Image of Nurses in Media - Essay Example

Out of the six individuals who responded to the mini survey, two believed that the image of nurses and the nursing profession is negative while the remaining four individuals believed that nurses and their profession are flawless. An image refers to a mental picture that represents something real.

In the nursing profession, the image signifies the nurse’s professional qualities, as well as the conduct that represents the nurse’s competence (D'Antonio, 2010). The majority of the sample group believed that nurses encompassed highly qualified persons within the nursing profession. In addition, nurses provide holistic health care to groups and individuals and take on responsibilities and duties in an autonomous manner. Nurses provide health services on all spectrums of the health care scheme such as the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, and take on key responsibilities in education and maintaining the welfare of the focus group, i.e. patients.

The sample group also believed that nurses are independent professionals who work within a nursing team. Moreover, nurses are highly active members of medical teams that provide health care and look after the health of patients (Polifko-Harris, 2007). Nurses provide comprehensive care to persons of all ages, socioeconomic status, and cultural backgrounds based on the patient’s emotional, physical, intellectual, psychological, spiritual, and social needs. The sample group further noted that nurses are staunch advocates for the promotion of safe environments, innovative medical research, and practical participation in determining health policy, and in patient and healthcare system management and education.

The mini-survey group asserted that nurses provided unbiased care to all ill persons. This is in keeping with the professional requirements. The nursing profession is a robust combination of technology, social science, physical science, and nursing theory in caring for patients. The group also argued that the nursing profession provided clear guidelines to guide the conduct and practice of nurses while adhering to professional principles and standards. The foundation of the nursing profession is the provision of high-quality health care, communication, education, advocacy, and maintenance of a positive and unbiased attitude when dealing with patients.

When questioned on the difference between Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Registered Nurses (RNs), the sample group acknowledged that a key difference lies in their academic qualifications. An RN is a nurse who graduated from a four-year nursing program. RNs hold a Bachelor of Science degree or have a two-year nursing program with an Associate’s Degree. An LPN has graduated after undergoing a one-year practical nursing program. RNs, therefore, have higher educational qualifications than LPNs.

As such, RNs have greater knowledge of clinical practice, delivery systems, research utilization, resource management, physiology, and pharmacology (Polifko-Harris, 2007). About their responsibilities, RNs have more responsibilities than LPNs. In some instances, RNs supervise LPNs since RNs can make independent decisions, while LPNs cannot. Moreover, RNs address more issues than LPNs.