Challenges Of Self Development As A Nurse

Nurses are known for the medical treatment and care of patients, although they are way more than just medicine. The definition for what nurses actually do varies from person to person. Nurses have to go above and beyond the medicine in order to truly care for their patients. More than just the patient is healed by the act of caring, both patient and nurse can heal and grow together.

Caring and Nursing

The meaning of caring can be defined in so many different ways due to the meaning of caring can be different to different people. In my own opinion caring for someone can be as little as just sitting with someone while they are upset all the way to the extreme of going out of your way to physically taking care of them.

The art of caring for someone can be demonstrated in numerous divergent ways. The main ones that people recognize is the nurses physical care for another human being. Nurses go above and beyond just simple medicine by looking after their patients physically as well, from bed baths to helping them move around in bed along with assisting with movement of limbs and many more. Another large portion of caring is psychological, there are many times when the patient sincerely just needs some support and as nurses that is our job as well, emotional support. I personally believe that is something that the public does not acknowledge, the psychological support that nurses provide in my judgment goes far beyond the public view.

Nurses provide many different versions of care as previously stated although there are so many more ways, for example within the first five weeks of my nursing education I have learned how to wash someone, feed someone, move someone in bed, assist someone with their range of motion and how to properly prevent infection; and that’s only the first five weeks. I can’t even begin to express how much more I have to learn but knowing that I will have the ability to look after someone who needs it is so rewarding to me and my fellow classmates. The execution of caring for someone is beyond valuable although with that being said there are some downsides to the nursing career, in my opinion. The desire a nurse has to care for someone is very easy, that is why most students go into nursing although with that being stated I personally consider having the knowledge to take care of someone and actually doing it to be two completely separate things and I believe that the act of care has the ability to be difficult. As well as that despite the care you give a patient can always succumb to their injuries and as a nurse that would make me feel very defeated. To care for family there is many more emotions that would go into it due to them being so close to you although with that being said I also believe that you should put as much effort as you would into treating your family into treating a stranger, how I look at it is they are someone’s family and they deserve the best care. I do know some current nurses that do it the opposite way than what I feel I would and they just brush off their family’s injuries and what not because they know that the injuries aren’t extensive. Professional care for a stranger from a nurse should be the most amount of effort the nurse can give, it is in fact their job.

As I have just started I do not feel like I would have the knowledge or confidence to be a completely competent nurse, I have some growing that needs to take place along with some learning and experience. I have a ground level knowledge on basic care and I feel like I could do the tasks I do know with great competence due to having lab classes where we actually worked with each other to hands on learn.

Challenges to Caring

As I mentioned previously I believe a big challenge for nurses would be the losses and I truly believe that this would cause the nurse to almost feel burnt out and I honestly believe that this is going to be my biggest struggle in the field of nursing. I am the type of person who likes to push myself until I can’t go any longer and in nursing I don’t think that is a smart technique because if I were to get to burnt out it could alter my competency levels which could put the patient into danger. I am going to have to learn to take my time and prioritize instead of trying to get it all done at once.

Conclusion

The dedication of nurses and their abilities to care for other people, strangers, emerge simply because they want to look out for the health and wellness of other, take care of others. Nurses are expected to provide many different aspects in their workplace; medicine distribution to patients that need it, bathing the patients that do not have the ability to do so themselves, and different levels of physiotherapy. To me all of these things are done by nurses without question, it is expected of them but they do it simply because they care.