Professional Identity - Nursing

Running head: PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
Professional Identity
Name
Institution

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY 2
PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
Introduction
Every nurse is given the opportunity to make a positive impact on the profession. Positive
impact is made through day to day professional adherence and sticking to the proper code of
conduct. Neglect of duty is acting unprofessionally. Neglect is defined as failure or denial to
adhere to providing the basic requisite needs of dependent by a nurse (Cashin et al., 2017). The
relative standard of dealing with a health care practitioner who has neglected dealing with the
elderly special group is so high. It is, therefore, the professional obligation of every nurse to
ensure they perform their duty with diligence. Patients have been given a certain ultimatum.
They have to at least prove that the neglect was the cause of damage sustained by the patient. In
this paper we shall analyze the neglect of nursing duty as illustrated in the case study by a nurse
called Mary. Mary works at a residential place for the elderly. The elderly are supposed to be
provided for food, immediate healthcare needs and protection. All these should be done by a
nurse who treats them as vulnerable individuals. In the case study Mary has surely failed.
Nurse Mary is not meeting the NMBA standards in applying person-centered and
evidence-based care for the delivery of safe and quality care. NMBA Has set the standards so
high. They recommend that the elderly should be provided for adequately (Snelling, 2016). The
moment a nurse, like Mary in an elderly facility or any other environment in which nursing care
is provided to the elderly, neglects providing basic needs for any elderly individual, the nurse is
liable for elder abuse. Mary neglects her elderly residents and they wet their beds and sleep on
unchanged sheets. Since Mary is liable for elder abuse she cannot be adhering to NMBA
standards of safe and quality care.

PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY 3
It is also right to accuse Mary for patient neglect. According to NMBS code of ethics,
patient neglect is defined as the failure of a care giver to meet the needs of an individual
dependent of them. The codes of standard on the latter parts recognize that every patient should
be cared for with compassion and the dignity they deserve. The moment the residents sleep on
unchanged sheets they are at a high risk of acquiring a secondary infection. It makes the nurse in
charge lose all her dignity. In standards of interaction, the set code recommends that a nurse
spend duration of not less than an hour with her patients which Mary doesn’t do. It is explained
that she spend most of her time in the nurses workstation. By the duration neglect alone, Mary
doesn’t follow the set standards by the NMBA.
Person centered relationship therapy is a collaborative and respectful partnership between
the nurse and the patient. The partnership is built on trust and it’s created over time (Fisher,
2017). The approach is non authoritative and clients, in this case the elderly, take more lead in
discussions so that they discover more solutions. The relationship between the two is that the
nurse or the therapist listens compassionately without judgment (Fisher, 2017). The nurse is
supposed not to turn the decision process to give room for self delivery. The person centered
therapy can only work when the nurse is unconditionally positive in regard. The nurse should be
empathetic and non-judgmental. Mary letting her residents in the condition that she did is a clear
show that she is not empathetic. By the virtue that she isn’t empathetic we can come to the fact
that she hasn’t created a person centered relationship with her patients. When Nurse Mary spends
a lot of time in the nurses’ station she creates the position of an authority between her and her
patients. When there is a professional superiority between the patient and the nurse it is difficult
for the patients to present a true portion of themselves. Mary should take time with her patients
so that the resident patient can develop honesty and transparency. Every definition of person