Soapbox
The Complexity and Diversity of Nursing: Let's Celebrate!
Kathleen Hudson
Australian Nursing Studies Clinical Course, Educator and Clinical Component Coordinator (per diem), Griffith University, Nathan Campus, QLD
PP: 77
Article Text
Let's face it, the 'caring' profession of nursing is struggling on many fronts. Serious threats loom around every corner – for the profession, for nursing departments, and for individual nurses. These threats include such things as industry and organisational downsizing and restructuring, 'cost reduction' strategies which require nurses to 'do more with less', attrition from the ranks to more financially rewarding employment opportunities, increasing use of unlicensed ancillary personnel, exposure to workplace verbal abuse and physical violence, and increasing use of technological applications which push nurses further away from the bedside.
What will keep nurses in nursing? Or better yet, why should nurses feel like celebrating? Let's look at a few changes in nursing today which are excellent reasons for genuine celebration.
The evolution of nursing roles and responsibilities have created a complex profession, as depicted in figure 1. Along with this increasing complexity, an ever-increasing degree in workforce diversity is occurring. Nurses today come from many socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, bringing a wealth of cultural knowledge and life experience into their care for patients, families, and the community. If we look at the components of the practice-education-research triad, we can identify some interesting activities.
Practice
In practice, nurses in many diverse roles are contributing to the advancement of nursing. Nurse managers are cleverly creating processes and systems of healthcare to support more efficient and effective nursing care. Nursing has embraced the quality movement and now is increasing its use of evidence-based practice initiatives. Nurses are accomplishing a more accountable practice and challenging the 'old guard' that prefer to maintain the status quo, 'that's the way we do it here' mentality.
Bedside clinicians are interacting competently with the better informed health care consumers. Nurses skillfully intertwine the patient and family needs with the care plan and limited resources to ensure realistic and holistic care decisions are made. And, despite having to use increasingly sophisticated technology, nurses still ensure patients feel supported and better able to cope within an intimidating health care environment. Nurses also continue to focus on health care promotion – a goal of nursing all along.
Influenced by the extensive changes in health care, nurses have created successful clinical strategies under extreme pressures. They navigate through various care teams and perspectives to ensure safety, competency and efficiency is maintained. All this occurs with consistent values of sensitivity, empathy, and respectfulness. These are wonderful attributes of profession which can maintain poise while under fire.
Education
Nursing education has accomplished some amazing things. Stronger links between hospitals and universities exist. Better educated nurses are more capable to deal with expanding clinical demands. The various nursing specialties have created programs and accreditation processes to ensure at least satisfactory care standards are guaranteed. Nursing curriculums now utilise more developmental 'reflective' and self-directed formats, more suitable and enjoyable for adult learners. Nurses are learning better ways to adapt their knowledge to contribute effectively in various complicated situations common today in clinical practice and management. 'Life-long learning' and continuing education perspectives have been embraced so that nurses can respond in the dynamics of a chaotic health care industry. Education today includes important topics such as critical thinking, political activation, and leadership development. Not only are nurses publishing at a higher standard, they are increasing the breath of available nursing literature. Interactive technology, long distance education modalities, and more visible and participatory educators are replacing the 'ivory tower' educational images. We certainly receive much more than just 'theory' from our academic institutions.
Research
Are we proud to share in a profession where nurses are increasingly conducting more refined levels of research, advancing the border of nursing knowledge? Nurses are better at defining their research questions and direction. Nursing research is admirably more visible in practice settings. Within each nursing specialty, the number and quality of research related projects increase each year. With the aid of information technology, researchers are sharing their research advances and networking around the world. And importantly, nurses are becoming more comfortable supporting their research colleagues that choose research as their career path.
Bedside nurses are becoming more comfortable with applying research findings appropriately in their diverse work settings. More often, nurses are seeking best practice verification for their clinical questions, relying on research findings for their answers. The 'gaps' between practice, education, and research are narrowing. What is happening? We are getting better at integrating, networking, collaborating, and seeking innovation. We are accepting individual challenges and delivering quality. We are collectively more politically aware and uniting for influence. We continue to be the most respected patient care advocates, fighting for rights and choice. Nursing's commitment to public welfare is unfaltering, and nurses are rewarded with a special place in community sentiment.
We should focus on our local successes, the successes of our colleagues in the diverse roles they are undertaking, and the successes of our profession within a very discontinuously changing and turbulent healthcare environment. We don't always get it right, but we continue on with unique ingenuity and persistence. Let's celebrate our strengths and continue to overcome our differences. Let's further integrate and unite our efforts. Let's support and encourage our fellow nurses – at all levels and in all roles. Nurses are contributing via their individual talents and interests to enhance our complicated profession. Let's celebrate the daily victories in advancing our discipline – especially because of its wonderful complexity and diversity. Celebrate!
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