Image and profession go hand in hand. Image plays a very important yet controversial role in the nursing profession. The image of nursing is often inaccurate and falls short of the fair and correct portrayal of what the role of nursing truly is (Summers, 2010). With an inaccurate portrayal of what nursing really is comes the challenges of the profession. Popular stereotypes in nursing coming from both the past and today media and expectations take away the true meaning and role of the modern profession. Some common stereotypes include but are not limited to: unskilled, a way to marriage, and a physician’s helpmate. These stereotypes lead to many problems within the nursing profession including poor working conditions, insufficient support …show more content…
Through proper education and collaboration, the image of nursing could change entirely.
Worldwide, nurses have developed themselves into professionals with a great deal of knowledge. Despite these developments towards professionalism, nurses are still portrayed in a misleading and inaccurate way and are not given the recognition for the skills they have acquired. The essence of nursing is not always clear and nurses still suffer from stereotypes (Hoeve,2014). A stereotype can be defined as “a cognitive representation or impression of a social group that people form by associating particular characteristics and emotions with a group” (Smith and Mackie, 2007). Of the many types of nursing, a very popular stereotype that is depicted of nurses is being doctor’s handmaiden and only performing repetitive and simple tasks (Hoeve,2014.) This public image of nursing does not match their professional images, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Nurses are strong independent individuals that play just as big a role in the hospital as due the doctors or surgeons. The problem is nurses are not depicted as professionals and the public is not aware that nursing today is very theory-based oriented and a scholarly profession. Over the last few decades, nursing gone through extensive and important
…show more content…
A very important concept that needs to be implemented world-wide is collaboration. Collaboration can be defined as “working with other individuals or groups to achieve a common goal. It differs from cooperation which involves groups working together to achieve their own individual goals’’ (Tomajan, 2012). This concept is critical in making the nursing image as clear and accurate as possible while also properly representing the profession. Worldwide, if nurses can represent themselves in a particular way, having the same ideals, morals, and knowledge, there would be little room for people to criticize the profession. Collaborating also allows for the formation of new ideas and discoveries, strengthening the knowledge of nurses and creating the opportunity for more authority. The entire profession as a whole need to help everyone understand what nurses really do for patients. Nurses are the invisible hand behind the success in every hospital or health-care facility. From a quick visit to the doctors to an emergency room visit, the ones the patients interact with and grow a relationship with are the nurses. The nurses know the ins and outs of every patient and have the direct connection with the patient along with tremendous knowledge and skills. This needs to be addressed in the media rather than challenging the nursing image. Giving
Presented issues such as lack of nursing opportunities for nursing graduates, lack of respect for the nursing profession and nurses being viewed as a threat by doctors continues to be of an existence today. As a nurse, I feel that it is of high importance to highlight these presented issues from the film not only because they were the most outstanding to me but because the nursing profession needs more
Angelou once said, “The people may forget the nurses name, but they will never forget how that nurse made them feel.” Nursing is a profession. Unfortunately, nursing does not always get the credit it deserves because of these stereotypes. Nursing is not a gay profession for males. Due to the shortage of nurses, our society needs more nurses now than never. Nurses make a difference in almost every person’s lives just not in hospital rooms but also in schools and clinics. Nursing in not easy job but somebody has to do it. There has to those individuals who must take on this challenge and be the difference in someone’s life. People could not care if someone considers them a failure for being a nurse and not a doctor. Most doctors could not do their job effectively without the help and assistance of nurses. The money is there for those who think nurses does not get paid that much. Healthcare is one of the biggest factors in our world, and for our world to progress further, an increase in employment for nursing is necessary. These stereotypes should not and will not stop the field of nursing from
In today’s society the male nursing profession is sometimes portrayed negatively in the media. Male nurses are often viewed as more aggressive, incompetent and working in a predominantly female profession. The media source chosen was a movie called “Meet The Parents” (2000) The film was based on the idea that a male nurse would go and meet his future wife’s family, and upon meeting the family, things took a turn for the worse. reinforced the common male nursing stereotypes portrayed in the media.
The article I chose discusses the continual change in the roles of nurses. The article also poses a concept that nursing now is not based on caring, but medicine. “By accepting continual changes to the role of the nurse, the core function of nursing has become obscured and, despite assuming medical tasks, the occupation continues to be seen in terms of a role that is subordinate to and dependent on medicine.” (Iley 2004) Nurses are taking a more professional role, and more tasks are being delegated to assertive personnel. Therefore, with all these changes occurring, the role of the enrolled nurse is unclear. “Previously, having two levels of qualified nurse in the United Kingdom had been seen as problematic for health service managers and nurses themselves, and the ending of enrolled nurse programs in 1992 helped to solve this problem.” (2004) The study in this article gathered the characteristics of enrolled nurses and differentiated the groups converting to registered nurses, groups in the process of conversion, and groups interested or not interested in conversion. This study reveals the situation of enrolled nurses in context of continuing towards the professionalization of nursing. “The data from this study support the possibility that the role of nurses as direct caregivers is seen as a positive dimension of the work they undertake.” (2004) The findings imply that nurses need to get back to being caregivers, instead of concentrating on obtaining professional status in medicine.
Nursing is a field of work that so many people find themselves fascinated with, as well as harboring a degree of respect. We look to nurses with a sense of admiration and reverence, and look to them for security in times of need. What makes nursing such a desirable and enthralling field to other people? Despite the fact that doctors are normally under the spotlight, nursing is of profound importance in American culture. Nurses provide comfort and security, as well as a knowledge of medical aid. The field of nursing has the benefit of coming from a field that is ancient, yet timeless and has blossomed throughout history to make a large impact on our culture today.
Many people in our community think being a registered nurse simply means having the degree, working in a hospital and getting paid. Being a registered nurse implies all of these plus many other duties and responsibilities for taking good care of patients and their families as well as a good professional relationship with other health care personnel. In order to assess the professional role of a registered nurse in today’s health care system, one can ask questions from the nurse or the people they work with, or read some professional writings about what they do either our communities and hospitals.
In-class discussions focused in on these various images of nursing and their damaging consequences. I have observed that I am not as assertive as I should be to dispute these negative images of nursing. I need to recognize when individuals make comments insinuating a negative portrayal of nurses. I will then proceed to educate these individuals on their uninformed views by demonstrating an understanding of my role as a nurse. This step will require knowledge and confidence; which I hope to acquire by the following strategies outlined in my knowledge confidence
To attain this goal, nurses must work in collaboration with other members of the health care team. To improve efficiency, the health care environment must foster the development of collaborative relations among health care professionals. Trust, open communication, commitment, and shared goals must be present to support collaborative relations and effective teamwork. Health care organizations continue to place a greater demand on health care professionals while often working with limited resources. In a recent study focused on determining if there was a current or impending shortage of nurses in care settings throughout the United States, 81% of the 178 hospitals sampled indicated they have or are an... ...
Introduction McCurry et all (2009/2010)?? ** state ‘Nursing as a profession has a social mandate to contribute to the good of society through knowledge-based practice.’ Acknowledging this statement and in recognition of the challenges faced in today’s healthcare system it is imperative that nurses know who they are as a profession. Without an explicit understanding of our identity as nurses and our role in society we have no worth or purpose other than to aid and promote the medical discipline (Newman et al., 2008).
Along with the belief of nursing being a career choice more female-directed, there was also the repeated mention of the career being for middle-class women (Price, 2008). Historically, women have been the dominant face of nursing and it has always been considered a suitable career for women, whereas most careers in the past would never be acceptable for a female. For some of the female students who were interviewed, this stereotype was part of a difference in choosing nursing. They did not want to be thought of as stereotypical women, and be cast into a mould of what most women choose (Price, Hall, Angus, & Peter, 2013). In a modern society, more and more women are wishing to push the boundaries on what used to be referred to as male-dominated territory.
As time passed following the shift in the workforce of nursing. Men, either working in nursing or thinking of pursuing a career in nursing, began to see the effects of gender stereotyping that was now firmly associated with it. During World War II the Army Nurse Corps banned male nurses from joining because they believed that males being nurses were less professional than if they had been regular physicians. There are also many beliefs that the male nurses are not able to be as compassionate, sensitive and caring as females that are in the same field (Goddard). Later in the 1970s, it was taught to high school students that females became nurses and males became physicians, it was also believed that females who crossed the line and became physicians were courageous and brave. On the opposing
Among twenty leading female-dominated professions, registered nurses (RN’s) are the second most occupation that employed women in 2006¬. Similar to many traditionally female professions, the percentage of male in nursing is small. In fact, male nurses only comprised eight percent of RN’s in 2008. Although much effort has been made to recruit more men into nursing, many contributing factors have driven them away from this profession. Those factors include poor nursing image, negative public perception, low economic status, and gender stereotypes. One of the most significant factors that deter men from entering the profession is stereotypes. Research shows that men might be more likely to encounter stereotypes than discrimination; however, gender discrimination throughout the society still exists, which may discourage them from entering the profession. Gender segregation has separated male nurses into the minority group that faces many obstacles within the profession, in which negative stereotypes are the primary obstacle for men who want to enter the nursing force.
One of the goals of nursing is to respect the human rights, values and costumes of a patient and his or her family and with the community as a whole. The International Council of Nurses states that nursing practice can be defined generally as a dynamic, caring, helping relationship in which the nurse assists the client to achieve and maintain optimal health. As health care providers, we have some fundamental responsibilities such as to promote health, to prevent illnes...
I have noted that many nurses tend to restrict themselves to the traditional conception of ‘just a nurse’ and this is likely to hold one back in career.
Nursing entails self- directed and cooperative health care for the society at large in all contexts. It includes the promotion of appropriate practices to enhance health, prevention of diseases,