Module 1

• Profession


  A calling or vocation requiring an intensive and specialized education in the field of science or the liberal arts and has a specialized training
• Other definitions of profession


  • Any undertaking in which a person, whom for a fee or free, provides a distinctive service using scientific and specialized body of knowledge and skills
  • A calling or vocation or undertaking in which its members should have acquired specific and distinct values, knowledge, training or by experience so that they may competently utilize it in the service of others
• Criteria of a profession


  • Must have developed a scientific technique which is the result of tested experience
  • Must require the exercise of discretion and judgment as to time and manner of the performance of duty
  • Must have a group of consciousness designed to extend scientific knowledge in technical language
  • Must have sufficient self-impelling power to retain its members throughout life
  • Must recognize its obligations to society by insisting that its members live up to an established code of ethics
  • Applies its body of knowledge in practical services that are vital to human welfare
  • Constantly enlarges the body of knowledge it uses and subsequently imposes on its members a lifelong obligation to remain current
  • Functions autonomously (with authority) in the formulation of professional policy and in monitoring its practice and practitioners
• Qualities of a profession


  • Utilizes in its practice a well-defined and well-organized body of knowledge that is intellectual in nature
  • Has a clear standard of educational preparation for entry into practice
  • Is distinguished by the presence of specific culture, norms, and other values that are common among its members
  • Entrusts the education of its practitioners to institutions of higher education
  • Applies its body of knowledge in practical services which are vital to human and social welfare
  • Functions autonomously in the formulation of professional policy and in the control of professional activity
  • Attracts individuals of intellectual and personal qualities who exalt service above the personal gain
  • Strives to compensate its practitioners by providing freedom to act on opportunity for continuous professional growth, and economic security
  • Constantly enlarges the body of knowledge it uses, and improves its techniques of education and service by the use of scientific method
• Nursing as a profession

  An occupation or vocation with a unique body of knowledge, attitude and skills acquired through advanced training and experience in order to provide specialized services and various care for others
• Characteristics of nursing as a profession


  • Autonomy and altruism
  • Adhere to a common code of ethics
  • Professional relationship with patients and other healthcare team members
  • Ethical
  • Service oriented
  • Caring profession
  • Accountability
  • Competence
  • Mastery of craft
• Mastery of craft


  Requires well-defined skills continuously and exclusively performed
• Competence


  Possession of required skills, knowledge and capacity in providing safe care to patients, acquired through theoretical and related learning in school and hospital exposures, applied at all times when practicing the profession
• Qualifications and abilities of a professional nurse

  • Professional preparation: have a license to practice nursing, have a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, be physically and mentally fit
  • Personal qualities and professional proficiencies: interest and willingness to work and learn, warm personality and concern for people, resourcefulness and creativity, well-balanced emotional condition, capacity and ability to work cooperatively, initiative to improve self and service, competence in using nursing process, skill in decision-making, communicating, relating with others, and being research oriented, active participation in issues confronting nursing
• Roles and responsibilities of a professional nurse

  • Care provider: assists client physically and psychologically, preserves client's dignity
  • Communicator: identifies client problems and communicates to healthcare team
  • Teacher: helps client learn about health and healthcare procedures
  • Counselor: helps client cope with psychological/social problems, promote personal growth
  • Client advocate: protects client and promotes their best interests
  • Change agent: initiates changes and assists client in modifying behavior/lifestyle
  • Leader: helps client make decisions and achieve goals
  • Case manager: works with healthcare team to measure effectiveness of care plan, monitor outcomes, give directions, delegate nursing activities, evaluate performance
  • Researcher: participates in scientific investigation, uses research findings in practice
• Expanded nursing roles


  • Nurse practitioner
  • Nurse specialist
  • Nurse anesthetist
  • Nurse midwife
  • Nurse researcher
  • Nurse administrator
  • Nurse educator
  • Nurse entrepreneur
• Nursing


  A body of knowledge, attitude and skills acquired through advanced training and experience in order to provide specialized services and various care for others
• Nursing is a profession
• Characteristics of a profession as applied to nursing practice

  • Autonomy & Altruism
  • Adhere to a Common Code of Ethics
  • Professional Relationship with Patient and Other Members of Health Care Team
  • Ethical
  • Service Oriented
  • Caring Profession
  • Accountability
  • Competence
  • Mastery of Craft
• Competence


  Refers to the possession of required skills, knowledge and capacity in providing safe care to patients. These skills are acquired through theoretical and related learning in school and hospital exposures. It should be applied at all times when a nurse is actively practicing his profession.
• Accountability


  Being liable for any resulting acts or conduct based on his professional decisions implemented, committed or performed
• Ethical


  Being equipped with the morality of human conduct, values and standards. It is the rightness and the wrongfulness of human action
• Caring Profession


  Nursing requires diligent efforts in caring for any client, both sick and well. It is the only profession wherein, monetary consideration is not the primary reason in providing care, but most of all, service to humanity. Nurses are supposed to have a truly caring attitude for all of her clients regardless of their economic and social status
• Service Oriented


  The main goal of professional nursing practice is to deliver optimum level of health for all, both sick and well regardless whether capable of payment or an indigent, as the essence of the phrase that "nursing is service" to others
• Professional Relationship


  Nurses must have a patient centered behavior. Such behavior is focused on solving patient's assessed problems and needs. Care should be holistic and professional nurses must provide disciplined care through active and continuous collaboration with other members of the health care team
• Autonomy and Altruism


  Profession grants authority and independence to nurse practitioners to perform specific professional functions. Although our profession grants autonomy, such must still be regulated and should adhere with the existing nursing laws, Code of Ethics, policies and guidelines. Failure of the nurse to comply would expose her to possible professional liabilities. It is also the duty of a nurse to be ever mindful of the conduct of his colleagues and other members of the health care team. She has the responsibility to look at the conduct and demeanor of other health providers to see to it that tasks are properly carried out and patients are properly protected.
• 11 Key Responsibilities of a Nurse

  • Nursing Process
  • Safe & Quality Nursing Care
  • Health Education
  • Legal Responsibility
  • Quality Improvement
  • Research
  • Record Management
  • Communication
  • Collaboration & Team Work
  • Management of Resources & Environment
  • Personal & Professional Development
• A person shall be deemed practicing nursing when he/ she singly or in collaboration with another, initiates and performs nursing services to individuals, families, and communities in any health care setting
• Scope of Nursing Practice

  • Promoting Health & Wellness
  • Preventing illness
  • Restoring Health
  • Caring for the Dying
• Wellness


  A process that engages in activities and behaviors that enhance quality of life and maximize personal potential
• Illness Prevention


  The goal of illness prevention programs is to maintain optimal health by preventing disease
• Restoring Health


  Focuses on the ill client, and it extends from early detection of disease through helping the client during the recovery period. Nurses' activities include providing direct care to the ill person, performing diagnostic and assessment procedures, consulting with other health care professionals about client problems, teaching clients about recovery activities, rehabilitating clients to their optimal functional level following physical or mental illness, injury or chemical addiction
• Caring for the Dying

  Involves comforting and caring for people of all ages who are dying. Includes helping clients live as comfortably as possible until death and helping support persons cope with death. Nurses carrying out these activities work in homes, hospitals, and extended care facilities, like hospices, are specifically designed for this purpose.
• Fields of Nursing


  • Hospital or Institutional Nursing
  • Public Health Nursing or Community Health Nursing
  • Private Duty or Special Duty Nursing
  • Industrial or Occupational Health Nursing
  • Nursing Education
  • Military Nursing
  • School Nursing
  • Clinical Nursing
  • Independent Nursing Practice
• Hospital or Institutional Nursing


  Nursing in hospitals and related health facilities such as extended care facilities, nursing homes, and neighborhood clinics, comprises all of the basic components of comprehensive patient care and family health
• Public Health Nursing or Community Health Nursing

  Refers to the practice of nursing in the local, national, and city health departments which include health centers and public schools. It is community health nursing in the public sector
• Private Duty or Special Duty Nursing

  The nurse is self employed and provides professional nursing services to clients/ patients and their families. While some independent nursing practitioners set up their clinics near a hospital (as in the case of the Psychiatric Nursing Specialists, Inc.), most of them are community- based.
• Industrial or Occupational Health Nursing


  Is the specialty practice that provides and delivers healthcare services to workers. The practice focuses on promotion, protection, and supervision of workers' health within the context of safe and healthy work environment
• Nursing Education


  Teachers in the Nursing education programs
• Military Nursing


  The nurse corps. The military nurse works at different health settings with various levels of responsibilities
• School Nursing


  The school nurse is for the school's activities in the areas of health service, health education, and environmental health, and safety
• Clinical Nursing


  Clinic nursing requires that a nurse possess general skills. The nurse acts as a receptionist. Answers phone, does the billing, takes x- rays, and ECGs, changes dressings, gives injections, and assists in physical examination.
• Independent Nursing Practice


  A private duty nurse is a registered nurse who undertakes to give comprehensive nursing care to a client on a one-to-one ratio. She/ he is an independent contractor