RTP D1 93119)
Is nursing a profession?
When debating whether or not nursing is considered a profession, is it important to define what is a profession. By definition, a profession involves having a clear framework of its own body of knowledge, which implies that the professional is able to use the knowledge gained through research and uses it in practice (George, 2011). In a real-life situation, when a person enters a hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound, the individual will be immediately treated by a variety of different staff members who are trained and capable of treating the injured patient. Registered Nurses (RN), are surely among many of the staff members who would be present on the scene to ensure that the patient doesn’t bleed by continuously assessing and monitoring the patient’s progress.
Nursing is indeed considered a profession for many reasons that are worth to discuss. First, nurses are trained in an accredited school where they receive the training from professors who have received the proper training to educate their students to learn the knowledge required to practice the profession of nursing (Eptein & Turner, 2015). Second, the profession of nursing has been guided by the American Nurses Association and by the Code of Ethics, which mandates nurses to adhere to their strict standards and if failure to do so, will result in having the nursing license revoked (Eptein & Turner, 2015). Nurses have the ethical duty to protect their patients from harm, to treat every individual equally and with respect despite their gender, cultural background, sexual orientation or criminal record. Lastly, a nurse has the ability to use his/her judgement when making clinical decisions and has the ability to use his/her critical thinking skills when treating patients (Eptein & Turner, 2015). If for instance, a nurse comes across a medication that may be contraindicated for a particular patient, a nurse can use his/her critical thinking skills to question the doctor’s order and may hold the medication until full clarification is obtained. As part of their profession, nurses are responsible to ensuring that their patients receive the highest level of care.
