admitted, she calls the parents to inform them that the child has been admitted to ICU then waits for a few seconds to hear the impact of her voice. The narrator also says that she consoles women who have lost their children by telling them that she was with the child when he or she died so the child did not die alone (Sergi, 2009).
The narrator further says that, after staying in healthcare for a number of years, she has learned that they can only give the patients what they would like for themselves. In this case, the nurse is very caring to the patient. She is trying to put herself in the shoes of the affected person. This is an act of professionalism in nursing care.
Caring
Showing care to patients is very important in nursing. Sometimes nurses are faced with situations where sometimes the victim is to blame but they are required not to show this. Giving attention is the most caring act that patients may treasure. It is important for nurses to give attention even in matters that are difficult to help (Potter, Perry, Ross-Kerr &Wood, 2009).
The other chapter is Julia or the burden of bearing Witness. In this chapter, the narrator talks of Julia, a lady who had believed that she owned the house they used to live in with her mother but later the mother denies her ownership. The narrator, therefore, acts as a witness between Julia and her mother.
The narrator looks for ways of helping Julia who is bitter in her room, she is crying, and pounding her fists in her thighs. The narrator, who is a psychiatrist nurse, realizes that what Julia needs is a witness to give her attention and to help her get through that moment and move to the next. The psychiatrist nurse, therefore, gets a chance to listen to the private issues of some patients.
This is a case where the nurse can’t help but show his attention to the two parties is a sign of care. The nurse is the only person with whom patients can share such issues since the nurse is the only person who is the cause of their problems. However, the narrator says that the great challenge that faces them is taking in such serious and private stories but there is no way to let them out. They, therefore, become a burden to the nurse.
The nurse, therefore, requires an ability to take another person’s pain and suffering and to let it back out again. In this case, the nurse is required to practice maintaining confidentiality on the private issues of the patient. Maintaining confidentiality is a professional requirement in nursing (Chitty, 2005).
Teamwork
Teamwork is required among the nurses and also the entire hospital staff. This is because every member has a role to play in ensuring that the patient gets well. Teamwork is also very important for patients in critical conditions who require excellent therapeutic care. In this case, teamwork must also be extended to the patient’s family since they may also have a role to play.
This is seen in the story of “When the Patient Becomes the Teacher: A Lesson in Hope”. In this story, the nurse is faced by a patient whose chances of surviving seemed to be very low. Jim had undergone so many surgeries that had resulted to loss of almost half of his body mass. He got admitted to the ICU and at the first time, the nurse met with his father whom he had to give hopes that Jim will survive. However, he survived in the ICU and his condition started improving every day.
By time he recovered, he had undergone around 20 operations that left him with only the left arm, and could not move his body due to an operation on his hip bone. Jim was taught on how to dominantly use his left arm, and also how to roll himself. Will all that happening in his life, he achieved all the expectations and surpassed all the obstacles.
He did all this with utmost human dignity and turned out to be an example to the team that was working on him. He had courage over his condition and did not require self pity. He challenged the nurses that he required more than just sympathy. The narrator however helped him out of rehabilitation to a handicapped camp where he could attend a college. The narrator was advocating for the best care for Jim (Sergi, 2009).
The nurse did not have much role to play in this patient’s operations but he teamed up with other physicians, ICU attendants, the patients and his parents to give maximum help. In further helping the patient, the nurse also teamed up with the attendants of a handicapped school to ensure that Jim continues to develop himself during his life after hospital.
Concepts relating to Art and science of nursing from the stories
The art of nursing involves the creativity seen in nurses when dealing with some circumstances. On the other hand, the science is the application of knowledge and skills pertaining to nursing. In the narratives above, the nurses are able to go beyond their knowledge in helping the patients. In the first narrative, the nurse is able to convince the parent that her child did not die alone. This is going beyond the knowledge and skills of nursing in helping the parent handle the situation. Nurses are being faced by many situations that do not require professionalism alone. They require personal intervention since the patients are casting all their burdens to them (Potter, Perry, Ross-Kerr &Wood, 2009).
The nurses are also portraying skills and knowledge when attending to the patients. In breaking the bad news, the nurses are supposed to break the gap between them and the patients. They are supposed to be caring and do to the patients as they would like to be done to themselves.
Conclusion
The narratives in the book are an indication of the experiences that nurses go through in their profession. However, in all those circumstances they have tried to maintain professionalism. Patients usually have trust in the nurses and often tell them their private matters. Nurses are therefore supposed to maintain confidence with the patients by maintaining confidentiality of such information.
Reference List
Sergi, P. (2009). Meditations on hope: Nurses stories about motivation and inspiration. New York, USA: Kaplan Publishers.
Potter, P. ,Perry, A.,Ross-Kerr,J. &Wood, M. (2009). Canadian fundamentals of nursing, 4th ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, Limited.
Blais, K. & Hayes, J. (2006). Professional nursing practice: concepts and perspectives. New Jersey Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Chitty, K. (2005). Professional nursing: concepts & challenges. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences.