Assignment 2

 

 

Important Issues in Nursing: Image, Technology and Diversity

Introduction

Nursing from its inception to the present time has impacted millions of lives and events throughout its history but often it plays a reactionary role to societal changes and dynamics. As it progressed from infancy to maturity the demands of society also influences its adaptability and relevance and thus nursing is in a perpetual state of adjusting and meeting the ever changing needs of society. In its current transition to the twenty first century nursing is encountering a number of challenges and issues that have important implications for its future and relevance to society. Among its most important challenges today are its image, diversity among its ranks and its response to an increasing diverse clientele and the embrace of technology. Although the response of nursing to these arising issues have been encouraging much is yet to be done to overcome the impediments that threaten to negate the gains that so far have been achieved. In particular the image of nursing requires immediate and continuous promotion to counter some of the negative portrayals of the profession.

Nursing and its image

 The shaping and portrayal of the image of nursing has been generally ignored by nursing itself and has been largely left to others such as the media and Hollywood. Their portrayal of nurses over the years have been less than favorable depicting nurses as subservient to doctors, as sex symbols, compassionate but with little or no knowledge, or as cruel, intolerant and insensitive (Darbyshire & Gordon, 2005, p. 74-83). Frequently from nursing the responses have been ad hoc at best with episodes of outrage yet not much of a unified front has been presented to combat these painful and often derogatory images. Consequently the understanding of who nurses are and what they do in the public’s mind has been done by others which resulted in some significant damage to the image of nursing and this has important implications for its practice into the twenty first century.

Indeed “the image of nursing is important. Public image creates a framework by which others approach nursing as a profession, as well as each nurse individually. Image influences patient safety, resource allocation, public policy, recruitment into the profession, and other issues that have far- reaching consequences” (Kearns, 2009). The effect of the image of nursing and how it is viewed is essential for the achievement of goals and objectives. A positive professional image plays an important role in influencing decisions relating to the allocation of resources. An image that conveys professionalism, clear articulation of roles and purpose assist in influencing the movement of resources to nursing that fund nursing research and training, scholarships and equipment and staffing (Kearns, 2009).

Also a positive image gives nurses’ opinions significance and in this regard can influence policy makers to enact legislation that affects the public. This would put nursing in a unique position to educate legislators interested in understanding issues affecting healthcare. Further nursing would be a far more respected profession and with this high standing would have significant leverage in influencing policies in professional associations, task forces and commissions. A positive image will also inspire new entrants to the profession, augmenting recruitment efforts and educating the general public about the rigors of nursing education and practice (Kearns, 2009).

A favorable view of nursing in the eyes of the public fosters relationships of trust in the work setting. Understanding the role of the nurse and experiencing those roles in actual reality gives clients confidence that they have someone competent and reliable directing their care. Also interdisciplinary relationships that result from professional respect are another effect of a favorable image. Professional respect is an essential component in an interdisciplinary environment where nurses interact with other professionals in the coordination of care of clients. It facilitates positive communication and inspires the confidence of others that nurses are competent professionals (Kearns, 2009). Protecting the image of nurses is at the very core of nursing itself and it should be the responsibility of every nurse working in unison to be the standard bearer of the profession and going forward should be a priority from an organizational perspective. Among the other challenges facing nursing is that of diversity within its membership.

Diversity in nursing

The increasing diversity of the population of the United States has had important implications for nursing and continues to do so as minority population numbers increase and essentially result in a nation of diverse ethnic populations requiring innovative nursing solutions to meet its healthcare needs. Not only are solutions required for the clientele but also within the profession itself that is still not reflective of the changing demographic of the country. For nursing, continuing relevance to society and its healthcare needs means embracing diversity in nursing at all levels. Minority nurses represented in 2008, 16.8% of the total workforce of nurses, while men represented 6.2%. In nursing faculties of AACN member schools according to 2010 data 12.6% of full time faculty were from minority groups (American Association of college of nurses, 2011). A third of the population constitutes minorities and is increasing every year yet the nursing work force and faculties across the country are lacking in diversity and this has important implications for the future and relevance of nursing and its practice.

Although nursing has responded to the current challenges presented by diversity of the clientele it serves by initiating programs that attempts to re-educate practicing members and introducing new entrants to cultural competence and awareness significant success has been elusive. “The lack of progress is evident in the poor representation of ethnic and cultural minorities in the profession of nursing, the ability to respond to increased nursing care demands, and the need to build coalitions between national, state, and local professional nursing associations and organizations and the ethnic minority and cultural communities”(Lowe & Archibald, 2009, p. 17). Further, with respect to educational institutions “the value of uniformity remains as an important subtext within the discipline, and it is therefore often difficult to see the changes that a more diverse student body demands. It is also difficult for many to envision new ways of tailoring nursing education to accommodate different student needs, and it may be equally difficult for some to even recognize the need to make such changes”(Bednarz, Schim, & Doorenbos, 2010, p. 254).

Overcoming the challenges needed to diversify the nursing education and the workforce to meet the needs of the society, require nurses and healthcare organizations to acknowledge and accept the present realities of a diverse nation. In so doing there will be a better understanding of the benefits and contributions of cultural diversity and reduce potential resentment or resistance and thus counter negative attitudes towards diversity. Embracing diversity allows insight into the health practices of other cultures expands the knowledge base of nurses and fosters an environment that encourages inspiration of new ideas and strategies that can be adopted in the interest of health promotion (Racher & Annis, 2007). In working environments the use of induction as an important tool to facilitate interactions could be employed in the socialization of new hires to the culture of the environment as well as assisting nurses in developing cultural awareness and competence to enhance interactions with others who are of different cultural backgrounds (Hunt, 2007, p. 2255).Nursing also needs a concerted cohesive approach to address diversity issues, bringing major stake holders in the discussion to facilitate implementation of relevant and effective measures that ensures the delivery of healthcare meets the needs of the population.

Technology in nursing

“Hardly a single aspect of healthcare has gone untouched by technology. Yet health care lags behind other industries in collecting and sharing data in standardized ways that ensure the security, privacy, and integrity of that data. This situation is changing rapidly, though, and the key to transforming health care and improving outcomes lies in harnessing the power of health information technology”(Cipriano, 2011, p. 8). Indeed the influence of technology is permeating every aspect of society and nursing inevitably will have to embrace it as some healthcare organizations have already done. To remain relevant and become more efficient in health care delivery nursing and healthcare organizations must shed themselves of burdensome manual intensive activities that impairs healthcare delivery and adopt appropriate technological solutions that will enhance efficiency while meeting the client’s needs (Sipe, Marthinsen, Baker, Harris, & Opperman, 2003, p. 35). Many benefits could be derived from the use and application of technological solutions to tedious, outdated practices in nursing.

The use of technology can contribute to reduction of medication administration errors through the use of hand held devices at the point of care that verifies patient identity and accurately identifying the medication to be administered. Activities that disrupt and keep the nurse from the client bedside such as charting, accessing medications, verification of doctors’ orders, patient admissions and transportation are just a few that targeted technology applications could address. Technologies geared towards communication reduces and shifts some workload and responsibilities such as staffing to staff nurses allowing more time to be devoted to the clients (Sipe et al 2003). Health care organizations that embrace technology and apply them to the practice of nursing are often viewed as employers of choice. Thus implementing technologies created to promote patient safety and improve nursing efficiency contributes to organizations ability to attract and retain qualified professionals. The use of virtual technologies can make available to clients and their families a number of communication resources they would not have had otherwise and it could facilitate easier and more effective communication between and among several disciplines.

Currently for those health care institutions that utilize technologies into nursing they have seen significant beneficial changes that positively affect nursing practice. It has resulted into more efficient operations that reduces the use of time consuming paper work, speed up routine operations such as admissions, discharges, and enhanced communication across disciplines. Medication errors have been reduced due to the use of point of care technologies at the bedside and better monitoring of critically ill clients have dramatically improved (Funk, 2011, p. 286).

In education the application of technology gave rise to the availability of unique and novel teaching strategies to enhance the teaching-learning experience. Faculties across the country rapidly understanding the urgent need to embrace these unique opportunities to be able to facilitate the learning requirements of a student body that has already embraced technology and expects faculties to present material in a manner that reflects the present realities (Axley, 2008, p. 1) . “Information and communication technologies have clearly enhanced the success of many industries and professions that have dared to think outside the box. As leaders, it will be our collective energy and creativity that help us take the necessary steps to transition our overburdened manual processes into a technological foundation that supports the patient, the nurse, and the multidisciplinary team at the point of care ( Sipe et al 2003).

Summary

Undoubtedly nursing is currently facing some daunting challenges that seem to be overwhelming and at times insurmountable. Addressing among others the issues of its image, diversity and the use of technology requires decisive, cohesive and coherent action. Underlying the ability to address these issues is the autonomy that nursing exerts over the profession and the power to influence policies. Without a doubt the presence of nursing is lacking in the corridors of power where decisions are made influencing the course of events affecting the profession and its image. No longer is the image of the “compassionate angel” acceptable but nursing must be seen as an autonomous body that is to be respected, in clear control of itself and is proactively and effectively involved in the care of society.

Petty grievances among us must be put aside, active and relentless pursuit of political influence must be part of any agenda to achieve goals, protecting members and society itself. To not acknowledge the urgency of action that these issues require and what is necessary to address them will allow nursing to continue to languish in an environment of uncertainty, its image continue to be sullied, its voice not taken seriously, and deemed powerless and irrelevant while the power brokers decide its fate.

 

 

 

 

References

Axley, L. (2008, August 8). Integration of technology into nursing curricula: Supporting faculty via the technology fellowship program. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 13(3). doi:10:3912/OJIN-vol13N0O3PPT01

Bednarz, H., Schim, S., & Doorenbos, A. (2010, January 29). Cultural diversity in nursing education: Perils, Pitfalls, and Pearls. Journal of Nursing Education, 49, 253-260. Doi: 10.3928/01484834-20100115-02

Cipriano, P. (2011, November). Transforming care through health information technology. American Nurse Today, 6, 8-10. Retrieved from http:/www.americannursetoday.com

Darbyshire, P., & Gordon, S. (2005). Exploring popular images and representations of Nurses and Nursing (7th Ed.). St. Louis MO: Mosby Elsevier.

Diversity in the workforce and student populations. (2011). Retrieved June 15, 2012, from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/diversityfs.pdf

Funk, M. (2011, July). As health care technology advances: Benefits and risks. American Journal of Critical Care, 20, 285-291. doi:10.4037/ajcc2011810

Hunt, B. (2007). Managing equality and cultural diversity in the health workforce. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2252-2259. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.02157.x

Kearns, S. (2009). Why the public image of nursing is important. Retrieved June 14, 2012, from http:// www.blogs.hcpro.com/nursemanagers

Lowe, J., & Archibald, C. (2009). Cultural Diversity: The Intention of Nursing. Nursing Forum, 44, 11-18. Retrieved from http://www.emfp.org/docvault/publications/John-Lowe-Cultural diversity-The-Intention of nursing.aspx

Racher, F. E., & Annis, R. C. (2007). Respecting culture and honoring diversity in community practice. Journal of Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 21, 255-270.

Sipe, M., Marthinsen, J., Baker, J., Harris, J., & Opperman, J. (2003). Using technology to improve patient care. Nursing Outlook, 51, 35-36. Doi:10.1016/S0029-6554(03)00092-7