M6A3: Professional Role Socialization Paper Instructions
The Associate Degree in Nursing program at Excelsior College is designed for individuals with significant clinical health care experience. This means that all students have provided some aspect of health care for patients. Transitioning to the role of the Professional Nurse requires development of a new framework in your approach to patient care. The process of role transition requires you to reflect on what knowledge and skills you bring as a student and how you transform into the role of the professional nurse. While not all students in the program are licensed practical nurses similarities exist in the evolution of your current position to a new role.Using APA format, write a six (6) to ten (10) page paper (excludes cover and reference page). A minimum of three (3) current professional references must be provided. Current references include professional publications or valid and current websites dated within five (5) years. Additionally, a textbook that is no more than one (1) edition old may be used.
Read the following and then compose your paper:·
Chapter 4: Role Transition (Reprinted with permission from: Lora Claywell (2009) LPN to RN Transitions (2nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.)
The paper consists of two (2) parts and must be submitted by the close of week six. Each part must be a minimum of three (3) pages in length.
Part 1
Define professional socialization. Discuss how the criteria of a profession are achieved during the process of professional socialization.
Lora Claywell (2009) describes four stages of professional socialization in nursing. Read the attached chapter and summarize the stages. Identify which stage you are experiencing. Describe your rationale.
Identify two barriers that could interfere with your ability to accomplish the fourth stage. For each barrier, identify resources that can assist you to overcome the barrier. Explain.
Part 2·
- Claywell (2009) discusses 8 areas of differences between LPN and RN roles: assessment skills; patient teaching skills; communication skills; educational preparation; intravenous therapy; legal responsibilities; nursing care planning; and thinking skills.
- Research 3 of these areas and provide supporting evidence how the differences you selected are integral for implementing the role of the RN.
- Use the nursing literature to illustrate the areas you selected and how they affect the provision of safe, effective patient care.
- Your conclusion should describe your plan for socialization into the role of the professional nurse.
M6A3: Professional Role Socialization Sample Paper
Part I
Socialization refers to the process of learning new roles, skills, and characteristics of a certain group in the community. Acquiring the behaviors and attitudes enables an individual to be a better member of the group. There are many different definitions of professional socialization. However, most authors agree that professional socialization is the process in which a lay individual is adopted into a certain profession. It involves learning the norms, attitudes, skills, and values of a certain profession. Internalization of the values and norms of a certain profession into the behavior and self-concept of an individual is critical for the individual to be socialized into the profession (Lai & Lim, 2012).
All professions have certain standards, which are referred to as professional values. The professional values provide a guideline on professional behavior of an individual. They also help in motivating people in the profession. The values of an individual enable the individual to take risks to overcome barriers. It enables individuals to move from their comfort zones and put more efforts in tackling issues in the profession. In the healthcare sector, professional values act as the foundation of patient care, which is critical in improve the outcomes of various medical interventions. In nursing, professional values ensure that nurses engage in ethical behavior when providing care to patients (Dinmohammadi, 2013).
The professional values are learned. The nursing education program helps in the development and internalization of the professional values. It is vital for students to ensure that during the learning process, they examine the orientation of their values and determine how professional values would affect their professional behavior. In addition, understanding professional and individual values benefits nurses as it as it enables them to acknowledge the rewards of nursing as a caring profession. As such, nursing education plays a critical role in the development of professional values by facilitating their development. It also facilitates the development of value-based behaviors (Masters, 2014).
According to Claywell (2009), there are four stages of professional socialization. These help students transition from Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to a Registered Nurse (RN). The first step one is referred to as unilateral dependence. In this stage, the student is completely dependent on the faculty to undertake different things. At this stage, students are usually unsure about their knowledge. However, they strive to do things in the right manner. The second stage is characterized by independence or negativity. The students are confident in their knowledge and strive to do things themselves. Repeating the same things makes students feel bored. The third stage is characterized by dependence or mutuality. In this stage, students acknowledge the fact that they may not know everything. Therefore, they accept help or guidance from other people. the fourth stage is characterized by interdependence. In this stage, students acknowledge that despite the fact that they know so much, they may never know all there is to know. Therefore, they strive to use the available resources to improve their knowledge (Claywell, 2009).
I am in the third stage of professional socialization. I acknowledge the fact that I may not know everything since nursing is a wide field. In addition, nurses are confronted with different problems on a daily basis. When faced with a problem I usually seek guidance. Poor communication skills and lack of self-awareness are some of the barriers that could prevent me from reaching the fourth stage. Poor communication skills may make it difficult for me to relay information to my colleagues or decipher information from patients. Therefore, it is vital for me to improve my conversation skills. I would strive to control the tone of my voice. In addition, I would strive to be knowledgeable on a topic under discussion. I would always be prepared and have information on the diagnosis of the patient. I would also strive to use words that may be interpreted differently. I would also strive to be truthful always. I would also strive to improve my professional collaboration skills. This would help in avoiding conflicts with my colleagues. This would ultimately go a long way towards improving the quality of care I provide patients.
It is vital for an individual to know themselves in order to determine how they influence a relationship. Self-awareness is critical in improving interpersonal relationships. It is vital for nurses to distinguish their emotional needs from those of the patient. This ensures that nurses meet their emotional needs outside the patient nurse relationship. Using refractive practice and avoiding stereotypes would help me improve my self-awareness. Refractive practice would involve looking back at what happened during the period I was caring for a patient. I would also look back at what happened and the reaction of other nurses towards me. Focusing on my own thoughts would help in determining how various feelings can affect my behavior towards patients. I would also strive to avoid prejudices and biased attitudes towards patients. This would enable me to accept the fact that all patients are humans who have dignity. Therefore, they have the right to receive the best care available.
Part II
At first glance, one might assume that there are very few differences between RNs and LPNs. They both administer medication, and change the dressings of patients. They also insert catheters into patients. Both LPNs and RNs also work in similar settings. They may work in hospitals or in a doctor’s office. However, there significant differences between RNs and LPNs. An explanation of nursing care planning, and patient teaching skills, critical thinking skills would help in depicting the fundamental differences between RNs and LPNs.
Nursing care planning highlights the differences between RNs and LPNs. A nursing care plan is a plan of nursing care based on the nursing assessment and diagnosis. A nursing care plan has four major components. The first component is the identification of a nursing care problem or diagnosis and determination of a nursing approach that would help in tackling the problems. The second component is the statement of the expected benefits to the patient upon the implementation of the nursing approach. The third element is the statement of the actions that the nurse would undertake in accordance with the nursing approach to achieve the goals of the approach. The fourth element is the evaluation of the patient’s response to the nursing care and undertaking adjustments to improve health outcomes. The RN is tasked with the responsibility of performing activities that help in the implementation of the care plan. For example, the RN may determine whether walking three times a day may be beneficial to the patient and include it as one of the activities in the care plan. On the other hand, the LPN would simply have to walk the patient. The RN would then analyze the progress of the patient and determine whether walking attained certain goals that would go a long way towards promoting recovery. The patient’s progress would help in determining whether the RN should adjust the plan (Claywell, 2009).
It is vital for patients to engage in health promotion activities before and after suffering from a certain ailment. Health promotion helps in improving the health of the patients. RNs are tasked with the responsibility of teaching patients various skills that would help in improving their health. RNs ensure that they provide comprehensive nursing and healthcare education to patients. This helps in preventing the recurrence of various health problems. RNs are also tasked with the responsibility of analyzing the education needs of patients. This enables them to plan the education programs that would help in meeting the needs of the patients. It also enables them to use efficient teaching-learning principles. RNs also ensure that the education plan is implemented. They may delegate various aspects of education of the patient to various qualified people. After the provision of education, RNs should determine whether the goals of the education program were met. Conversely, LPNs have a limited role in the education of patients. They usually provide information to patients according to the instructions of the RN or physician who is supervising them. They may also provide information in accordance to the education plan. Supervision of LPNs by RNs or physicians ensures that they do not engage in activities that would jeopardize the health of the patient. This is due to the fact that they have limited skills. Collaboration between the RN and LPN helps in the provision of safe effective care as the RN develops the nursing interventions and the LPN helps in the implementation of the interventions under the supervision of the RN (Claywell, 2009).
The aim of nursing care is to facilitate the recovery of the patient. Facilitating recovery requires the use of critical thinking skills to determine what nursing approaches should be used. The RN is the only person who can develop care plans or make adjustments to the changes. However, LPNs may contribute towards the development of the plan by making suggestions to the RN. Development of a care plan requires the use of critical thinking skills. It requires the RN to have the ability to analyze information and evaluate various underlying medical conditions. The RN should be able to integrate the above information on the health condition of the patient. Nursing schools equip RNs with all the above skills. However, the above skills are not included in the curriculum of LPN. Therefore, they cannot develop a nursing care plan. Using critical thinking skills enables nurses to see the bigger picture on the patient’s health condition. This ensures that the nurse provides safe, effective care (Masters, 2014). In the contemporary world, students may use different routes of educational preparation to become registered nurses. I plan to use professional socialization through education. This would enable me to observe and experience the culture of nursing. I would also use formal socialization. The classroom and clinical setting would enable me have formal socialization. On the other hand, observation or interaction with other healthcare workers would help me gain information socialization. I would strive to gain experience while undergoing training. I would also strive to gain knowledge from the registered nurse I would be paired with.
You can order a unique paper at an affordable price.
Get Your Custom Paper From Professional Writers. 100% Plagiarism Free, No AI Generated Content and Good Grade Guarantee. We Have Experts In All Subjects.
Place Your Order Now