Nursing Reflection on Professionalism and Leadership

This reflection is based on the case of Kim who is a registered nurse having graduated in the year 2018. The reflection focuses on the importance of nursing leadership and professionalism in the nursing sector.

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Name
Institution
Professor
Course
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Description
This reflection is based on the case of Kim who is a registered nurse having graduated in the year
2018.The case is based on a situation whereby Kim was handling a cardiac arrest and carried out
a successful resuscitation case successfully. However, it was unfortunate that he was unable to
determine the right equipment for intubation triggering attending registrar to shout at him
unexpectedly. This is something that went down to affect his personality as a nurse for the
mistake he had and the kind of approach that the registrar subjected him to humiliation by
shouting. He also felt incompetent and hopeless in the eyes of his patients something that made it
hard for him to perform his tasks as a nurse smoothly. Furthermore, the case was worsened by
the approach made by the Nursing Unit manager who called him in front of his colleagues and
embarrassed him mercilessly without putting into consideration the effect of such move. All the
embarrassment was done in the name of counselling Kim after the awful experience he had
undergone through. He remained a hardworking person, enthusiastic and imaginative all through
(Black, 2016 p.4).
Feeling and thinking
My first encounter with this scenario triggered a number of feelings in my mind about what is
required for a person to be a professional nurse leader. Most my reactions were triggered by my
personality which couldn’t allow me to withstand some issues. In the first place, I felt let down
by my fellow nursing professionals who handled Kim`s situation simply because he had
committed a small mistake and having performed the bigger part of the case very effectively. I
also felt ashamed of myself as a nursing professional simply because what happened is
something that was least expected from a nursing professional of that level. I even felt that like
I`m in the wrong profession whereby people careless about the psychological health of their

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fellow colleagues and the need to uplift each other. This was specifically triggered in me by the
kind of utterances that Kim had to experience bearing in mind that he had barely graduated a
year before. Having defender personality means the incident was too personal to me such that I
couldn’t withstand such an ordeal if it was me. I was also puzzled by the scenario because I was
left asking myself many questions about life and what it means to be a nursing leader (Asman et
al, 2019).The level of being overwhelmed was evident in me since I was puzzled on how such
things could happen and I was left thinking on how I could perfect things in future since it’s my
weakness as a defender to have feeling repress. This is because there is no space for such actions
in the professional code of conducts and principles that guide nursing profession. I also felt that
such professionals are disguise to the profession since they were once helped by other
professionals to perfect their skills and yet they were unmoved while mocking their fellow nurse
instead of adhering to the set procedures and when undertaking the counselling session for what
had happened.
Evaluation
On close examination of this case there both good and bad things about the experience .For
instance, the good thing is that the victim didn’t commit any harm to himself despite what he
went through but instead he chose to remain truthful to himself. Another good thing that is that
the colleagues didn’t add more pain to his heart after the incident occurred but instead they chose
to watch in despair as Kim walked from the office to the counselling room (Carpenter, 2018). It
was also good to note that the resuscitation process went on successfully and no life was lost
despite the small mistake that Kim committed. Overall the patient was okay and there was
nothing much to worry about. It was also good lesson to Kim as a profession since it prepared
him to be able to face challenges in the working environment through the application of the

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appropriate problem solving skills that are required for one to be a qualified nursing professional.
Registered nurses standards of practice were barely followed from begging especially the choice
of words that were used to show frustrations. There was no patience, integrity or mentorship that
was showcased (MacLaren, 2018 p.34).
On the other hand, what was bad about this experience in working environment was the attitude
of the nurse professionals who handled Kim`s case. They seemed to have less information
regarding what needs to be done in such situations despite having experience in their profession.
It was bad to humiliate him in front of the patient as this could send negative implications about
the institution and the kind of services that it offers to the public. According to the principles of
nursing, there are provisions on how nurses should treat each other with dignity since they are
role models for their patients. It was bad experience to undergo such mistreatment instead of
being guided by the people who are supposed to show Kim the way. It was also bad for the
nursing manager to expose him in front of colleagues since that was unexpected from such an
individual (Tanaka,et al 2019 p.19). Alternatively, he could have kept the matter private instead
of letting out letting the colleagues become aware of it. This would have acted as a sign of
professionalism and Kim wouldn’t have felt the kind of embarrassment that he had to endure at
the end. The other bad thing about the situation is that it happened to someone in my profession
which I really adore. I really couldn’t imagine a situation whereby I was the one having to
undergo such treatment barely after joining the profession as this could make me feel let down
and even consider quitting the career. This is because my professionalism would have been
compromised together with my personality without any empathy being considered by those that
are in charge of me .It’s something that could have affected the self-esteem of the other nurses
and compromise service delivery in nurses.

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In terms of personality, there are common aspects that are common between me and the student
nurse in this case who Kim is. For instance, he was supportive to the registered nurse despite
what he went through and the mistake he made. He also showcased patience because he didn’t
interrupt the his senior no matter what she said to him.
Analysis
From this context, there are a number of things that are evident and which need to be looked at
from nursing perspective in order to make the profession friendlier. It is also evident that there
are gaps in leadership that are exhibited nursing leadership which contribute to the emerge issues
among nurse leaders and hinder their productivity. On close examination of the choice words
that were uttered towards Kim it is an indication that the attending registrar might not have been
in his right senses when he uttered such words. In nursing profession, there are a number of
triggers that usually hinder service delivery such as stress factor (Salminen, et al, 2019
p.8) .Bearing in mind that nurses have to endure a lot of things in their daily work such as rogue
patients, poor working conditions and traumatic conditions. These are some of the things that
might have influenced the kind of response given by the attending registrar. Another justification
for such act is job frustration which for quite a period has been impacting the psychological
health of nurses. This can be as a result of much expectations that a given career would be
satisfactory to those in the profession only to end up getting unexpected pressure and poor
working environment among other triggers as a nurse .Also, there situation could have been
escalated by lack of proper communication skills among the professionals such that they aren’t in
a position of determining the best practices that they need to uphold as professionals in order to
ensure that effective communications takes place. Also, the situation could have been affected by
lack of interpersonal skills as exhibited by the attending registrar and later during the counselling

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session. This in one way or the other might have led to the harsh treatment that Kim was faced
with by his seniors. Kim`s situation could have been as a result of low self-esteem that made him
to be confused as he had created a mindset in himself that he wasn’t capable of performing the
entire process effectively. Also environmental changes could have made him not perform
effectively and that doesn’t insinuate that he is ineffective in performing his delegated duties .If
the incident happened to me I think I could have been affected even more because my
personality would make me overload myself with thoughts thus overloading myself in terms of
thinking.( Monrouxe &Rees, 2017p.57).
Conclusion
As depicted above, nursing leadership ought to be carried out in a manner that suggests the best
practices for the professionals in nursing sector. For instance, Nurse Unit Manager should have
considered putting into practice the guidelines of RN standards of practice. This is because as
registered nurses, there are stipulated ways in which they should carry out themselves while
practicing nursing. If these standards were adhered to, there would be no cases of such incidents
occurring in front of patients and other colleagues when they are done for the benefit of the
personnel being corrected. The seniors who delegated duties to him failed to honor RN standards
by not being responsible and accountable which all must be done for the benefit of the patients.
Therefore, there is need for more training on interpersonal skills and code of conduct among
nurses so that they can be always aware of how they ought to relate with one another and with
patients despite their background or gender. Nurse leaders also ought to apply their
communications skills and mentorship programs that they trained on in handling newly graduates
without having to shame and humiliate them. Personality should also be put into consideration
so as to ensure that the working environment is conducive to all.(Park, 2015 p. 109).

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Action plan
If such incident happened again I would act in accordance with the registered nurse standard of
practice in order to ensure that I make informed decisions while interacting with my new
graduate. In the first place I would focus on upholding the dignity of patient without having to
humiliate someone in their presence since it’s unethical. This is because such confrontations
could make them lose trust and gain stereotype on my professionalism. If the new graduate
makes a mistake, I would first prioritize on saving life by taking action to correct the mistake in
order to prevent loss of patient`s life. I would also ensure that I take responsibility and
accountability in ensuring that I explain to new graduate what needs to be done since I would be
the one responsible according to RN standards and practices by the fact that I’m the one who
delegated the duty (Tanaka et al, 2016 p.75).
If the incidents happens in future while I`m in a Nursing unit manager position, I would not
humiliate the new graduate nurse for a mistake done while executing delegated tasks. Instead, I
would personally call the nurse in a manner that doesn’t catch the attention of other and proceed
with him to the counselling room. I then apply guidance and counselling principles to ensure that
I help the nurse recover from the incident of humiliation and encourage him or her to continue
trying the best he can so that the mistake won’t happen again. I would also offer moral support
by encouraging him or her to take the incident as a learning experience and learn from it how to
effectively manage patients without fear of intimidation. I would also prepare them
psychologically for the tough environment ahead by familiarizing them with some of the

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challenges that they are supposed to expect in their working environment.(Postma & Putter 2015
p.122).
References
Asman, O., Melnikov, S., Barnoy, S. and Tabak, N., 2019. Experiences, behaviors, and
perceptions of registered nurses regarding research ethics and misconduct. Nursing ethics, 26(3),
pp.859-869.
Snelling, P.C., 2016. The metaethics of nursing codes of ethics and conduct. Nursing
Philosophy, 17(4), pp.229-249.

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MacLaren, J.A., 2018. Supporting nurse mentor development: An exploration of developmental
constellations in nursing mentorship practice. Nurse education in practice, 28, pp.66-75.
Park, H.J., 2015. Correlations among nursing professionalism, critical thinking disposition and
self-leadership in nursing students. J Korean Acad Soc Nurs Educ, 21(2), p.227.
Tanaka, M., Taketomi, K., Yonemitsu, Y. and Kawamoto, R., 2016. Professional behaviours and
factors contributing to nursing professionalism among nurse managers. Journal of
nursing management, 24(1), pp.12-20.
Carpenter, M., 2018. The new managerialism and professionalism in nursing. In Health and the
Division of Labour (pp. 165-195). Routledge.
Black, B., 2016. Professional nursing-E-book: Concepts & challenges. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Monrouxe, L.V. and Rees, C.E., 2017. Healthcare professionalism: improving practice through
reflections on workplace dilemmas. John Wiley & Sons.
Postma, J., Oldenhof, L. and Putters, K., 2015. Organized professionalism in healthcare:
articulation work by neighbourhood nurses. Journal of Professions and
Organization, 2(1), pp.61-77.
Salminen, L., Stolt, M., Metsämäki, R., Rinne, J., Kasen, A. and Leino-Kilpi, H., 2016. Ethical
principles in the work of nurse educator—A cross-sectional study. Nurse education
today, 36, pp.18-22.

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