534471
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414534471Nursing Science QuarterlyNursing Science QuarterlyKarnick / Practice Applications
Practice Applications Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(3) 211–212 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414534471 nsq.sagepub.com
What Kind of Nurse Are You? Paula M. Karnick, RN; PhD1
Abstract Once again the importance of nursing theory in practice comes to the forefront. By examining one’s personal and professional beliefs in how one cares for people, it becomes apparent that nursing theory does guide nursing practice. The moral and ethical judgments one makes before or while caring for a person may reveal that personal bias can detract from the quality of care. Keywords moral and ethical care, nursing, nursing theory A 54-year old man is admitted to your unit for the third time in as many months. His admitting diagnosis is alcohol abuse. Everyone on the unit is familiar with this person. He is unkempt and verbally abusive to the nurses caring for him. Another person is admitted to the unit that evening, a 27-year old young woman with a diagnosis of stage four breast cancer, terminally ill with intractable pain. She has an eightmonth old baby at home and her husband is fraught with anguish and grief. Do you think each of these people will be given the same ethical, moral, quality care? Can nurses provide the same standard of care to every person, indiscriminately, every time? How are nurses prepared academically to provide care and attend to people in a manner that is fair to every person? I challenge the readers of this column to ponder whether or not they meet each individual person’s needs to the best of their ability. Nurses are human and have good days and bad days. Nurses have issues too. What knowledge base do nurses draw upon to provide care and excellence? Are nurses judgmental of people in their care? Can this judgment affect care? If so, what does that verdict reveal about the profession, the nurses, and the quality of care? I would suggest that nurses examine their personal belief system. What does nursing mean? What drew you to the profession of nursing? What are your convictions about humankind? Nursing is a profession like no other. The intimate relationships built between nurses and people, no matter how brief, should be one of trust and commitment to do the best for the person. It is a daunting task and arduous to care for people in challenging circumstances. The essence of applying theory to practice has the potential to guide nurses to do the best for people every time, all of the time. The concern is that if nurse educators are not exposing students to nursing theory, what guides their personal practice? This circular argument is one which is too familiar
to nurses. In the nursing profession important questions are never fully answered, they merely fade away while some other diverting questions are introduced to prevent the tangible question from being answered thus distracting us from our goals. In reality does not it appear true that other professions anticipate and expect the passivity of nursing? Do what you are told. Beware of thinking for yourself; just follow a protocol of patriarchal and administrative practices long ingrained in the culture of healthcare. It is my belief that in response to these long-standing practices nurse theorists arrived on the scene. These strong, resilient, visionary people (mostly women) refused to settle for the way in which things were done. With a deep commitment to human beings and the discipline of nursing from Nightingale to the present, nurse theorists have been the foundational leverage the profession needs to continue to care for people the right way, the ethical way, every time. They saw unfairness, suffering, and impracticality in care and spent their lives attempting to serve people, support nurses, and sustain the profession. Nursing theory informs and guides practice. The basis of nursing theory resoundingly views people from a moral and ethical stance. This is the crux of care. It is the core of being with others in a manner that listens to people’s stories. Many theorists working under the premise that fair and equitable care is the basis for the profession were often criticized by other nurses. Some nurses undervalued and misunderstood those who embrace nursing theory. Nursing theory, which should be taken and utilized in practice is 1
Director of the Institute of Nursing Education, Emergency Nurses Association, Desplaines, IL Contributing Editor: Paula M. Karnick, RN, PhD, Director, Institute of Nursing Education, Emergency Nurses Association, DesPlaines, IL. Email: [email protected]
212 not valued, especially in the boardroom so it has virtually been dismissed. It was first dismissed by hospitals and more recently by universities. This dismissal has left nursing in the hands of administrators and financial officers whose agenda reveals that profit, not people are the bottom line. This is a clarion call for nurses to question themselves. What do you believe? What is your model of care? Is it to get the person in and out of the setting? Do nurses attend to persons in a fair and compassionate manner? How do you care for persons in your care? When the 54-year old man with alcoholism comes to your unit for the third time in three months, what is your reaction? What informs your practice?
Nursing Science Quarterly 27(3) Before the diatribe regarding nursing theory in practice does die, perhaps one should consider how care is given to patients at every organization, at every interaction, by every nurse. Is it ethical, moral, and without judgment? Is it theory based? Is it the kind of care you want to receive? Start here. Start now. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this column.
Funding The author received no financial support for the authorship and/or publication of this column.
Copyright of Nursing Science Quarterly is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414534471Nursing Science QuarterlyNursing Science QuarterlyKarnick / Practice Applications
Practice Applications Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(3) 211–212 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414534471 nsq.sagepub.com
What Kind of Nurse Are You? Paula M. Karnick, RN; PhD1
Abstract Once again the importance of nursing theory in practice comes to the forefront. By examining one’s personal and professional beliefs in how one cares for people, it becomes apparent that nursing theory does guide nursing practice. The moral and ethical judgments one makes before or while caring for a person may reveal that personal bias can detract from the quality of care. Keywords moral and ethical care, nursing, nursing theory A 54-year old man is admitted to your unit for the third time in as many months. His admitting diagnosis is alcohol abuse. Everyone on the unit is familiar with this person. He is unkempt and verbally abusive to the nurses caring for him. Another person is admitted to the unit that evening, a 27-year old young woman with a diagnosis of stage four breast cancer, terminally ill with intractable pain. She has an eightmonth old baby at home and her husband is fraught with anguish and grief. Do you think each of these people will be given the same ethical, moral, quality care? Can nurses provide the same standard of care to every person, indiscriminately, every time? How are nurses prepared academically to provide care and attend to people in a manner that is fair to every person? I challenge the readers of this column to ponder whether or not they meet each individual person’s needs to the best of their ability. Nurses are human and have good days and bad days. Nurses have issues too. What knowledge base do nurses draw upon to provide care and excellence? Are nurses judgmental of people in their care? Can this judgment affect care? If so, what does that verdict reveal about the profession, the nurses, and the quality of care? I would suggest that nurses examine their personal belief system. What does nursing mean? What drew you to the profession of nursing? What are your convictions about humankind? Nursing is a profession like no other. The intimate relationships built between nurses and people, no matter how brief, should be one of trust and commitment to do the best for the person. It is a daunting task and arduous to care for people in challenging circumstances. The essence of applying theory to practice has the potential to guide nurses to do the best for people every time, all of the time. The concern is that if nurse educators are not exposing students to nursing theory, what guides their personal practice? This circular argument is one which is too familiar
to nurses. In the nursing profession important questions are never fully answered, they merely fade away while some other diverting questions are introduced to prevent the tangible question from being answered thus distracting us from our goals. In reality does not it appear true that other professions anticipate and expect the passivity of nursing? Do what you are told. Beware of thinking for yourself; just follow a protocol of patriarchal and administrative practices long ingrained in the culture of healthcare. It is my belief that in response to these long-standing practices nurse theorists arrived on the scene. These strong, resilient, visionary people (mostly women) refused to settle for the way in which things were done. With a deep commitment to human beings and the discipline of nursing from Nightingale to the present, nurse theorists have been the foundational leverage the profession needs to continue to care for people the right way, the ethical way, every time. They saw unfairness, suffering, and impracticality in care and spent their lives attempting to serve people, support nurses, and sustain the profession. Nursing theory informs and guides practice. The basis of nursing theory resoundingly views people from a moral and ethical stance. This is the crux of care. It is the core of being with others in a manner that listens to people’s stories. Many theorists working under the premise that fair and equitable care is the basis for the profession were often criticized by other nurses. Some nurses undervalued and misunderstood those who embrace nursing theory. Nursing theory, which should be taken and utilized in practice is 1
Director of the Institute of Nursing Education, Emergency Nurses Association, Desplaines, IL Contributing Editor: Paula M. Karnick, RN, PhD, Director, Institute of Nursing Education, Emergency Nurses Association, DesPlaines, IL. Email: [email protected]
212 not valued, especially in the boardroom so it has virtually been dismissed. It was first dismissed by hospitals and more recently by universities. This dismissal has left nursing in the hands of administrators and financial officers whose agenda reveals that profit, not people are the bottom line. This is a clarion call for nurses to question themselves. What do you believe? What is your model of care? Is it to get the person in and out of the setting? Do nurses attend to persons in a fair and compassionate manner? How do you care for persons in your care? When the 54-year old man with alcoholism comes to your unit for the third time in three months, what is your reaction? What informs your practice?
Nursing Science Quarterly 27(3) Before the diatribe regarding nursing theory in practice does die, perhaps one should consider how care is given to patients at every organization, at every interaction, by every nurse. Is it ethical, moral, and without judgment? Is it theory based? Is it the kind of care you want to receive? Start here. Start now. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this column.
Funding The author received no financial support for the authorship and/or publication of this column.
Copyright of Nursing Science Quarterly is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
