Nursing Coat Of Arms

When hearing “coat of arms”, many people visualize an adorned shield carried by knights for protection in battle during the Middle Ages. However, every shield has a deeper and thoughtful meaning. The integration of every symbol emphasizes various values of a family, an alliance, but in this respect a nursing profession. Furthermore, the nursing profession encourages nurses to gather a variety of information and use it in the clinical setting. Each nurse is able to leave a great impact on an individual or a family. The purpose of this paper is to explain the key qualities: knowledge, empathy, bravery, and moral integrity, that were chosen in our group’s coat of arms assignment and how these qualities represent the nursing profession. However,

To be empathetic means to be understanding, to share, and develop a bond with another person, and as the article states, “empathy is a major component of the relationship between patient and nurse and is an observable and teachable skill that nurses are requested to possess.” Empathy is an ability that can be learned and developed through education and practice. In other words, constant communication between a patient and a nurse will ensure a healthy development of a stable nurse-client relationship. By actively listening and approaching a patient with vehement enthusiasm and optimism, it allows for patients to feel more comfortable with the nurse and develop trust. This will allow the nurse to identify the client’s goals and needs, which will make it easier to diagnose and treat illnesses. The symbol of the hands was chosen to represent empathy and how nurses are always optimistic. Nurses have to face many overwhelming situations throughout their career in the hospital, which is why pessimism can hinder a nurse’s ability to overcome challenging tasks, while optimism may tip the final scale in a nurse’s psychological fitness and finesse. As a religious person, I personally believe that the hands also have another meaning: they represent the hands of God. Being a nurse, I will work in the confines of our reality, what is tangible, explainable, and replicable, but it brings me a sense of

Nurses cannot be deterred by danger or risk; “courage is defined as an attitude and a quality of mind that enables one to face anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful with firmness and without fear, instead of withdrawing from it.” With lives on the line, a nurse must not be blindly brave, but must be able to properly analyze risk over convention— this can be in regard to enacting a newly developed procedure or even offering information around their colleagues or superiors. Nurses must also act in accordance to a value system by knowing right from wrong, just from unjust, and be willing to stand up for what is in a patient’s best interest. That being said, a nurse must also be psychologically courageous; in a profession where bad news is inevitable, they must be able to impart bad news to patients, which is for most a very emotionally-straining job. The symbol that we chose to represent courage is the lion. The lion is known to be the king of the jungle, revered, dauntless, and to its pride: a leader. This relates to the profession of nursing by being a guardian. This is something many nurses strive to achieve. By being a leader, a nurse must be a role-model, always supportive of their peers, yet stimulating constant progress. Analogously, like the lion will fight to defend his pride, nurses must be willing to fight for their family— their colleagues and their patients— whether that be