Importance of Nursing Image for Nursing Students

This paper demonstrates nursing image and why it is important for the nursing students in delivering safe and competent practices. The nursing image creates a framework as a profession in which each nurse ensures patient’s safety, public policy and competent nursing practice.

RUNNING HEAD: Nursing 0
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Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................2
Demonstration of a professional nursing...............................................................................................3
References.............................................................................................................................................7

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Abstract
The nursing image is important for the nurse students as it reflects their duties to be
performed in the future. The nursing image creates a framework as a profession in which
each nurse ensures patient’s safety, public policy and competent nursing practice. They
define the workplace behaviours and responsibilities. The nurses are the caregivers and their
role is pivotal to the patients. This paper demonstrates nursing image and why it is important
for the nursing students in delivering safe and competent practices.
At last it can be concluded that nursing image is effective for the nursing students to learn
about their profession. The students get to know the actions performed by them in the future
with the help of the nursing image.

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Demonstration of a professional nursing
The nursing image is very significant for the nursing profession. The nursing image
represents the profession. Their image is influenced by the conduct of the nurses themselves,
they care for the patients and even the way they dress at the time of providing care. The
nurses can view their profession clearly by redefining their image. The nursing image rests
decisive for the profession. The way nurses sight their profession has an impression on the
self-esteem of their profession. Nursing professionals can experience feedbacks if their image
is not optimistic. Every time a nurse says to family, friends or public, every time she
represents her profession. The nurses are required to develop the skills of demonstrating
themselves and take the accountability of moving from silence to voice. The nurses are
regarded as helpers of the doctors (Zhao, Lei, He, Gu & Li, 2015). The nurses are
knowledgeable, intellectual and analytical.
The nurses are health care professionals and possess a great deal of knowledge. The
role of the nurses depends on the need of the patients such as caregiver, communicator,
decision-maker, advocator or mentor. At the same period of time nurses play their
professional role like pharmacist roles. The nurses contain a good self-assurance in taking
care of the patients and collaborate with other health occupations. There are different
perspectives which are alleged by the nurses. The role of the nurses is to be beside of the
patients and fulfill the needs on the basis of interpersonal skills and caring practices. Some
nurses have more sureness in taking care of the patients. Though, some feel less confidence
due to the low level of education. The confidence can be increased with the on-going
education and experience. There are various levels of education in nursing like diploma III,
diploma IV, bachelor nurse, and a nurse specialist. The levels of nurses keep on upgrading
nurses. The nurses need to hold at least one year of bachelor degree. The degrees behind the
role of the nursing are baccalaureate, master and doctoral degree programmes. The nursing
has become more scholarly (Odell, 2015). The awareness of the nurses towards patient’s
health helps to empower the nurse students. There should be effective communication skills
towards the perception of the public. The nurses should work harder to represent themselves
more clearly to the nurse students and the public. The nurses are required to work in a

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challenging work environment in order to attain an opportunity to break the daily routine
(Wang & Liu, 2015).
The role of the nurses is to advocate and care for the patients and support them
through illness. The nurses keep a record of medical history and symptoms. They monitor the
health of the patients and perform required diagnostic tests. They guide the patients regarding
illness along with the treatment. The support and advice are equally provided to the patients.
The nurse is a caregiver and manages the physical needs of the patients, prevent illness and
treat health conditions. The nurses are required to follow and update the progress of the
patients and act in the best interest of the patients. The patients are the first priority of the
nurse and their role is to advocate them. It is the role of the nurses to support patients and
represent their interest especially when the decision is supposed to be made for their
treatment (McGilton, Bowers, Heath, Shannon, Dellefield, Prentice & Boscart, 2016). The
nurses are directly involved in the treatment of the patients. They are capable of identifying
the potential problems and make appropriate recommendations. Although the doctors and
specialists are liable to take the final decisions the information is communicated by the
patients regarding the health of the patients. The nurses are most familiar with the condition
of the patients. They can easily collaborate with the symptoms of on-going disease and
promote the best health outcomes. The nurses are also liable to ensure patients understand
their disease, medications, and treatment. They should also support individuals if they seek to
attain additional information (Laschinger, Nosko, Wilk & Finegan, 2014). It should also be
noticed that the patients are liable to control their treatment by own once they are discharged
from the hospital. These duties of the nurses clearly reflect their role in the delivery of safe
and competent nursing practice.
The nurse managers are also required to clarify how a multigenerational nursing
workforce led. It is because everyone has a difference in attitude, belief and working habits.
The nurses’ head needs to ease announcement between senior and new nurses to endorse and
define the job. When there is mix staff working collected then nursing staff skill mix models
needs to be addressed in order to convey the best nursing care. It has been also observed that

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a mixed nurse staff model is linked to lower rates of medication errors and wound infection.
It also ensures safety outcomes (Keyko, Cummings, Yonge & Wong, 2016).
The nursing image is important for the delivery of safe nursing practices. The nursing
practice understands a person, health and the environment and cares for them. The knowledge
and caring are associated with the scope of nursing. The principles like ethical guides’ patient
advocacy and the facility of end-of-life care. The nurses also provide clarity to the patients in
the case of the complex healthcare setting. The nurses can also take action in the absence of
the senior medical representatives. The nurses also use their knowledge to empower others
and drive system change (Ironside, McNelis & Ebright, 2014). The new image of nurses has
been created. According to this, the nurses must:
 Asses nursing and develop that image daily.
 The nurses are required to take themselves seriously and dress the part.
 Identify the value which is done by them.
 Believe in themselves and colleagues.
The nurses represent how they contribute to health care as a profession. The nurses are
required to work with the nurse students in order to promote the image of nursing. The
leaders are also needed to identify the daily impact on the perceptions of the staff nurses,
patients, and caregivers. The nurses have appreciated the importance of how they are alleged
by the patients and the care givers (Boyko, Carter & Bryant‐Lukosius, 2016). The nurses are
required to work harder to communicate their profession to the nurse students and the public.
The social media is effective in representing the image of the nurses. Internet and YouTube
are an effective media of social media. The nurses can attain a stronger image in the
healthcare organizations and enhance their visibility. The nurses can even make use of nurse
educator or specialist to show the nurse students and the public what their work really
necessitates (Lima, Newall, Jordan, Hamilton & Kinney, 2016).
The image of the nurses as assistants still exists but it can be influenced by the value,
respect, and seniority. Therefore, the changes in the image of the nurses still remain critical.
The nurses are required to reject the tasks which are not associated with their positions and

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patient’s health. The senior managers are needed to develop nurse competence and upgrade
skills of the nurses through professional and educational development. The skill- mixed
model can also be used to address the nurses for the clinical practice.

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