Nursing is a profession
Nursing
Name
Institution
Nursing
Job Description
Nursing is a profession within the healthcare field which is mainly focused on care for people, families, and communities in general. The major role of a nurse entails helping people achieve and maintain maximum health. Only through provision of adequate and relevant education, they will be knowledgeable about attaining optimal quality of life. It makes nursing a very important career because of an imminent contribution it makes to people’s lives (Donahue, 2007).
A nurse should also help in caring for patients brought under hospital care. In this situation, a nurse can provide them with clothing and a primary treatment while waiting for doctor’s directives on the next step to take depending on a patient’s health condition. At the same time, nurses can offer special treatments in emergency cases. For instance, in case of an accident, a nurse will play a big role in providing treatment to injured persons. Such situations always call for immediate actions. Furthermore, nurses can be critical to the extent that failure to abide by their decision might greatly threaten lives of patients.
Education and Certification
It has been a long time since nursing became one of the most reputable professions worldwide. Because of this, its practice is governed by laws stipulated by nearly all countries in the world. The profession has become one of the cornerstones in medical care in different places. In this regard, people intending to join nursing colleges have to meet certain educational standards. Entry requirements for nursing courses are regulated by the national government. It implies that anyone planning to be a nurse must meet national standards in order to qualify for training as a nurse.
Universally, there are certificate, diploma, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degree programs in nursing. For one to be admitted to a nursing college for any of the above qualifications, he or she must have excelled in secondary and high schools and achieved good results. Only those who meet minimum qualifications can be accepted to these programs. Even if selection criteria may vary from country to country, applicants are expected to be well-acquainted with English and science subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This is because this knowledge will provide a basic foundation essential to programs. A nurse must have a deeper understanding of human anatomy, a study taught exclusively in Biology (DeWit, 2009).
For one to qualify for certification, he or she must prove to be competent both in theoretical and practical concepts learnt during a chosen program. These are some fundamental skills in clinical nursing which anyone must possess. At the same time, they should prove to meet required competency standards and codes of ethics necessary for this profession. An ethical nurse will operate within professional norms of providing selfless, confidential, and benevolent services for the benefit of a patient, who should, of course, be the main centre of focus. If nurses act this way, the society will benefit from quality services which can be relied on at any given time. This is what is required by the Hippocratic Oath which they take upon graduation.
Employment
There are plenty of job opportunities for nurses over the world. Such opportunities come from the government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other private investors interested in the medical arena. Nurses can be assigned to dispensaries, health centers, and hospitals. Each of these work places provides favorable working environments and salary packages in line with international standards. However, salary paid will also depend on one’s qualifications, experience, and employer (DeWit, 2009).
On the other hand, all nurses should get fair salaries because they offer life-saving services which cannot be overlooked. This is why they are allowed to form a nursing professional groups and trade unions to fight for their rights. Advocacy is done in collaboration with ministries of labor, national trade unions, and International Labor Organization (ILO) which plays a very important role in regulating salaries for such professionals.
Professional Activities
Because of sensitivity of nursing profession, nurses are expected to conform to medical codes of ethics. It should be done in line with the Hippocratic Oath which all nurses have to take during their graduations. If they do this, they will put interests of their patients prior to anything else. As a result, nurses will always do all that they can to save lives of patients and serve them with dignity that they deserve.
Nurses should act professionally in anything they do. Observance of ethical conducts must prevail both in attending to patients and carrying out any research. Apart from dealing with patients, nurses also engage in a series of researches which are meant to disseminate new information for the benefit of the profession. When doing any of these, nurses should know that they are performing a very important duty which should not only be regarded as a career but also as a calling (Donahue, 2007).
Conclusion
To conclude, it is essential to point out the fact that nursing is a noble profession. Since it involves lives of people, nurses should always strive to provide the best services not to jeopardize a life they should be saving. Admission criteria to nursing colleges should be enough stringent in order to ensure selection of passionate and qualified applicants. It is only inherent nurses who can abide by the Hippocratic Oath as a principal gear in the nursing profession. It will make nursing regain its lost glory and become one of the most lucrative careers.
References
DeWit, S.C. (2009). Fundamental concepts and skills for nursing. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
Donahue, M. P. (2007). Nursing, the finest art: An illustrated history (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Mosby.
