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Professional Nursing

Nightingale in his work defines nursing as the act of exploiting the patient environment in

assisting him to recover from illness. Nurses have a peculiar function of assisting either the sick

or well individuals in performing some activities that are anticipated to contribute to the recovery

of their health. It is usually possible for the patient to perform the activities being done on him by

the nurse if he were to be sober with the required strength, knowledge and willingness. Other

definitions of nursing have however being accepted one among which describes nursing as a

humanistic science that is passionately concerned and dedicated in enhancing health while

preventing illness as well as caring for the sick and the disabled. From the above definitions, it

can be stated that nursing is usually a helping profession whose main objective in the society is

to aid individuals to restore and maintain their health and ensuring that in the worst cases patients

die with dignity.

According to Webster’s dictionary, a profession is described as an occupation that relies

on intensive and advanced training of an individual while at the same time equipping him with

experience of specialized knowledge to help him deliver a certain service to the society. A

combination of the above definitions can be utilized to yield the definition of professional

nursing which can be described as the act of utilizing the basic nursing education and experience

gained in education programs related to nursing in order to help individuals regain their health

and strength. Flexner argues that one of the distinguishing features of a profession is the

existence of certain norms, ethics and values that are universal among the members of that

corporate body of professionals. This means that a professional nurse should have a permit to

practice nursing according to the regulations of his home country. Universally, in the global set

PROFESSIONAL NURSING 2

up all professional nurses are required by accredited boards to ascertain that their educational

programs are certified so that they can be eligible for licensing. In addition a professional nurse

is required to hold a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing besides being fit both physically and

mentally.

Professional nursing practice is encircled by several codes of ethics and one of it

acknowledges that every individual has a right to good health. The major responsibility of a

professional nurse is therefore to ensure that the health of an individual is preserved by all means

irrespective of the cost involved. The core work of professional nurses is to ensure that health is

promoted by preventing illness through suffering alleviation with an aim of restoring health.

Nurses should effectively understand the health of an individual together with some other aspects

related to his social, cultural, psychological, pathophysiological as well as the ecological

attributes of his immediate environment. Effective nursing therefore should not be barred by

ethinical, political and social differences as this would distort the meaning of professional

nursing making it less meaningful in the society.

In conclusion, nursing professionalism requires that in order for one to be recognized as a

professional nurse he/she should posses a certain educational background that can help him

ensure safety and effectiveness while practicing the career. As a result all professional nurses are

held accountable to the professional ethical standards .In an attempt to combat the practice of

endangering the nursing profession the registration board requires that all members to take part

in nursing organizations so that they can advance and support their profession while at the same

time improving their competency.