The State of the Nursing Profession
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assignment “Key Questions”
Capstone Project
Key Questions
Directions: Submit a minimum of 2-3 pages APA format with a minimum of 3 references
Answer the following questions about your profession:
- Where are we?
- Where do we need and want to be?
- What is the best way to get there?
- How do we evaluate our progress?
SAMPLE ANSWER
The State of the Nursing Profession
As it has always been, the nursing profession is highly competitive. There is a growing need for more nurse practitioners day-in-day-out. The growing global population requires more nursing personnel to provide service to them. Hospitals are also being established all over the world creating job opportunities for nurses. The issue of insufficiency of health care services has been a concern in most countries. As most of these countries advance economically, they are able to improve the sector by the construction of hospitals of different categories to ensure that the basic need is accessed by all citizens. The need to equip the hospitals with health care professionals especially nurse practitioners and doctors has been prioritized by most present governments. Generally, the profession is at a good condition and there are unlimited job opportunities for nurses. Unlike several other professions, nursing allows graduates to practice in different environments all over the world, offering them a wide range of market. However, as De Milt, Fitzpatrick and McNulty noted, some practitioners experience discomforts in their job, just as they do experience satisfactions. Particularly, a good population of the practitioners is dissatisfied with the lack of collegiality in the profession, insignificance of intra-practice partnerships as well as the questionable growth of the profession, (DE MILT, FITZPATRICK, & McNULTY, 2011, pg. 87).As a result of such occurrences; some nurses consider the working environment unfavorable.
Nurses need to gain confidence with their profession. Though nurses are still needed in abundance, securing employment has been a challenge to some of them. National Students Nurses Association (NSNA) noted that new graduates in nursing face unemployment due to flooding of the registered nurses field by old experienced nurses (NSNA, 2012, Pg. 38). It is the wish of every nurse to get employed. It would be a disappointment, if after undergoing the intensive training in nursing, one would still have to take a long while to secure a job.Usually, most firms require experienced nurses, which is probably right for them. The question now comes in: how and where should the new nurses earn experience if they are not employed in the first place?
NSNA advised on the ways that would enable fresh young nurses overcome unemployment. New nurses are advised to first enroll as Certified Nursing Assistants (CAN) as a means of introducing themselves into the field where they would concurrently gain experience (NSNA, 2012, Pg. 58). While new nurses are not discouraged, they are advised that experience is crucial considering the nature of the profession. It is therefore an important thing to seek for them to become competitive. Nursing graduates are also advised to advance their education while still working as CNAs. Those with diplomas and associate degrees are advised to pursue RN (Registered Nurse), while those with RN are advised to pursue masters programs (NSNA, 2012, Pg. 38).
To improve the working environment for nurses, American Nurses Association (ANA) offered a guideline that constituted of six mechanisms. The six were ability to communicate in a skilled manner, team work orientation in service provision, making of sound and effective decisions, adequacy of staff, mutual recognition among nurses and pursuit of an authentic leadership style (ANA , 2010, Pg. 14).
Progress Evaluation
Achievements in nursing would be translated in the satisfaction seen among members of the profession. The more the unaddressed challenges are, the high the likelihood of nurses to feel insecure. The ease with which nursing graduates get employed is also likely to relate directly with achievements of the entire profession. If proposed methods to improve the status of the profession are implemented, a spirit of collegiality would be felt in the interactions among nurses. Generally, progress would be evaluated by the extent to which confidence in the profession is maintained.
Bibliography
ANA. (2010). Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. Maryland, MD: Silver Spring
DE MILT, D. G., FITZPATRICK, J. J., &McNULTY, R. (2011).Nurse Practitioners’ Job Satisfaction and Intent to Leave Current Positions, the Nursing Profession, and the Nurse Practitioner Role as a Direct Care Provider. NCBI, 23(1):42-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7599.2010.00570.x.
NSNA.(2012). Realities of the Current Job Market. Retrieved May 8, 2015 from http://www.nsna.org/Portals/0/Skins/NSNA/pdf/RealitiesOfTheCurrentJobMarket.pdf
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