NURSING AS A

PROFESSION
 NURSING
 “As an integral part of the health care system,
encompasses the promotion of health,
prevention of illness, and care of physically ill,
mentally ill, and disabled people of all ages, in
all health care and community settings. Within
the broad spectrum of health care, the
phenomena of particular concern to nurse are
individual, family and group responses to
actual or potential health problems”
__WHO
 “The unique function of the nurse is to
assist the individual, sick or well, in the
performance of those activities
contributing to health, its recovery, or
to a peaceful death that the client would
perform unaided if he had the necessary
strength, will or knowledge and to do
this in such way as to help the client
gain independence as rapidly as
possible.”
___ ICN 1973
 Nursing encompasses autonomous and
collaborative care of individuals of all ages
,families, groups and communities, sick or
well & in all settings. Nursing includes
the promotion of health, prevention of
illness & the care of ill, disabled, and
dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a
safe environment, research, participation
in shaping health policy and in patient &
health system management & education
are also key nursing roles.
__ICN -2002
 N – Nobility, Neatness
 U – Usefulness, Understanding
 R – Responsibility, Regular
 S – Simplicity, Sympathetic
 E – Efficiency, Empathetic
 OBJECTIVES OF NURSING
 To prepare nurses who will give expert
bedside nursing care in the hospital
 To provide integration of health and social
aspects theory and practice in generalized
public health nursing.
 To provide an adequate, sound scientific
foundation to understand the functioning of
body and mind in health and disease.
 To prepare nurses who will be able to work
co-operatively with team members.
 To provide opportunity through
curricular and extra curricular
activities for full development of
personality of each individual student
 To insure opportunities initiative and
resourcefulness , sense of responsibility
for oneself
 To upgrade the nursing profession.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF NURSING
 Specialized education
 Body of knowledge
 Service
 Autonomy
 Code of ethics
 Research orientation
 Service orientation
 Professional organization
 EDUCATIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN
INSTITUTES
 Clinical demonstrator
 clinical instructor
 assistant lecturer
 nurse lecturer
 senior nurse tutor on experience
 lecturer
 senior lecturer, on experience
 associate professor, on experience
 professor or principal on promotion
 What Are The
FUNCTIONS OF NURSE
CARE GIVER –
 The nurse helps client to regain health through
healing process.
 Nurse addresses the holistic health care needs of
client.
 She helps the client & families to set goals & meets
those goals.
 She preserves dignity of client

CLINICAL & ETHICAL DECISION MAKER –

 Nurse uses critical thinking skills throughout the
nursing process to provide effective care.
 Nurse makes decision in collaboration with the client
& family.
 She also collaborates & consults with other health
professionals.
PROTECTOR & CLINICAL ADVOCATE –
 Nurse provides a safe conductive environment
to the client
 She takes step to prevent injury to client
 She protects the client from every possible
adverse effects of treatment
 She asks about any allergy to medicine or
food
 She provides immunization against diseases.
ADVOCATE –
 She protects client’s human & legal rights and
provides assistance in asserting those rights if the
need arises.
 She advocates the client by keeping in mind the
client’s religion & culture.
 She defends the client in general way by speaking
out against policies that might endanger their well-
being.
CASE MANAGER –
 Nurse co-ordinates the activities of other members
of health care team
 Manages the nursing care of not only one client but
also of families and in communities
 Delegates the nursing activities to auxillary worker
& other nurses
REHABILITATOR –
 Rehabilitation is the process by which
individuals return to maximal levels of
functioning after illness, accident or other
events.
 She helps the clients to adapt as fully as
possible who experiences physical or
emotional impairment that changes their
lives.
 Rehabilitative & restorative care activities
range from teaching clients to walk with
crutches to help the client cope with lifestyle
changes often associated with chronic illness.
COMMUNICATOR –
 Nursing involves communication with the
client & families, other nurses, health care
professionals, resource person and the
community.
 Nurse provides information to other health
team members about the planned &
unplanned nursing care.
 She conveys information verbally as well as
through documentation.
 Communicates verbally at change of shift.
 Reports while shifting the client from one unit
to another
TEACHER –
 She evaluates client’s progress in learning
 She also incorporates other resources such as family,
in teaching plans.
 She gives health education on diet, about preventive
measures of the diseases.
COUNSELOR –
 Nurse helps the client to recognize & cope with
stressful, psychological or social problems.
 She assists the client for developing good
interpersonal relationship
 She counsels primary healthy individuals with
normal adjustments difficulties.
 Nurse helps the person to develop new attitudes
feelings & behavior.
RESEARCHER –
 Nurse investigates problems in order to

improve nursing care & expand the scope of

nursing practice.
 Does many qualitative & quantitative

researches.
 Based upon these findings, they practice

nursing care in hospital as well as clinical

settings
 QUALITIES OF A NURSE
 Self confident
 Humble & honest
 Loyal
 Co-operative
 Good leader
 Good listener
 Keen observer
 Good administrator
 Impartial
 Accountable
 Competent
 Judge
What is profession?
 Profession is a type of occupation that meets
certain criteria that raise it to a level above
that of an occupation.
 Occupations are principle areas of work
classified according to various features such
as preparation, skills & knowledge required;
the nature of work itself, supervision,
motivation.
 Nursing is the protection, promotion,
and abilities, prevention of illness & injury,
alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis
and treatment of human response, and
advocacy in the care of individuals, families,
communities, and populations.
Characteristics Of Nursing Profession
 Specialized education
 Body of knowledge

 Service

 Autonomy

 Code of ethics

 Research orientation

 Service orientation

 Professional organization
 ETHICS
 It is the sense relating to moral actions and one’s value
system. Ethics is concerned with motives and attitude
and the relationship of these attitudes to the good of
the individual. Ethics may be distinguished from the
law as ethics
 Are internal to oneself, looks to the good of an
individual rather than society as a whole and concerns
with why of one’s actions.
 Ethics are the distinction between right and
wrong based on a body of knowledge, not just based
on opinions.
 Ethics in nursing is a set of moral codes of
professional behaviors towards holistic care.
 The ethical code is set of guidelines formulated
by the members of profession with the help of
specialists in the field of nursing leaders, advocate at
times members from the society.
 RULES
REGULATION
VALUES

RULES OF
CONDUCT

ETHICS
RESEARCH

ETHICAL
PRACTICES
MORAL
PRINCIPLE
 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS
Autonomy –
 It refers to the right to make one’s own
decisions. Respect for autonomy means that the nurses
recognize the individual’s uniqueness, the right to be what
that person is, and the right to choose personal goals.
 Nurses should follow the principles of autonomy & respect a
client’s right to make decisions even when those choices seems
not to be in the client’s best interest.
Justice –
 The principle of fairness is the basis for the obligation to treat
all clients equally and fairly.
 It is the foundation for decisions about resource allocation
through out a society or group.
 Health care system provides care on the basis of medical need
rather than ability to pay, social status, race, or gender.
Non-maleficiency-
 It is an avoidance of harm & hurt. So it is an
obligation to never deliberately harm another.
 The nurse tries to balance the risk & benefits of
a plan of care.
 In health care ethics, it is important to remember
that ethical practice involves not only the will to
do good, but also equal commitment not to do
harm.
Beneficence –
 It means promoting good or doing good,
taking positive actions to help others.
 Practice of beneficence encourages the
urge to do good for others
 E.g. child’s immunization may cause
discomfort during administration, but the
benefit of protection from disease both for
the individual & for the society.
Fidelity –
 It means to keep a promise.
 Nurses have an obligation to follow through with
nursing care.
 She should avoid abandonment of clients, even
when client goals differ from health care provide
goals.
E.g. pain management plan.
Accountability –
 It is an ability to answer for one’s own action.
 Nursing professional must agree to evaluate
practices and actions and to take actions to
preserve nursing excellence
Confidentiality –
 It refers to the rights and privileges of
clients for protection of privacy without
diminishing access to quality care.
 Important for trusting relationship.
 Nurses will not share information about
the client unless there is agreement from
the client or required by law.
 E.g. client’s information on the chart
ELEMENTS OF CODE OF ETHICS
Nurses and
the
profession
Nurses
and
practice Nurses
ELEMENT and
people
OF CODE
OF
ETHICS
Nurses
and Nurses
and co-
society
workers
 VALUES
 Values are the standards for decision
making that endure over a significant
period of time in one’s life.
___ Hall et al
(1982)
 A value can be described as an individual
rule used in conducting one’s life.
 Values are enduring beliefs or attitudes
about the worth of a person, object, idea,
or action.
 TYPES OF VALUES
 Operative values –
These are those values that are
indicated by a specific behavior, which may be a
response or performance.
E.g. honestly sharing one’s observations
indicates that honesty is valuable to that person.
 Terminal values –
These are those values that are regarded
as good in themselves; they transcend immediate
needs & shape long goals.
 Moral values –
These values involve correct behavior
such as having some sense of right & wrong
oughtness.
 VALUES CLARIFICATION
 Value clarification is the process by which
people identify, examine, and develop their own
individual values.
 A principle of VC is that no one set of values is
right for everyone.
 VC promotes personal growth by fostering
awareness, empathy, and insight.
 VC exercise can be useful in helping individual
or groups to become more aware of their values
and how they may influence their actions.
 STEPS IN VALUE CLARIFICATION
1. Choosing (cognitive) –
 choosing one’s belief & behavior
 freely without outside pressure
 from among alternatives
 after reflecting & considering consequences
 e.g. a person learns about energy resources,
production, and consumption, the
greenhouse effect and other environmental
issues, including ways to minimize use of
and to recycle limited resources
2. Prizing (affective) –
 chosen beliefs are prized and cherished
 E.g. the person is proud of the belief that he or she
has an obligation to participate in some way in
reducing environmental waste.
3. Acting (behavioral) –
 acting on one’s beliefs
 affirmed to others
 incorporated into one’s behavior
 repeated consistently in one’s life
 E.g. the person participates in the city recycling
program for household waste, uses public
transportation rather than driving a personal car
when possible, helps organize recycling in the
workplace and is active in legislative and political
activities related to environmental issues.
VALUES IN PROFFESSIONAL NURSING
1. ALTRUISM –
 It is welfare & well being of others.
 In professional practice, altruism is
reflected by the nurse's concern for the
welfare of patients, other nurses, and
other health care providers.
2. AUTONOMY –
 Right to self determination.
 Professional practice reflects autonomy
when the nurse respects patient’s rights to
make decisions about their health care.
3. HUMAN DIGNITY –
 Respect for the inherent worth & uniqueness
of individuals and populations.
 In professional practice, human dignity
reflects when the nurse values and respects all
patients & colleagues.
4. INTEGRITY –
 Acting in accordance with an appropriate code
ethics and accepted standards of practice.
 In professional practice integrity reflects when
the nurse is honest and provides care based on
an ethical framework that is accepted within
the profession
5. SOCIAL JUSTICE –
 Upholding moral, legal, and humanistic
principles.
 This value is reflected in professional
practice when the nurse works to ensure
equal treatment under the law and equal
access to quality health care.