LESSONS FROM THE PROFESSOR

Prof SM MogotlaneEx-chair

Department of Health Studies, UNISA.

OUTCOME

AT THE END OF THIS TALK LISTENERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO REVIEW THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROFESSION OF NURSING BASED ON THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE PRESENTER

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED

• What is nursing?

• What do nurses do or should do as practitioners in the profession of nursing?

• Why do nurses do what they do?

• What are the results of nursing intervention

WHAT IS NURSING

• A calling?• A vocation?• A profession?

- professional solidarity- certain competencies- accountable- code of ethics

NURSING AS A PROFESSION

• The existence of a specialized body of knowledge:- Compliance with set academic standards : for

scientific knowledge and practical skills• Certification to affirmation readiness• Registartion• Ethical practice• Accountability• Continued development of the body of knowledge

through research

NURSING AS A PROFESSION (CONT)

• Development of the body of knowledge through research:- Evidence-based practice- Improvement of communication and

interpersonal skills- Scholarship and leadership

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PUBLICATIONS

• “Publish or perish”

Unless lions have historians of their own, stories of hunting will always be told by the hunter

NURSING AS A PROFESSION (CONT)

• Society recognizes these attributes by giving it statutory authority to:- reserve the right of admission to its ranks- Determine its own standards and practice

requirements- Exercise disciplinary control over its members in

the interest of the public and for the protection of the good name of the profession

What do nurses do or should do

• Apply Dorothea Orem’s Model of Self-care:- Everyone is capable of looking after self- Everyone wants to look after him/herself

- Self-care requisites: needs that individuals

meet voluntarily and deliberately to maintain life, health and well-being

What do nurses do or should do

• Universal self-care requisites: physiologic needs common to all

• Developmental self-care requisites: these are guided by age, eg temperature regulation in a neonate, ability to cook, wash, etc

• Self-care deficit: deficient self-care capabilities• Self-care agent: someone who provides for self-

care requisites other than self, eg a nurse, family, or friend

What do self-care agents do

- Whole or complete care to an individual who is completely incapacitated in terms of meeting universal self-care requisites and developmental self-care requisites

- Partial care to an individual who can provide forsome of the self-care requisites

- Supportive-educative care to some one who canprovide self-care but needs information

What do nurses do or should do(cont)

• The nurse as a self-care agent:- identifies the deficit: its nature and

extent- makes decisions on what this entails- what needs to be done- who is going to do the what- which resources will be used- how- when- why

What do nurses do or should do(cont)

• Correlation with Virginia Henderson’s model:“Nursing is primarily assisting the individual (sick or well) in the performance of those activities contributing to health, or its recovery (or a peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will and knowledge. It is likewise the unique contribution of nursing to help the individual to be independent of such assistance as soon as possible”.

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THANK YOU