How Nursing Meets Professional Characteristics

How nursing meets professional characteristics Professional Characteristic

How Nursing Meets the Criteria or Characteristic

Authority to control its own work

Nurses work for physicians or health care agencies unless engaged in private advanced nursing practice.

Exclusive body of specialized

Nursing pulls from a variety of fields to provide holistic nursing care. Nursing research generates new scientific knowledge for practice.

knowledge Extensive period of formal education and training

Currently, there are three levels of education entry into professional nursing practice: associate degree, diploma, and baccalaureate nursing -programs.

Specialized competence

Nurses demonstrate assessment skills; possess an understanding of pharmacology, various branches of physical sciences, patho-physiology, diagnostic tests, surgical procedures; and have skills to manage the technical equipment used in client care. Many nurses hold certification in specialized areas of nursing practice.

Control over work performance

Nurses make independent judgments based on client situations and area of practice. Some nurses work in organizations that use shared governance-and quality magement frameworks.

Service to society

Nursing care focuses on the client system. Caring for others serves as a major theme for most nursing theories. Nurses receive middle-income pay for taking care of others.

Self-regulation

Nurses. abide by the Nurse Practice Act of the state in which they practice. Individual. ~ate boards of nursing regulate nursing practice.

Credentialing systems to Nurses take the National Certification Licensing Exam developed by certify competence nurses which measures minimum competence for safe. nursing practice. Nurses obtain certification in specialized areas of nursing practice from nurse specialty organizations. Some states require continuing education for continued-licensure. Legal reinforcement of professional standards

All nurses are held liable for their actions based on what the usual and prudent nurse would do in a given client care situation. Individual state boards of nursing have the power to restrict the practice of nursing within a state.

Ethical practice

The American Nurses' Association has published The Nurses' Code of Ethics, last updated in 1985.

Intrinsic rewards

Professional nursing organizations offer networking opportunities Shared governance and clinical practice partnership models enhance collegiality among staff nurses and nursing administration.

Public acceptance

Many nurses derive a deep personal satisfaction from making a difference in the lives of clients and families one person at a time. Some nurses view the profession as an opportunity to practice religious beliefs on a daily basis.

Creation of a collegial subculture

Nursing was ranked in the top 10 most respected professions (ANA; 2001).