The Importance of Professionalism in Nursing: a Critical Reflection

This assignment aims to critically reflect and discuss the importance of professionalism, communication and compassion, in relation to delivering person centred care in Nursing. The importance of professionalism in this essay will be defined. Moreover these key terms will be outlined with supporting literature and guidelines to highlight how compassionate communication is essential in providing patients with person centred care in a professional manner. 

Why is Professionalism Important?

Professional care is a fundamental aspect of Nursing, where a holistic approach is implemented to ensure the delivery of person-centred care. Person centred care is defined as, “A personal way of approaching, connecting and partnering with patients and families, that builds on social and interpersonal skills such as professionalism”. Providing person centred care and delivering a positive experience and outcome for the patient is an essential aspect in nursing. It reinforces the importance of the patient’s beliefs, upholding their dignity, their choice, their control and respecting their decisions. To achieve positive experiences in care, professional nursing skills are maintained by providing an inclusive, safe and person-centred approach. The NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) demonstrates that as nurses, there is a duty to provide care by prioritising people, practicing effectively, preserving safety and promoting professionalism and trust. Following these standards is an important aspect of professional nursing and they are essential to provide compassionate communication and care to patients. This is reinforced by literature which states that using the Six C’s of Nursing, Commitment, Competence, Courage, Communication, Compassion and Care, is a key element in providing person centred and holistic care to individuals.

Communication in nursing can be defined as the “exchange of information between people by sending and receiving it through speaking, writing and any other medium. Following the NMC Code, Future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses, “Effective communication is central to the provision of safe and compassionate person-centred care. Literature by Riley has stated that effective communication is positive aspect where a therapeutic relationship is formed between the nurse and the patient or it can adversely form barriers if not implemented correctly. Compassionate communication is essential as nurses act as the first responders to crisis’, they are the advocates for communities, and they are the co-ordinators within their working environment and with other Multidisciplinary Teams. The quality and the form in which nurses communicate can have a major impact on the patient’s outcome and their experience. The method in which information is transmitted is important and it should be the nurses’ goal to promote the patient’s health and welling.

Without practicing effective communication, the standard of nursing care would be significantly reduced, and essential information would not be understood by the patient or shared correctly with other health care professionals. This is where major errors could occur. For this reason, effective communication is a vital and core value in nursing practice. There are different types of communication that are used in everyday practice. Verbal communication is the most common form in which people interact, through spoken word either face to face or through the telephone. In nursing, written communication plays an important role as it creates information on the patients’ background, their condition, their needs and other factors that are essential for other healthcare providers when participating in patient care. Although communication verbally through a telephone is a ‘quick’ method, it limits important nonverbal communication factors such as body language and facial expressions. As we are currently experiencing the global pandemic of Covid-19, face to face conversations have been significantly reduced. This is a barrier in communication as it is limiting non-verbal cues which are important in creating a creating a person-centred care environment and for the overall understanding of the patient. For example, the patient may have complex needs and communicate more effectively through body language and the use of touch.

Research suggests that poor communication between nurses, patients and the Multidisciplinary Teams is the cause of “systematic error” and adverse clinical outcomes that could be prevented. For example, Topu et al investigated communication failures that were the cause of medical errors. The results indicated that 59.3% of errors were during verbal orders, and 42.2% were written orders. This outlines the importance of effective communication and having clear written records as it is these mistakes that can cause serious consequences such as errors with medication. Despite the understanding of the importance of communication regarding person centred care, professionalism and patient care, literature has demonstrated that the skills are not always implemented or established. This therefore can contribute to gradual breakdown of relationships within the caring environment.

In providing person centred care, principles of compassion are important. Compassion can be defined as a factor that consists of understanding and “perceiving the suffering of others, experiencing the feeling as if it were our own. When caring for others, applying the principles of compassion are essential, beginning with acknowledging how the individual is feeling, andor how their family is feeling. This first stage of compassion is defined as the “empathetic response to another persons’ suffering”. Secondly, the desire and motivation to reduce this suffering is important. This process involves the nurse having the willingness to understand the situation and humanity to attempt to alliterate the suffering, in the least instructive manner. Implementing principles and dimensions of compassion, such as listening, being attentive, being present, understanding and involvement, are essential in nursing practice for appropriate patient care. Cingel has demonstrated that both nurses and patients believe that compassionate attitudes are one of the most important professional values in care. When a nurse demonstrates compassion, it empowers the patient, provides hope that they are going to recover, and they will have better coping abilities. Indicating clearly to patients that they are cared for, that what they are going through is understood and that the best effort is going to be made to help them are key factors that determine a positive outcome for the patient.

However, although compassion is an important principle of nursing to provide person centred care, literature has indicated that maintaining compassionate attitudes in practice can be difficult. Research demonstrates that some newly qualified nurses and students find it a challenge to apply to knowledge they were taught in University regarding compassion, and that some real-life events in practice were far from textbook. For example, students or nurses may be focused more on completing tasks on time rather than prioritising compassion and person-centred care. Student nurses are required to become practitioners who are professional with the expected education, but also individuals who display their compassionate values while maintaining emotion management. This demonstrates that although nursing staff are aware of the importance of compassion in delivering person centred care and see these factors as part of their professional identity, it can be difficult to find the balance to implement the principles due to outside factors. Bradshaw has established the link between professionalism and compassion in nursing. As nurses thrive in their career and professional status, compassionate attitudes that they internally already have with be further implemented.

In conclusion, communication and compassionate are key principles that define professionalism in nursing. They play a key role in providing person centred care for patients, and in involving their families. As outlined in the NMC, Future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses, “Effective communication is central to the provision of safe and compassionate person-centred care”. This indicates that communication is essential to ensure that individuals, their families and other healthcare professionals within the Multidisciplinary Teams understand the care of each patient. Communication is vital when understanding assessments and making tailored care plans, to provide the best outcome for the patient. It is important to be aware of additional needs that people have, such as complex needs where reasonable adjustments need to be made to meet requirements. This is where communication is a fundamental requirement in providing person centred care. It can be understood that to be able to provide professional person-centred care, communication and compassion must work together. Compassion is linked to a persons’ individual personality and their characteristics, demonstrating to patients their awareness of what pain they are currently experiencing. Compassion is perceived as an implicit nursing value, in which they see it as important for them to fulfil their role. The NMC has outlined the importance of compassion, as it brings professional qualities and creates relationships with patients. Bloomfield indicated that compassion can be “an integral element of professionalism”, that is demonstrated through nursing values and beliefs. It is these behaviours, skills and qualities that contribute to person centred care and shape the overall professional nursing.

References

• Altisent, J (2016) 'International Journal of Palliative Nursing ', Definition of compassion in healthcare: a systematic literature review, 22(12 ), pp.203-206
• Bloomfield J, Pegram A (2015) 'Care, Compassion and Communication ', Nursing Standard, 29(25), pp. 45.
• Bradshaw, A (2009) 'Measuring nursing care and compassion: the McDonaldised nurse', J Med Ethics , 35(2), pp. 465-468.
• Bradshaw, A (2015) An analysis of England's nursing policy on compassion and the 6Cs: the hidden presence of M. Simone Roach's model of caring, Available at: https:onlinelibrary.wiley.comdoiabs10.1111nin.12107 (Accessed: 13th January 2021).
• Bramhall, E (2014) 'Effective Communication Skills in Nursing Practice', Nursing Standard , 29(14), pp. 60-62.