Nursing Self-Awareness and Professional Growth

Introduction

Self awareness is an essential part of nursing activities. The essentiality of certain values, principles, and professional behavioural patterns is extremely high for a person aiming to work as a nursing associate. In this reflective essay, an effort has been made to draw out such attributes and analyse them from the nursing associate practice and team working perspectives. Furthermore, in nursing practices, a proper understanding of accountability and responsibility are also needed to ensure that the work is done in a transparent manner in order to protect the interests of the patients (Philips et al. 2020). As a person aiming for such a job, I have always tried to understand the viability of such concepts in the nursing practice in order to harbour a deep understanding of what and how it is to be done. In the following essay, I have begun by providing a context in which I have included the descriptions of a number of basic terms which may hold relevance from the viewpoint of the topic at hand. Self awareness is the examination of a person’s own thinking processes, behavioural patterns, wishes, and mental condition (Glasper, 2017). From a nursing perspective, it can be deemed that if a person has a deep and clear awareness of their own selves, they can understand the issues of the other person better. This concept is also relevant in promoting the chances of success and boosts in career for the healthcare professional as well as a deep clinical and mental improvement for the patient (Peate, 2018). Self awareness is considered to be a continuous process in which it is essential for a person to focus on what they observe and learn from any misgivings they have made in the past. Leadership is defined as an active process in which a person influences a group of people towards the attainment of a common objective. Following is the discussion which contains a thorough analysis on the effect of values, principles, and behavioural understanding in nursing associate practice and the importance of responsibility and accountability in being a nurse associate. Finally, through a proper conclusion, the topic has been drawn to a close. It is derived that as nurses spend the most amount of time with a patient, it is highly necessary for them to harbour a deep understanding of themselves in order to promote having a positive relation with the patient. Hence, the purpose of this reflective essay is to analyse the components of self awareness and understand its implications in nursing practices deeply. For the completion of the essay, literature has been chosen from a perspective of self awareness in nursing associate practice (Dubree et al. 2017).

Context

Self awareness is the examination of a person’s own thinking processes, behavioural patterns, wishes, and mental condition (Cathala and Moorley, 2019). From a nursing perspective, it can be deemed that if a person has a deep and clear awareness of their own selves, they can understand the issues of the other person better. This concept is also relevant in promoting the chances of success and boosts in career for the healthcare professional as well as a deep clinical and mental improvement for the patient. Self awareness is considered to be a continuous process in which it is essential for a person to focus on what they observe and learn from any misgivings they have made in the past (Dubree et al. 2017). Leadership is defined as an active process in which a person influences a group of people towards the attainment of a common objective (Eftekhari, 2019). However, Self leadership is an approach in which factors like self motivation are put to use in order to maximise the level of productivity that can be achieved to attain goals. In nursing associate practices, self leadership can boost a person’s ability to improve their overall performance through a dedicated mindset focusing on self-observation, self-rewards, self-punishment, and so on. Nurses are responsible for providing care to patients and to carry out such activities, they have to have a certain set of values which promote the well being of the patients. The Code Of Conduct provides an outline of such values that hold relevance in nursing associate practices (Barnable et al. 2018). Ethical values of nursing hold high relevance in maintaining the integrity of the society through equal and indiscriminate providing of care to all patients in the manner that they need care. Professional behaviour in nursing is a concept that paves the way for providing high quality care to patients guided by an unflinching commitment to providing service for the community. As nurses interact the most with patients, it is necessary for them to follow a professional and regulated behaviour pattern which promotes the best interests of the healthcare workers as well as the patients. In nursing, team work is defined as a process in which two or more healthcare professionals interact with each other and act with the support of each other in order to achieve a common goal by maintaining clear communication and prioritising problem solving (Harrison, 2018). As a multidisciplinary profession, healthcare needs various professionals to work in harmony in order to ensure the best interests of the patients. Providing healthcare is a complex process and the probability of making medical errors is quite high, making teamwork an essential aspect of nursing. In nursing, it is the responsibility of the professional to act in his competency levels to provide reasonable and high quality care to a patient (Boney, 2020). Whereas, accountability in nursing is the need to take responsibility for one's actions (Brendley, 2018). Nurses have a duty and a legal liability of providing the best care to patients and to act within legal requirements following their expertise levels and acting within them.

Discussion

A. The principles that guide a nurse’s activities are based on two schools of thoughts, namely, utilitarianism and deontology (McPherson and Wendler, 2020). In nursing, beliefs based on righteousness, goodwill, convalescence, responsibility, loyalty, liberty, infidelity, and veracity must be followed (Dubree et al. 2017). Nurses must provide care in a non-discriminate and just manner that prioritises caregiving rather than the identity of the individual. Beneficence and goodwill must be on the basis that no intentional or unintentional harm may be caused to the patient and care must be provided in a moral and good manner. Care must also be provided in a responsible manner which calls forth the need to be accountable for any actions that a nurse incurs (Jensen et al. 2019). No matter what the consequences may be, they need to be legally binding to take the fall for any misgivings that occur on their part. Nurses must also be loyal to their profession and not take any immoral path and must exhibit an infidele demeanour. The most essential principle is to be transparent and show veracity to the patient by prioritising the truth over fake consolidation (Brown et al. 2020).

B. In present times, nurses have a number of Duties to fulfil in providing care from a clinical standpoint. As per the directives of the NMC, nurses are expected to engage in a number of roles exceeding that of nursing into domains like educating, researching, and leading. These activities require a high understanding of the key values, professional behavior patterns, and principles that a nurse must follow.

Nursing is a career built on competent principles and ethical standards, and nursing execution reflects these principles. Generosity, independence, compassionate deliverance of care, integrity, sincerity, and social justice are all core nursing embodiments (Peate, 2019). The crucial ethical principles are universally held by the worldwide population, and they reflect the nursing profession's human and sacred essence. The values in patient care are elicited by the community's prominent cultural, civil, financial, and spiritual contexts, rendering it essential to observe such values in each nation (Dubree et al. 2017). Through instruments like self-awareness, self-leadership, self-observation, and accountability, it is possible to follow the aforementioned values in an appropriate manner.

The principles that guide a nurse’s activities are based on two schools of thoughts, namely, utilitarianism and deontology. In nursing, beliefs based on righteousness, goodwill, convalescence, responsibility, loyalty, liberty, infidelity, and veracity must be followed (Mullen, 2019). Nurses must provide care in a non-discriminate and just manner that prioritises caregiving rather than the identity of the individual. Beneficence and goodwill must be on the basis that no intentional or unintentional harm may be caused to the patient and care must be provided in a moral and good manner (Roulston and Davies, 2020). Care must also be provided in a responsible manner which calls forth the need to be accountable for any actions that a nurse incurs. No matter what the consequences may be, they need to be legally binding to take the fall for any misgivings that occur on their part (Tsyrulnik et al. 2018). Nurses must also be loyal to their profession and not take any immoral path and must exhibit an infidele demeanour. The most essential principle is to be transparent and show veracity to the patient by prioritising the truth over fake consolidation.

These principles can help me as a nurse or a nursing student to understand a number of aspects.

Such principles can help me reflect on my practise and gain expertise as a professional, and comprehend what patients, associates, kin, and carers can anticipate from nursing.

These can also help me induce discussions with my colleagues or my instructor, mentor, or fellow learners about the elements of behaviour, temperament, and methods that underpin decent nursing care

These principles can also help me Deduce how to associate to a trust's bundle of nursing values to see where the beliefs are being practised inside my current organisation and to accentuate circumstances where I speculate they are not being followed.

Professional behaviour in nursing is guided by a number of approaches that make it easier for a nurse to understand what responsibility comes with the job of providing care to a patient. It is essential to prioritise the needs and wishes of the patients by putting them first and treating them with empathy. Professionalism also comes with conducting communication effectively without misgivings in delivering messages or inappropriate Communication. As healthcare is a multifaceted profession, it is considered apt and professional to enable actively collaborating with other professionals for the best interests of the patients (McPhersonb ans Wendler, 2020). It is also considered necessary to keep a positive and assertive mindset where negative thoughts are not presented in front of patients or their families to maintain professional behaviour. Providing high quality care irrespective of any personal issue is also considered a pillar of behaving professionally (Mullen, 2019). Finally, being transparent and accountable are the attributes that make a nurse professional in any healthcare setting.

C. After reviewing what is expected of the nursing profession, it is also significant to contemplate how these expectations transition into accountability. Nursing responsibilities can be characterized as a set of policies or methods to be executed to improve the detailed professional practice of nursing (Peate, 2019). The duties I have as a nurse are distinct and fall within the four main areas of the NMC Code. However, nurses' special responsibilities towards patients, their co-workers, their profession and their organization must be examined thoroughly. The following sections will focus on some of the primary responsibilities of nurses in all health care settings.

Accountability

Accountability is defined as a state of acknowledging responsibility for one's actions, which is crucial for both patient care and professionalism in nursing (Brown et al. 2020). Only when a nurse meets three criteria: the ability to implement an intervention activity, taking responsibility for the action, and having the authority to execute the action, is a nurse held liable (Ryan, 2018). A nurse must be answerable to himself or herself, as well as colleagues, professional bodies, and criminal or civil tribunals, to different degrees. Nurses must be accountable for their actions, even when finishing minor duties because errors in practice can have far-reaching aftermaths.

Delegation

Task delegation is a vital aspect of managing a heavy workload and ensuring that patient care is performed on time and effectively. Nurses have an obligation to provide high-quality care to patients, thus adequate delegation of responsibilities to minor colleagues or other healthcare providers is essential (Boyer et al. 2018). Nurses should be held responsible for practicing delegation judgments and be prepared to rationalize the individual's ability for the work based on laws, policies, and understanding (Dubree et al. 2017). When delegating, the individual's abilities should be carefully examined, and assistance should be furnished as required. Delegating work to an inexperienced person is not acceptable and makes the delegator answerable for his actions.

Leadership

Nurses must be able to display leadership abilities in order to operate successfully in a multidisciplinary team. Nursing leadership is a notion that defines how nurses influence people to work toward a common objective. Nurses can lead in a variety of ways, including advocating for the patient's point of view, leading the multidisciplinary team, and mentoring junior staff members (Brendley, 2018). Nurses must take the mast of their profession and provide oversight in patient care, including the provision of moral and experienced practice, regardless of how leadership is executed (Ryan et al. 2019). When it comes to areas outside of patient care, such as the nursing profession's professional regulation and the research setting, nursing leadership is regarded as a critical characteristic. Nurses should have the capacity to govern their own profession by contributing in policy formulation and providing outstanding oversight to further nurses. Powerful leadership can assist researchers in concentrating their outcomes on particular clinical situations or regions where they are performing studies. Leadership is also ascertained through schooling other components of personnel and motivating the ward's enactment of strategies and protocols (Boney, 2020). As a result, nurses should be able to communicate effectively with others, protect their beliefs, and oversee the path of clinical practice.

Multidisciplinary approaches

Supervising a patient is a tough duty that frequently necessitates the participation of multiple healthcare professionals. Nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, and other healthcare professionals collaborate to address the needs of patients who have complicated requirements. This is recognized as interdisciplinary working, and it is a fundamental aspect of alliance that underlies the National Health Service's standards (Brown et al. 2020). The prospects of a patient's healing are boosted when the needs of the patient are dealt with collaboratively and cooperatively. Multidisciplinary teams have been verified to be effective in managing patients, thus nurses have a professional commitment to work together effectively with different health professionals while providing care (Philips et al. 2020). This entails recognising the necessity for information from distinct professions, effectively disseminating information with other doctors, and together agreeing on the patient's care procedures. In conclusion, multidisciplinary alliance is a crucial ethical and professional responsibility for nurses.

D. After reviewing what is expected of the nursing profession, it is also significant to contemplate how these expectations transition into accountability. Nursing responsibilities can be characterized as a set of policies or methods to be executed to improve the detailed professional practice of nursing. The duties I have as a nurse are distinct and fall within the four main areas of the NMC Code. However, nurses' special responsibilities towards patients, their co-workers, their profession and their organization must be examined thoroughly. The following sections will focus on some of the primary responsibilities of nurses in all health care settings. In nursing, several criteria guide the conducting of activities by a nurse. They may be values, principles, professional behaviour, accountability, responsibility, or ethical Considerations (Glasper, 2017). It is necessary to act in a manner which is guided by self awareness and self leadership so that high quality care can be provided to a patient. Nursing is governed by a number of principles and values based on ethical notions that must be followed in order to ensure that the patient gets the best care available. However, in my course to becoming a nurse I must keep in mind that I am held accountable for all of my actions and decisions regarding a patient’s care. The level of responsibility that comes with being a nurse and providing care to a patient is huge and as a nurse, it is necessary for me to understand the severity of my actions and their aftermath. As a nurse spends the highest amounts of time with a patient, I must create an effective level of self awareness in order to cultivate a positive relationship with the patient and provide care in the most natural and generous way possible.

SMART GOALS

I will spend at least an extra five minutes connecting with the patients on the unit and their family members to know them as people, not just as patients or a room number. I try to see at least three to four patients per day. By the end of the year I want to attend three half-day workshops geared towards my current specialty, another field suggested by my manager and one field I know nothing about. Following the weekly timetabling meeting I will document my additional tasks so that I can effectively divide up my time to manage all my duties. This will help me to improve my time management and delegate or ask for help whenever the ward becomes too busy.

Recommendations

In nursing, several criteria guide the conducting of activities by a nurse. They may be values, principles, professional behaviour, accountability, responsibility, or ethical Considerations. It is necessary to act in a manner which is guided by self awareness and self leadership so that high quality care can be provided to a patient. Nursing is governed by a number of principles and values based on ethical notions that must be followed in order to ensure that the patient gets the best care available. However, in my course to becoming a nurse I must keep in mind that I am held accountable for all of my actions and decisions regarding a patient’s care. The level of responsibility that comes with being a nurse and providing care to a patient is huge and as a nurse, it is necessary for me to understand the severity of my actions and their aftermath. As a nurse spends the highest amounts of time with a patient, I must create an effective level of self awareness in order to cultivate a positive relationship with the patient and provide care in the most natural and generous way possible (Dubree et al. 2017). Self awareness is an essential part of nursing activities. The essentiality of certain values, principles, and professional behavioural patterns is extremely high for a person aiming to work as a nursing associate. In this reflective essay, an effort has been made to draw out such attributes and analyse them from the nursing associate practice and team working perspectives.

Conclusion

Furthermore, in nursing practices, a proper understanding of accountability and responsibility are also needed to ensure that the work is done in a transparent manner in order to protect the interests of the patients. As a person aiming for such a job, I have always tried to understand the viability of such concepts in the nursing practice in order to harbour a deep understanding of what and how it is to be done. In the following essay, I have begun by providing a context in which I have included the descriptions of a number of basic terms which may hold relevance from the viewpoint of the topic at hand. Following is the discussion which contains a thorough analysis on the effect of values, principles, and behavioural understanding in nursing associate practice and the importance of responsibility and accountability in being a nurse associate. Finally, through a proper conclusion, the topic has been drawn to a close. It is derived that as nurses spend the most amount of time with a patient, it is highly necessary for them to harbour a deep understanding of themselves in order to promote having a positive relation with the patient.

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