My Thoughts About Practice Nursing

I am a recent graduate registered nurse (RN). I work in a hospital not as a direct care giver, but in a position where I utilize my knowledge in nursing to advocate for all patients to receive timely care during their inpatient stay and for follow up services after discharge. I ensure that they are safe in the hospital and in the community. This is the cardinal rule of nursing (Sullivan, 2004). I do not see nursing as just a career like any other; I see it as a critical practice that directly affects the lives of people, which, in turn, indirectly affects the economic health of nations.

Nursing is a profession that ensures that people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and classes, etc., are healthy medically, psychologically, and socially. Without these types of health, the full potential of productivity across levels and sectors of work, play, education, and many more cannot be realized. Therefore, the roles of a nurse in achieving these medical, social, psychological, and economic goals include the following:

• Developing a care plan appropriate for each patient;

• Properly assessing and managing every patient with appropriate intervention;

• Take vital signs, recognize and address abnormalities;

• Safe and appropriate admission and discharge of patients;

• Accurate documentation; and

• Performance of basic life support, among others.

When it comes to nursing, it really doesn’t matter the specialty the nurse chooses; the standard skills learned in nursing school will be used in just about every healthcare setting. Then the big question arises: Why do people practice nursing? People may have different views about this. However, nursing is usually all about the patient. For me, this is the career that helps me to save lives, bring happiness to individuals and their families, and comfort those in need. Dedicated nurses make a positive impact on people’s lives across the areas of mental health and aged care to rehabilitation and midwifery. And above all, nursing is a career that is full of challenges; it is nevertheless filled with a lot of opportunities, rewards, and chances to improve the well-being of people from all walks of life.

There are many assumptions that surround the nursing practice. The underlying beliefs first acknowledge that nurses are humans, and nursing is a humanistic approach (Parse, 1992). The quality of the nursing practice is, therefore determined by the thoughts and feelings of nurses towards their patients and clients. This is because nursing, like other careers, is subject to the perception of people and personhood (Swanson, 1993). I, therefore, tend to think that it is not only the nursing environment but also the practices that are influenced by the personality of the nurse determines the type of people he or she manages at home, community health center, or any place of practice.

Hence, to a great extent, the uniqueness of a nurse’s behaviour, thoughts, and feelings towards clients play a significant role in the practices performed by a nurse. As far as the patients are concerned, they influence nursing just as clients in other fields influence the environment of service. The concept of culture, politics, religion, economy, and society, among others, are some of the moderating factors influencing the relationship between a nurse and his or her patients.