Table of Contents
The nursing profession is a field that differs from many other professions since it goes beyond a series of business skills and activities. Nursing is considered as part of the socialization process since professionals in this field pass through certain socialization-related experiences. In this case, socialization is a concept that is applied to the field of nursing, particularly because this field is a human service profession. Therefore, it is increasingly important for nursing professionals to understand socialization with respect to its applicability in nursing practice. This paper focuses on examining the concept of socialization as it applies to nursing practice. Additionally, the paper includes an analysis of professional roles as a caregiver, teacher, client advocate, and leader in nursing. A discussion of how nursing practice will change following transition into professional nurse is also included as well as personal short and long term goals as a professional nurse.
Socialization and its Applicability to Nursing Practice
Socialization is defined as the process of learning new knowledge, skills, roles, and characteristics of people in the society (Zarshenas et al., 2014). Through this process, individuals become members of groups and societies following the acquisition of behaviors and attitudes of the group or society. In essence, socialization is the process through which people understand a group and learn how to become part of it. Professional socialization is a process through which norms, values and perspective of a particular profession are transmitted. In this case, an individual learns the values, norms and perspectives that are unique to the profession. Apart from being a process, professional socialization is an outcome, which implies the formation of self-concept as a member of a particular profession with the required knowledge and roles to fulfill the various responsibilities.
One of the most essential concepts in the field of nursing is professionalism, which emerges from individual-workplace, interpersonal relationships, and interactions (Zarshenas et al., 2014). Based on a professional view, nursing entails more than a sequence of business skills and activities since it’s a field that involves human service. Therefore, professional socialization is applied in the field of nursing to help in internalization and development of professional identity. Zarshenas et al. (2014) states that nursing is more than a sequence of business skills and activities and part of the process of socialization through which individuals learn to internalize and develop professional identity. Socialization is utilized by individuals in the nursing profession to acquire relevant knowledge and skills to realize a professional role with professional norms and values (Zarshenas et al., 2014).
Socialization in this field commences upon entry into a nursing program since students are exposed to professional socialization agents. Socializing agents in the nursing programs include faculty, parents, peers, and interactions with people outside the nursing educational environment, but within the nursing profession. As nursing students learn from their collegiate experience, they begin to internalize the values and norms of the nursing profession and utilize them to develop their professional identity. In essence, socialization in nursing practice entails development of a sense of belonging, which includes personal commitment and internalizing the values and norms of the nursing profession.
Professional Roles as a Caregiver, Teacher, Client Advocate and Leader
In light of the norms and values of nursing, there are various professional roles that an individual in the nursing field can play. As an individual transiting from nursing education to a professional nurse, I recognize that I will play various roles in this field including caregiver, teacher, client advocate and leader.
As a professional nurse, my primary professional role is that of a caregiver, which is most fundamental and basic role of a nurse. My professional role as a caregiver will involve providing care to patients in a manner that helps to meet their physical, developmental, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual needs. This role also entails engaging in nursing activities that help the client physically and psychological while maintaining his/her dignity (RNpedia, 2018).
My professional role as a teacher involves providing answers to questions relating to the health and wellbeing of an individual. In most cases, nurses are usually asked questions about health, development, and medication. This implies that the nurse plays additional roles beyond the caregiving role. The professional role as a teacher will also involve conducting patient education and providing more details regarding diagnosis and treatment.
As a client advocate, my role will involve acting to protect the client, which is one of the most important factors towards enhancing patient safety and outcomes. In this case, I will present the client’s interests, needs, and wishes to other professionals in the healthcare team including physicians. I will also work towards ensuring that the client’s rights are preserved during the delivery of healthcare services.
In addition to these roles, I will also work towards influencing others in the healthcare setting to work together to achieve specific goals. This implies that I will play the role of a leader, which can be exercised at various levels include the individual client level, family level, colleague level or community level. Nurse leader role basically entails influence others towards the promotion of health and wellbeing of individual patients, their family and the community. However, this process requires use of leadership and interpersonal relationship skills to motivate others towards the achievement of specific goals. Without understanding and application of these skills, a nurse leader cannot be effective in his/her role.
Changes in Nursing Practice Following Transition
Making the transition from nursing education to the role of a professional nurse is a relatively complex process. New nurses usually face tremendous challenges during transition from college to the workforce (Hofler, 2016). These challenges emerge from the fact that the nursing education environment is completely different from the nursing practice setting. Therefore, healthcare facilities and organizations are faced with the need to understand these challenges and develop appropriate measure for promoting smooth transition into the role of a professional nurse. These facilities and organizations should understand how the healthcare landscape and nursing practice environment affects new graduate nurses who are entering the nursing workforce.
In this regard, my transition into the role of a professional nurse from the educational setting will be characterized by several challenges that usually affect new graduate nurses entering the practice environment. Additionally, the transition will generate significant changes in my nursing practice because of the nature of the healthcare landscape. One of the changes to my practice following transition into a professional nurse is the need to manage an increasing number of patients. As a professional nurse, I will need to manage an ever-increasing number of patients who are suffering from various conditions and numerous comorbidities (Hofler, 2016). During this process, I will experience several issues including performance anxiety, inaccessibility of experienced mentors and coaches, and workforce diversity.
The second change to my nursing practice following transition to professional nurse is the need to manage relationships with healthcare providers and patient families. Since my responsibilities will extend beyond the role of a caregiver, I will engage in activities that entail managing relationships between caregivers and patient families.
The other change emerging from transition to the role of a professional nurse is the need to lead the interprofessional team. This change in nursing practice is attributable to two major factors including the fact that my professional nursing role will entail working as a nurse leader. As the leader of the interprofessional team, I will work towards motivating others to collaborate towards delivery of high-quality care to patients. Secondly, the change will emerge from the fact that healthcare delivery is a complex process that requires collaboration between the various members of the healthcare team.
Short and Long Term Goals as a Professional Nurse
Success in my career as a professional nurse requires identifying short and long term goals that will guide my nursing practice. My short term goals as a professional nurse include completing my critical care certification, finding a well-paying job at a local healthcare facility, and smooth transition from a novice nurse to a professional nurse. These short term goals primarily focus on achieving certification in my nursing specialty and enhancing my clinical mastery. My long term goals include enhancing my knowledge and skills through completing a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in nursing management, becoming a nurse leader, and mentoring new nurses towards improved clinical mastery.
In conclusion, the nursing field is a human service profession that goes beyond a series of business skills and activities. Socialization is an important concept in this field since it enables one to learn the values and norms that are crucial for success in the nursing profession and development of a professional identity. As a new nurse, I recognize that my roles will extend beyond caregiving to acting as a teacher, client advocate, and nurse leader. My short-term goals as a professional nurse focus on achieving relevant certification and enhancing clinical mastery while my long-term goals focus on professional development to become a nurse leader.
- Hofler, L. (2016, April). Transition of New Graduate Nurses to the Workforce: Challenges and Solutions in the Changing Health Care Environment. North Carolina Medical Journal, 77(2), 133-136.
- RNpedia. (2018). Roles and Function of a Nurse.
- Zarshenas et al. (2014, August). Professional Socialization in Nursing: A Qualitative Content Analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(4), 432-438.