EXPERIENCES OF GENERAL STUDENT NURSES

Experiences of General Student Nurses



Experiences of General Student Nurses

Introduction

Nurses began to consider professional independence in the 1960s when nursing research first began to make an impact. This led to the realization that autonomy meant also greater accountability, and hence professional and legal responsibility for care given. The production of codes of professional conduct, the necessity of nurses to adhere to them and the revolution in nurse education have sharpened the debate about autonomy.

In the view of Affara and Styles, two leading members of the International Council of Nurses (undated, p. 20): 'nursing does seem to be an occupation in transition to mature professional status.' They see university education of nurses and increased capabilities by nurses as decisive factors in modifying and expanding the scope of nursing practice. Nursing cannot and does not strive to be independent of other professions, but seeks to be a body with its own skills and areas of expertise, and with a clear understanding of its responsibilities.

Concentrating on matters of internal regulation and organization seems to have distracted nursing from pursuing a vision or direction. This has been noticed by authors (mentioned in the list of references) who urges that 'unless the nursing profession assumes a much higher public and political profile than it has until now, it may, in the final analysis, find that it is in no position to fulfil its broader moral as well as professional responsibilities towards the community at large.'

Discussion

According to nurse theorists, 'the future of medicine and nursing belongs to caring more than curing. A more radical thesis is that there is movement out of an era in which curing is dominant into an era in which caring must take precedence.' This is not understood as nursing doing the 'caring' while medicine is doing the 'curing', with curing having the more effective and prestigious role, but that caring itself is more important than curing. The cost of curing - at least in developed countries - has escalated to the point where it is all but ruining the economy in general. High-cost life-saving treatments will therefore be less and less available; low-cost caring will take precedence. This is where nursing has to offer expertise and leadership.

There are notable nurse leaders in areas such as nursing theory, philosophy and research; however, the transition from theory to practice, research to implementation and from thought to action is as difficult in nursing as it is in other professions.

The lack of visionary and political leadership in nursing, in particular among female nurses, has long been evident. Authors drew attention to the problem of passivity among nurses and noted that they tended to respond to others rather than take initiatives themselves. Nursing would therefore attract people who do not display ambition; or interviewers deter those who show ambition and leadership. These are serious considerations which are more and more addressed through education.

Nurses can and need to take the lead in areas such as communication between patients and health-care personnel; maintaining and fostering ...