Public Image of Professional Nursing Discussion

Chapter 7 Social Context and the Future of Professional Nursing Nursing’s Social Contract • Society provides the nursing profession with the authority to practice. • Society grants the profession authority over functions and autonomy over professional affairs. • Profession expected to regulate itself and act responsibly. • This relationship is the essence of nursing’s social contract with society. Public Image of Nursing (1 of 2) • Actions to promote the real image: – Educate the public. – Describe nurses’ work. – Make known the agency of the registered nurse (RN). Public Image of Professional Nursing Discussion

– Deal with the fear of angering the physician. – Accept thanks from others. – Be ready to take advantage of openings to promote nursing. – Respond to queries with real stories. Public Image of Nursing (2 of 2) • Actions to promote the real image: – – – – – Tell the details. Avoid using nursing jargon. Prepare ahead of time to tell your story. Do not suppress your enthusiasm. Reflect the nurse’s clinical judgment and competency. – Connect work to contemporary issues. – Respect patient’s confidentiality. – Deal with the fear of failure. The Gender Gap • Women in nursing: • Men in nursing: – Avoidance of conflict – Leadership advantage – Multiple roles – Compensation discrepancy – Centeredness on service – Gender bias Changing Demographics and Cultural Competence • Discrepancy between minority population and minority health professionals and faculties. • Increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in the health professions and improving the cultural competency of providers are key strategies for reducing health disparities. Access to Health Care • Continuity of care – Routine care with provider leads to better health outcomes. • Economic barriers – Poverty poses the greatest risk to health. • Geographic barriers – Rural and urban • Sociocultural barriers Societal Trends • Incivility • Consumerism • Violence in the workplace • Complementary and alternative approaches • Global aging • Disaster preparedness Trends in Nursing • Nurse shortage • Nurse faculty shortage

• Nursing practice and workplace environment • Nurse retention • Complexity of nursing work • Nursing education Closing the Education and Practice Gap • Key messages of The Future of Nursing include: – Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training. – Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. – Nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health professions in redesigning health care in the U.S. – Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure. Public Image of Professional Nursing Discussion

Recommendations from The Future of Nursing (1 of 2) • Remove scope-of-practice barriers. • Expand opportunities for nurses to lead and diffuse collaborative improvement efforts. • Implement nurse residency programs. • Increase the percentage of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80% by 2020. • Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020. Recommendations from The Future of Nursing (2 of 2) • Ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning. • Prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health. • Build an infrastructure for the collection and analysis of interprofessional healthcare workforce data. The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action Video https://youtu.be/V_PnaXjVn2c … Public Image of Professional Nursing Discussion