What Is Your Nursing " North Star " ?

Many nurses often refer to the profession of nursing as a " calling " . Being a nurse can become and intrinsic part of our personal identity, and reporting for work can end up meaning much more to us than just a paycheck.There are also nurses who approach their work like any other employed person, with no acknowledgment that there is anything more to be gained than a means to a financial end by fulfilling the tasks required of our position. There is no judgment of this approach to professional nursing, but this apparent dichotomy is worthy of our exploration.Way back on the November 12th, 2012 episode ofRN.FM Radio, Dr. Victoria Rich, the Chief Nurse Executive of the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, spoke with me and my cohostKevin Ross about her passion for nursing and her illustrious and awe-inspiring career. Dr. Rich is passionately dedicated to the profession of nursing, and she is a truly innovative leader. You can listen to her interview with us by clickinghere.During the course of our conversation, Dr. Rich made a statement that spoke to my deeper feelings about our profession:We don ' t come to work and we don ' t have a job. We practice our profession of nursing. You ' re a clinical nurse who practices a profession, instead of being a staff nurse who works on a shift.My "North Star" is not where I work. My "North Star" is my profession.In the bigger picture, this statement flips the idea of professional identity on its head, and some nurses...
Source: Digital Doorway - Category: Nursing Tags: nurse nurse practice nurse professionalism nurses nursing nursing identity nursing practice Source Type: blogs