The Profession of Registered Nurse - Thesis Example

RUNNING HEAD: Perceptions of Nurse Practitioners Patient Preconceived Notions of the Limitations of Nurse Practitioner in Long Term Care Your Class 3/25/11 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction 3 References 7 Chapter One: Introduction a. Background The responsibilities and skills required by nurse practitioners is vast despite the prevailing misconceptions about their subservient and mindless duties. Registered nurses have a huge number of responsibilities in the healthcare profession. While this fact has largely been overshadowed by the role of doctors, in general, registered nurses are responsible for most of the patient interactions in a hospital scene. Many of his or her tasks include educating the patients about their illnesses, reading diagnostic tests, operating medical machinery, recording the medical history of the patient, and administering medications. The profession of registered nurse comprises the largest number of healthcare positions, and the field continues to be in high demand. This large number of individuals can often lead people to think they are so numerous, they are easily placed and replaced. Along with the large number of professionals in this field comes the incorrect implication that the training and duties are simplistic. This is of course, incorrect. The training to become a registered nurse is intense and difficult. The degrees required for this profession include a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, and an acceptable nursing program degree. This training can take about four years for the bachelor’s, two or three years for an associate’s degree, and three years for the nursing program. In other words, it’s possible to spend more years in school to become a registered nurse than a doctor. Registered nurses, in a clinic or outpatient care setting, are responsible for organizing the numerous files for different patients. While this may sound dull, it is essential to the health of the patient and the efficiency of the office. Beyond the desk, the nurse can initiate the care of the patient by taking blood, accepting urine samples, and doing various other tasks that will allow the doctor to know where to start. The nurse may help read the results and aid in the diagnosis of the patient as well. A licensed practical nurse (LPN) differs from a registered nurse in the educational background of the nurse as well as the responsibilities employed by her. A brief overview of the job requisites include collecting bodily fluids from the patient, observing the patient, preparing the patient for injections before subsequently administering the injection, the insertion of catheters, and other means by which bodily fluids are obtained. In addition, licensed practical nurses help the patient in a variety of daily grooming activities such as bathing, changing gowns and other bandages or dressings, keeping them well-accommodated with any reasonable need the patient might have, and finally feeding the patient. All of these tasks are done under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN). RNs are always at a higher level than LPNs regarding authority and general abilities and capabilities. RNs assist in the administration of drugs and plans and courses of actions for individual patients. RNs also have the specialized and advanced training to assist doctors in medical procedures such as examinations, treatments, or even acting independent of direct doctor authorization in cases of emergency. RNs know more about pharmacology, physiology, anatomy, research utilization. In conclusion, registered nurses often do not receive the credit they deserve for all the hard work they do. They must complete intense training to get to their position and then assist in intense hospital situations. Therefore, nurses are crucial to any hospital scene, whether it’s in the Intensive Care Unit, behind a desk, or in an outpatient care room. b. Statement of the Problem In a famous publication by Kalisch and Kalisch (1981), a set of six stereotypes were found to be commonly attributed to the generic term of ‘nurse’. The first term was termed the “Angel of Mercy” stereotype in which the surveyed participants were noted as being selfless, moral, and noble. The next common preconception of the nursing practitioner was termed “Girl Friday” by Kalisch and Kalisch and it denotes the role of the nursing practitioner to be subservient, a minor role-player in the scheme of the health care facility whose only job is to do the physician’s bidding. A more positive stereotype listed in this study was the ‘Heroine’ idea that nurses are fearless, heroic and will eventually come to save the patient’s life. The fourth stereotype is the “Wife/Mother” stereotype in which the patient becomes passive and childlike in the presence of his ‘mother’. The fifth stereotype is the “Sex Object” stereotype which was made popular by the ‘naughty nurse’ concept seen in many entertainment realms. Finally, the sixth stereotype is the “Careerist” group in which nurses are seen as knowledgeable and respectable. Additionally, these stereotypes are reinforced by numerous television shows and movies. On TV, the doctors are the stars and the nurses are the fringe characters generally. The high action scenes involve doctors rushing into the emergency room and cutting into their dying patients. There is no registered nurse in sight. However, in such a scene, the nurse would be starting an ivy, recording as much medical history as possible, and assisting the doctor with various tools. Though there has been a lot of progress in the representations of female and male roles in television and movies, there is still a large component of the traditional characteristic of inferiority shown in the average nurse. Ultimately the reinforcement of these stereotypes forges a feeling that nurses are unreliable or inept, which in turn will distance the patient from requesting their help. c. Statement of the Purpose of This Research In advancing the awareness of patient doubts or biases toward nurses, some steps can be taken to reverse the biases. All nurses should become aware of their patients’ perceptions; often just having the experience of having a competent and professional nurse can completely eradicate any former negative concepts derived from the media and television entertainment. In this research, the discovery of the general population’s mindset toward the quality of nurses will allow a targeted approach to dispel those images of registered nurses produced by media and other prevalent myths. The role of a registered nurse is more critical to the hospital scene; their responsibilities cover a wider range of services than mere data entry and filing. d. Theoretical Framework Dorothea Orem was a nursing theorist who conceptualized a self-care deficit model of nursing derived from three separate theories. The first theory involves the natural tendency for patients to care for themselves, learning new lifestyle modifications and other skills necessary for survival. The second theory involves the deficit of self-care, which calls for nursing interventions where the patient is no longer able to perform self-care. The third theory involves nursing systems, which are derived from a framework of nursing methodology, systematic care of patients as a result of their training (Hartweg, 2005). Together, these theorems form the basis of Orem’s theory which has been a invaluable as a model for nursing. Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT) serves as a fundamental conceptual framework for nurses. The philosophical premise of the general theory of nursing includes the expansion of basic knowledge with the continuing education and empirical studies. The model of nursing has four concepts that serve as the fundamental basis of SCDNT care: patients, environment, health, and nursing (Fawcett, 2005). Once the patient has been thoroughly educated about the intricacies of nursing, there should be better understanding and better reliance on the nurses’ capabilities. References “Gender Roles and the Media”. “Gender Roles and the Media”. (2007). Retrieved on November 6, 2010 from InfoRefuge.com: http://www.inforefuge.com/gender-roles-media Kalisch, B. J. & Kalisch, P. A. (1985). Nursing images: the TV news picture. Nursing Management. Apr, 16 (4), 39-48. Kalisch, B. J. & Kalisch, P. A. (1985). Good news, bad news, or no news: improving radio and TV coverage of nursing issues. Nursing & Health Care, May, 6 (5), 255-260 Webb, Bridget. “Portraying Gender Roles to Children through Television and Film”. (2003). Retrieved on November 6, 2010 from UNC.edu: http://www.unc.edu/~bewebb/GENDER.pdf Jayson, Sharon. “Gender Roles See a ‘Conflict’ Shift in Work-Life Balance”. (2009). Retrieved on November 6, 2010 from USAToday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-26-work-life-balance_N.htm Read More