Nurses play a very important role in patient healthcare in offices, clinics, hospitals and home healthcare. Along with compassion for your patients, you need a high level of professionalism and ethics to thrive as a registered nurse. The required associate or bachelor's of nursing degree you earn typically includes discussion of professional and ethical standards you face.
Problem-Solving
A key facet of nursing professionalism centers on the primary goal of delivering great care to patients. Top professionals are problem-solvers. They don't just follow directives and step-by-step tutorials on how to administer tests and bandage wounds. Professional nurses can think critically and often swiftly to help a patient with basic care needs. In a hospital, for instance, a nurse must quickly recognize when a patient is in distress or pain, take action or alert doctors of the situation.
Treatment
The process of giving treatment to patients is also an important professional realm. Once the nurse or a doctor assess the care needs for a patient, the nurse may step in to provide basic care and advise on coping strategies. In pediatrics, a nurse may advise parents on how to properly put an infant to bed to avoid sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Sound, knowledgeable and ethical advise is key to professional nursing. Nurses help patients with alternative strategies when original treatments or prescriptions don't work. A friendly attitude and professional appearance are also important in professional nursing care.
Collaboration
Nurses are a part of a broader medical team that assess and treat patients in general or emergent care settings. Effective communication, a team attitude and organization are all professional qualities essentially in participating in a collaborative effort. Professional nurses show up on time, take detailed notes, supervise aides and assistants, share all critical information with doctors, and adhere to legal and ethical standards of their work.
Response
Nurses also play a critical role in responding to patient inquiries. In a doctor's office, nurses often field calls from patients while the doctor is busy. She may answer simple questions or give advise in less critical situations. Other times, she checks with the doctor about a prescription request or care need. Professional nurses consider the importance of the patient's need, the timeliness of a response, and the ethical significance of giving advise over the phone.
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Neil Kokemuller has been an active business, finance and education writer and content media website developer since 2007. He has been a college marketing professor since 2004. Kokemuller has additional professional experience in marketing, retail and small business. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University.