Multifaceted Nursing Issues - Essay Example

?Pictorial Analysis Introduction Nursing is an art and a science. People care for themselves or to other people when they are sick or unwell. Nursinghas evolved from a primitive practice and belief to a more scientific and humane caring. Together with this complex evolution of nursing come multifaceted nursing issues that need to be addressed. Gender Equality Issues in the Nursing Profession Gender equality issues affect both male and female population. Male nurses are not considered novice into this field. In fact, male nurses were the only person allowed to give nursing care to the nursing homes established by King Asoka around 500 B.C. (Delaune 2006, p. 4). Female nurses, on the other hand, dominate the nursing profession. Females are also the gender being first thought by the public when nursing profession is being talked about. Both of these gender reported inequalities in different health care settings in terms of strength, knowledge and skills, as well as salary issues. But of all gender-related equality issues, the effect of Florence Nightingale to the image of nursing profession affects the male population more. Men have fared in a profession traditionally dominated by women and most of the male population suffered from gender inequality. Most of the nursing care during eleventh to thirteenth centuries was rendered by men. It was not until late nineteenth century that females dominated the nursing profession. Florence Nightingale created a big impact in excluding men from the field of nursing. Nightingale’s work had proved that nursing is a profession fit for the female discipline. Florence Nightingale left behind the contributions of men in nursing and view men’s role as physical support aid or a patient’s assistant. The Industrial Revolution also plays a role in the exit of men from nursing. During this time, science-related profession such as medicine shall be taken by the male population and nursing to the female population (Chitty 2005, p. 71). In late 1800, Mills Nursing School for Men in New York and McLean Asylum Training School in Massachusetts were the first two nursing schools established for men. The only field being considered for them is psychiatric nursing because this requires strength and stamina. In 1901 and 1908, the US Congress established the Army Nurse Corpse and Navy Nurse Corpse. However, this was restricted to women so men find it difficult to enter the military nursing. In addition, during 1941, only 68 out of 1,303 schools accepted men as nursing student (Chitty 2005, p. 71). After World War II, the efforts of men to join the field of nursing were recognized. GI Bill helped to increase the number of male students by providing funds for education and training. Men entering nursing schools increase after the World War II. Men have truly suffered from gender inequality It is evident from nursing leaders influence, public perception, school discrimination, and military restrictions. In the contemporary age, there are also cases of gender inequality throughout the world but there are no restrictions for male nurses in whatever field in nursing they would like to take. Men can choose from several nursing schools today without fear of being rejected. The public also views both men and women as part of the nursing profession with men, being equally caring, competitive, and compassionate as women. Gender inequality issues still occur in some areas but with the influence of contemporary era, cases reported were minimal. Nursing profession of today does not look into gender differences but to the knowledge, skills, and motivation related to nursing care. Nursing Image: Professional Nurses Dress Code The professional nurses’ dress code reflects the nursing image. During the early times, one can easily distinguish a person belonging to the nurse profession. But now, the public found it difficult to know who exactly are the registered nurses. The New York Training School for Nurses at Bellevue Hospital was the first school to adopt a standard uniform for student nurses. In 1890, a regulation was established to standardize and determine the uniforms of each nurse training schools. The uniforms in the early days of nursing (1850-1900) were based on the habits of religious orders. The visiting nurses wore a full-length dress with a cowl, mask, and possibly gloves. The colors were usually somber and dark. During the 19th century, nurses adopted the use of a white uniform and a cap from the military and religious orders. Caps served the purpose of covering the long hair style during the 19th century. Nursing uniform, at this time, was highly valued as a symbol of status, occupation, and standard. In 1905, nursing communities viewed the adoption of the nursing uniform as the real starting point for a professional nurse (Daly 2005, p. 26). Early 20th century, little had changed with the uniforms in hem and sleeve lengths. The current nursing attire usually consists of a white, long-sleeved uniform, white shoes and stockings, and most important, the starched white cap and a special pin, or, as an option, the easily identified navy blue of the of the public health nurse (Joel 2003, p. 192). But the standard protocol regarding uniform is not applied by some hospitals and nurses. Nursing uniform today became generalized. This is a nursing issue that involves the hospital, nurses, and even patients. With the proliferation of nursing aides, practical nurses, and caregivers, patients may find it difficult to tell exactly who the registered nurses are. Patients may mistakenly identify any health care team members as a nurse because of the lack of specification in uniform. Gone are the white caps and uniforms, rather the ubiquitous scrub suit. In the survey done by Windel (2008) regarding present uniform in a hospital, 31% of the patients thought that identifying their RN was easy while 55% thought it was not easy to identify their RN, 94% thought nurses appeared to be professional, 64% thought that nurses should be allowed to wear any color of uniform, 73% thought nurses should keep their hair back and off their shoulders, 91% thought that nurses should not wear long fingernails, 80% said they would like to see their RN with a large print of RN on a name badge, 39% said that they would like to identify their RN by uniform color, and 28% said that nurses should wear white uniform. The result reflects that patient perceived the nurses as professional. In line with being a professional is a dress code. Perhaps, many nurses were glad to see the demise of the traditional uniform and that the uniform portrays the stereotypic image rather than the realistic image. However, uniform will help the patient to easily recognize the nurse and will differentiate nurses from non-nursing assistive personnel. The debate still continues because nurses have the right to express themselves regarding uniform style but, if the quality of care given to patient was affected, enforcement of the professional dress code must not be an issue. The public will probably continue to adopt a concept or image that is nurtured by contact, thus, nurses must be professional intellectually through nursing knowledge and skills, and physically through a dress code. Nursing Racism and Ethnicity Nursing is an in-demand profession nowadays. Nurses from different countries leave their homes to work abroad. A lot of these nurses deal with people of different cultures. Some of them may be a co-staff nurse, a patient or even a doctor. Most of the nurses abroad faced the issue of racism and ethnicity. Nursing as a profession seems to avoid considering the problem of racism. There is, however, a need to address this topic and to evaluate its implications for nursing practice. Racism is the belief that a specific race is superior to the other. It is also a belief that discriminates the minority population because of their lack of power and status in the society (Hein 2001, p. 137). Perhaps, the most known example of racism in health care setting is the history of discrimination between the white and the black Americans. In 1990, innovations in nursing field were hindered by racial, ethnic, and sexual prejudices. In the thirty years since the inception of the legal and social mandates, the debate has been whether it truly affords to give equal opportunities in both white and black nurses leading to the anti-affirmative action laws done by the California and Texas (Hein 2001, p. 129). In 1995, the practice of hiring decisions and determining admissions based on race, sex, and ethnicity was stopped. Transcultural perspective is one of the issues that address multiracial population. Nurses must develop transracial perspective and directly confront the problems of racism, prejudice, discrimination, and race relations. Nurses abroad deal with co-workers and patients of different races. There are times that they may feel inferior because other races belittle their physical traits and assume attitudes and behaviors. Nursing education has recognized the cultural diversity of people in our society and the limited knowledge that many nurses possess in understanding the relationship of culture and human experience. Nursing education and self-awareness play a vital role in the combat against cultural diversity and racism. In order to deal with patient of different races, nurses must first be aware of their own beliefs and practices. Nursing education allows the nursing professional to understand members of the other races - their background, behavior, beliefs, and expectations to promote quality nursing care. Nurses can also work effectively, together with other members of the health team, if racial differences were noted and analyzed. Nursing values also helps in the avoidance of racism. Nurses all over the world are guided by the code of conduct and if followed, will maintain homogeneity and avoid conflict. However, diversity among nursing professionals is very complex that political and economic factors must also be reviewed. Despite the efforts to promote cultural awareness and diversity, nursing has not been able to achieve the results it anticipated (Hein 2001, p. 131). Despite many years of cultural safety education, racism in nursing still exists. The challenge in the nursing profession lies on producing culturally-sensitive and culturally competent nurses. Nurses need to address clearly the needs of the population. It is the responsibility of all nurses to confront both individual and organizational racism. Nursing profession should take the leadership role in building a health care setting free from racism and discriminations and in preparing future nurse leaders that respect and match the culturally diverse population. Reference List Chitty, KK. (2005) The Social Context of Nursing. Professional Nursing: Concepts and Challenges 4th ed. Missouri: Elsevier Saunders Inc, pp. 63-101. Daly, J. et al. (2005) The Evolution of Nursing Profession and Practice in the US. Professional Nursing Concepts, Issues, and Challenges. New York: Springer Publishing Company Inc, pp. 17-50. Delaune, SC. And Ladner, PC. (2006) Evolution of Nursing and Nursing Education. Fundamentals of Nursing Standard and Practice 3rd ed. New York: Delmar Learning, pp. 1-26. Hein, E. (2001) Cultural Diversity in Nursing: A Challenge for the Professional. Nursing Issues in the 21st Century: Perspectives from the Literature. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, pp. 129-134. Joel, LA. (2003) Nursing as a Profession. Kelly’s Dimension of Professional Nursing 9th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Companies, pp. 191-212. Windel, L. et al. (2008) An evidence-based approach to creating a new dress code. American Nurse Today, 3 (1), pp. 1-50. Read More