Honoring Nursing - Assignment Example

Honoring Nursing Introduction Nurses are people who professionally take care of injured or sick patients. They medicate them, treat their wounds, and give emotional support to those patients as well as their families. On the other hand, they keep detailed records of their patient’s symptoms; monitor their recovery progress, besides helping the doctors in examining and treating patients. They spend long periods of time standing and walking while at the same time dealing with many patients incase of an emergency (Erickson, 1983). This makes nursing very stressful besides the risks involve like contracting diseases and getting injuries from the equipments, x-ray and radiations. Ai interviewed a current nurse in order to gain her experience, reminiscence, opinion of being a nurse and her advice to the nursing students. Since many hospitals operate for twenty four hours, the nurse recalled her nursing experience as tough and bitter. Furthermore, they have to work on weekends, nights, holidays, giving them very little time to bring up their children or relate to their families. Dealing with sick people who are sometimes very violent together with the lonely environment has made nursing profession very persevering. This has called for the need to honoring nurses, since they are very kind and caring, and do their work with passion despite the dangers that they are exposed to. Interview The elements of therapeutic communication that I utilized are being realistic in my relationship with the interviewee. That is, avoiding judging or making assumptions about her behavior and that of the patients who were around, by allowing their personal identity. The other element was being emotionally mature in postponing satisfaction of my own personal needs in deference to those of the interviewee, by finding other sources to meet my needs, other than therapeutic relationships. The adaptations that were made to the communication style to accommodate sensory deficits with the interviewee were speaking very closely to the nurse to ensure that she gets everything. Additionally, communication had to be in low tone to avoid disturbing the patients who need to rest. Since the nurse was on duty, I had to follow her to various work stations to avoid shouting as well as ensuring that he hears and answers each of my questions well. To establish the foundation for helping the relationship in which the interviewee feels comfortable in sharing, I first greeted the nurse, introduced myself, my names, name of my learning institution and my aim of interviewing her. I also asked her if she could mind helping interview her. All along, I had to look and be very friendly to her to create a friendly environment that could help in cooperation. The technique used to elicit professionalism was first to inform the nurse that the information she was going to give would be confidentially treated and therefore, it could not have any negative effects on his profession and career. To effectively start the interview, I started telling her about my experience, ambitions, and what I think about nursing as a nursing student. After this, she was eager to tell me the truth on areas of my deficits and where I had excessive hopes as a nursing student. This created a very conducive environment for me dig further into everything that I wanted to know. She became very eager to make everything very clear to me, so that I could know the reality in order to be well prepared (mentally, physically and psychologically) when my time comes. Entering into professional-student discussion with a current nurse in the interview role can be an intimidating experience. Maintaining professionalism at all times made me keep focused during the interview. As a student nurse, I ensure professionalism at all times my first of all ensuring that I was dressed like a nurse, low heeled shoes, and nursing students’ uniform. During the interview, I ensured that I did not ask any question that could give information related to a particular patient or person. I therefore ensured that all my question were general but specific. I also interviewed her only on nursing profession, as opposed to nursing in relation to certain patients or staff and management (Erickson, 983). Erickson’s theory is also called the nursing philosophy and enables nurses to nurture and care for each client with respect and awareness that individuals are unique, thus exemplifying the theory-based practice of clinic that focuses on the needs of the client (Sappington, 1996). According to Erikson’s theory, the interviewee should have build trust with her clients, promote positive orientation with the client, promote control of clients, affirm and promote the strength of clients, set health and mutual directed goals, facilitation, nurturance and conditional acceptance at this point in her life. Based on my observation of my interviewee’s reflection on her history as a nurse, I feel that my interviewee is progressing in achieving ego integrity because despite the fact that nursing profession is very violent, demanding, and exposes the nurse to serious risks like contracting diseases; she still finds passion in his profession. She loves the fact that she saves many lives and heals many broken hearts through emotional and psychological support. For example, the interviewee recalled of a day when there was a critical accident that just happened near the hospital. There were so many people who were seriously injured. They were therefore very busy attending to them that they got very tired. However, they still had a smile by the end of the day coz out of the 24 patients, only one died while 23 survived after treatment. Ego Despair produces feelings of worthlessness-which is related to the society. As a student nurse, I was feeling inferior and so unworthy to perform my work effectively. I was also feeling as if the society could not me and my services as their nurse. Consequently, I was not sure if I was in the right profession. However, after this interview, I came to learn that it was not a difficult job and once I was committed to helping people, they would definitely appreciate me and my profession. I learnt that I just had to be confident with my work and profession, while at the same time observing nursing ethics. Nursing History When I chose a career in nursing, I thought that nursing was a simple task, giving patients medicine, recording their symptoms and dressing them. However, after the interview with my interviewee, I came to learn that it is much more than that, working up to odd hours, emotionally supporting the patients together with their families, doing lab tests, and worst of all, being exposed to many health risks like contracting serious diseases. The only similarity that I gathered from the interview in relation to my knowledge about nursing profession is that nursing is aimed at saving peoples’ lives, and one has to be very committed, caring and with a human heart in order to achieve society’s expectations. During the interview, there was one major barrier that was hard to avoid. This was the fact that the nurse was on duty and therefore could not fully involve herself in the interview since she had to attend to the patients. However, this interview was very beneficial to my career since I got the chance to learn the realities of nursing profession. I know in advance my role and expectations in my future nursing career. Conclusion It is clear that nursing is a very important but involving job. Despite the nurses being exposed to many health hazards while carrying out their duties, they still do it whole heatedly to save lives. Many of them have given up sending precious moments with their families at the expense of attending to their patients. There is no doubt that nurses deserve to be honored. References Erickson, H.R. (1983). Nursing and Nursing Theories. : A Theory and Paradigm for Nursing. Prentice Hall, Prentice Press. Accessed on 14th April, 2011 from http://www.brooksidepress.org//Nursing_Fundamentals_1/lesson_1_Section_2.htm. Sappington, K. (1996). Modeling and Role-Modeling Theory: A Case Study of Holistic Care. J Holist Nurs. Read More