Caring as the Central Focus of Nursing - Term Paper Example

?  Professional Identity                  Professional Identity Part A The nursing theory that most closely fits with the own theory of care is Madeline Leininger’s Transcultural nursing theory. This is because the nurse is a Latina who works with a large diverse population at Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis. Leininger’s Transcultural nursing theory offers care measures which are in accord with a group or individual’s cultural values, beliefs, and practices. Collectively, the nurse and the different patients innovatively design a different or new care lifestyle for the wellbeing or health of the patients. Nonetheless, the theory requires the nurse to employ both professional and generic knowledge and means to fit such varied thoughts into nursing care actions and objectives. In this scenario, care skill and knowledge are frequently redesigned for the best interest of the patients (Shaw & Timmons, 2010). Therefore, all care modalities in Hennepin County Medical Center will need the participation of both the nurse and patients working together to recognize, plan, execute, and assess every care mode for culturally fitting nursing care. These modes will stimulate the nurse to develop nursing decisions and actions using cultural based ways and new ways to offer satisfying and meaningful inclusive care to the large diverse population in downtown Minneapolis. If this nurse values and understands the practice of culturally proficient care, she will have the ability to encourage positive changes in health care activities for patients of diverse population at Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis. In addition, for the nurse to share a cultural identity with the large population of diverse individuals, she will need knowledge of transcultural nursing principles and ideas together with an understanding of existing research findings. It is significant for the nurse to note that culturally proficient nursing care can only take place when the values and beliefs of patients are skillfully and thoughtfully included into the nursing care plans of Hennepin County Medical Center. Caring is the central focus of nursing. Therefore, culturally proficient nursing will guide the nurse to offer optimal inclusive, culturally centered care. Part B Out of the three primary roles for the baccalaureate-prepared registered nurse identified by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the role the writer is most interested in exploring is that of a case manager. A case manager is a health care expert, particularly a registered nurse, who dedicates himself or herself in assisting patients with their health care needs and services. This is from the period the patients are admitted to the medical institution to the period they are discharged (Lai & Lim, 2012). Also, case managers are referred to by more general terms, as medical case managers or nurse case managers. In addition, nurse case managers work hand in hand with patients and their relatives or loved ones to examine the needs of the patient and come up with an ample health care plan that highlights their preferences and objectives (Baldwin, 2012). There are also certain education requirements that need to be met for a person to become a nurse case manager. Nurse case managers characteristically possess an associate’s degree in nursing as the lowest educational requirement. However, some have a master’s or bachelor’s degree to signify an advanced level of training and knowledge. In addition to certification and educational achievement, registered nurses can augment their chances of becoming nurse case managers if they have shown immense attention to detail, have significant connection with patients and their loved ones, and are terrific supervisors of their nursing staff. It also helps to have a specified amount of years of experience in the field of nursing. The writer has had a concentration, a segment of the patient population on which she has focused her greatest interest. For instance, she has managed health care for old patients who are attempting to deal with a number of different medical conditions. She has also had the chance to work in a social work capacity. The role was to make sure that every patient got the most affordable care possible. The writer has also acted as a patient care contact. The writer organized the care that patients got from every health care provider and managed plans for therapies. Part C According to Greenwood, there are five characteristics in a profession: Systematic theory and knowledge base, authority, community sanctions, code of ethics, and professional culture. The impact of these characteristics on the writer’s own development and practice as a professional nurse are far reaching. There are several examples that highlight this impact. One, systematic theory and knowledge base has helped the writer develop a knowledge set which is found on the basis of abstract principles, more so than set procedures. This characteristic has made the writer carry out numerous researches. This has enabled her to gather data for employment in examining the efficiency of existing concepts in nursing. This has played a significant part in her development as a professional nurse. Two, authority has enabled the writer to have tremendous control over the extent and nature of the services being offered in the health institution, because they serve patients from diverse backgrounds and who are not able to evaluate the quality of the services being offered. This has also made the writer to be more accountable when treating members of the community. Three, the writer is subject to certification and licensure that describe a number of degrees of occupational fields in accordance with measures over which they have tremendous influence. As a nurse in a community with a large diverse population, during her shift, she has made it her expert responsibility to act and make clinical decisions that are in the best interest of both her patients and patients who are assigned to other nurses in the hospital. Four, ethical codes have helped the writer stick to standards of behavior that are public service oriented, explicit, binding, and systematic. This has helped in strengthening the writer’s relationship with patients and colleagues. Finally, understanding the culture of different people has made the writer get more involved in her work and attain fulfillment with not only monetary incentives, but also symbols such as awards and titles (Lai & Lim, 2012). Part D Von Bertalanffy developed the Systems Theory, which describes a system as a collection of interconnected parts that joined to create a whole. According to this theory, people are affected and affect the social systems which they are part of. Perhaps this is most evident in specified professions where membership influences almost every facet of an individual’s life (Stichweh, 2011). Bertalanffy’s System Theory impacts different professional attributes in a number of ways. Compassion refers to the empathy or understanding for the difficult situation of others. This is the emotion that a person feels in response to the suffering of others that inspires the desire to assist. For a nurse, Bertalanffy’s System Theory will have an impact on compassion as it acts as a significant means of prompting the transfer of empathy from the nurse to the suffering patient. Competence is defined as the capability of a person to perform a task in a proper manner. A competency is a set of established characteristics that offer a planned guide enabling the recognition, assessment, and development of the behaviors in individual workers. The theory explains that systems are goal directed and engage in response with the environment so as to attain the objectives. Every part of the system is also interdependent with one another working together towards the objectives. This enhances competence among professionals. The theory also has an effect on the conscience of a professional. Conscience is a judgment, aptitude, intuition, or faculty that helps in differentiating right from wrong. According to the theory, the system and its components should be developed from the view of the entire system and in view of its embeddedness in its surrounding. This makes the professional use his conscience in developing appropriate strategies which will promote sustainable activities. Commitment refers to a promise or a lawful binding exchange of assurances. The theory influences professionals to be committed in their duties. This is because the theory concentrates on the organization of and associations between the components that join them into a whole. Therefore, commitment will ensure the mutual connection of the parts makes the whole more significant than the components themselves. Confidence refers to a condition of being sure that a prediction or hypothesis is the most effective or correct. A systems view asserts that the necessary quality of a component exists in its relationship to the whole. This enhances the confidence of a professional as he will be working for the whole instead of for himself. The theory also has an impact on comportment. Comportment refers to the manner or way in which an individual conducts himself or herself. According to the theory, properties and behavior of one component of the system is dependent on the properties and behavior of at least another component of the system. Each component can have an effect on the properties and behavior of the whole (Stichweh, 2011). Finally, the theory impacts creativity. This is because different systems interact and are open to their environments. This requires professionals to be creative so as to sustain these interactions. References Baldwin, S. (2012). Exploring the professional identity of health visitors. Nursing Times, 108(25), 12-15. Lai, P. K., & Lim, P. H. (2012). Concept of professional socialization in nursing. International e- Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 6(1), 31-35. Shaw, K., & Timmons, S. (2010). Exploring how nursing uniforms influence self image and professional identity. Nursing Times, 106(10). Stichweh, R. (2011). "Systems Theory", In: Bertrand Badie et al. (eds.). International encyclopedia of political science. New York: Sage. Read More