Professionalism- Something to Think About
Posted by: admin in Deanna, RN, For Student NursesThese are all aspects of professionalism, and they are expected of us in the workplace.
What happens, though, if you are not on the clock?
Does professionalism stay at work, or do you carry it around with you at all times?
Think of the last day off you had—what did you wear when you ran your errands or filled up your car’s gas tank? How did you act when you went out with your friends to the newest club or bar? Did you tell anyone you are a nurse, and do you think if you did, that others would look at you differently if you weren’t dressed to the nine’s, or if you had more than one or two drinks?
Yes we know that licensure demands ‘good moral character’, but that is a broad and hard-to-define term. Are you less professional if you have a few drinks with your friends? Are you more professional if you dress up to run errands? And as licensed professionals, are we obligated to act the part of professional any time we are in public, or just when we are in scrubs and on the clock?
Is there a grey area somewhere…between living life as a person first, and nurse second. After all, while being a nurse is a huge aspect of who I am, it is not the complete definition of me. What about you?
Entries (RSS)
I can guarantee to you, that you better act professional at all times. Because, if you don’t, and it were to be reported to state board, then you would end up on 5-10 years supervised probation, and a black mark on your license forever.
It can be anything from being too loud in a retsurant/bar, yelling at your landlord in public, or public/private problems with/during a divorce, that get out of hand, and a long list of other violations. If reported, you will be charged with unprofessional conduct, and possibly more.
This is truly a fascinating topic. Nurses, (with exception to pharmacists} are the most regulated profession in the United States. (This is mostly due to to the fact that
most nurses deal with and administer narcotics - just as pharmacists have access to and dispense narcotics.} Historically, going back to Charles Dickens’ times - nurses have
successfully struggled to enhance and make the profession (or vocation) honorable, prestigious, and truly “professional”. The stigma of nurses being drunkards, prostitutes,
and in general, of lower class was dramatically changed by The Sisters of Mercy and Florence Nightengale, and by the establishment of actual nursing schools, formal
education, etc. The fear of having this stigma return - or having anything tarnish the image past nurses worked so hard to achieve seemingly will always exist.
Therefore, the higher the level a nurse attains - LPN, RN, Nurse Practitioner - the higher the standard. The Code of Ethics for Professional Nurses adopted by the
American Nurses Association supposedly deifines ethical standards. obligations, and duties. But how many nurses have really read the Code of Ethics? or the Scope
and Standards of Practice? or even their own states handbook of nursing provided by the Office of Professions/ Board of Regents? The only issue which seems to have
recently been of increased concern is DWI’s, drug related crimes, and child abuse - that is, in actually having disciplinary actions against your license such as fines,
suspension, or revocation. Contingent upon which state you’re licensed in, the Office of Professional Discipline/Board of Regents/ Dept. of Education reviews
cases based on the merit/validity of the complaint - if it’s a domestic problem and does not harm the public - there is no merit. But if you are charged with assault.
lewdness, DWI, sellling /buying recreational drugs/abuse a human or animal - or are otherwise in the news media - a hearing will probably be in effect. While it
is very true that anyone can make up anything about anyone - and that nurses are more vulnerable to “punitive” measures, the standards you set for yourself
hopefully coincide with the basic standards set by any profession and whatever religion/belief system you chose to follow.