Question

 Description: Describe how the nursing profession is viewed by the general public. Discuss factors that influence the public's perception of nursing? Describe ways to educate the general public on the professional nurse's role and scope of nursing within a changing health care system.
https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/
http://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Impact-of-Education
http://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Workforce

Answer 1

Public perception for the nursing profession

Nursing is an admirable profession by both the youth and the elderly. The kindness, self-presentation, and empathy expressed by nurses to their patients determine how the public views them. Some people think nurses are intermediaries between patients and doctors, and the knowledgeable community understands who nurses are. Nurses are health care professionals with training ranging from certificates to Ph.D. The public knows them for their selfless effort to take care of their patient by focusing on the patients wholesomely. Unlike doctors who focus on the disease, nurses focus on patients' needs as a person rather than patients. They feed, clean, diagnose and administer medication to patients.  

Nurses' perception in the public eye has been influenced by several factors: one, media, media displays nursing as a troubled profession (Browne et al., 2018). Two, nurses are respected but not trusted. Patients appreciate nurses, but if they get information regarding their illness, they must confirm from doctors the validity of such information. Three, some public members tend not to understand the roles of a nurse in a health facility or the patient's care. Lastly, doctors often demean nurses in front of patients. Thus, nurses are often seen as subordinate to doctors and other medical professions.

Public perception of nurses can be boosted by nurses, colleagues, and the media by employing the following. Nurses must project a strong self-image about their profession. The stereotype perception of nurses as subordinate health workers can only be changed by nurses' advocacy of who they are (Hoeve et al., 2014). Nurses can also initiate programs to teach their colleagues about clinical cases, thus raising their colleagues' perceptions like physicians. Nurses must also be willing to take credit for their performance in life-saving activities. Sometimes nurses save lives, but credit goes to doctors. Nurses should change how media portrays them by working directly with media or developing their media like YouTube channels, Facebook pages, among other forms of media.

Conclusively, nursing is a noble profession that does a lot in life-saving but has been underrated for years. It is solely nurses' effort to change how media and the public see them by advocating for their professions. Public sensitization can be influential if nurses do it for themselves with little help from other stakeholders.

 

References

Browne, C., Wall, P., Batt, S., & Bennett, R. (2018). Understanding perceptions of nursing professional identity in students entering an Australian undergraduate nursing degree. Nurse education in practice, 32, 90-96.

Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2014). The nursing profession: Public image, self‐concept and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 295-309.