Professional nursing practice refers to the practice of nursing and the delivery of health care
services that meet the needs of clients, the community, and society (Maurício et al., 2017). The
professional nursing offers specific services and is guided by a code of ethics for practice. It is
also worth noting that a professional nurse has autonomy in decision-making and practice. The
role of a professional nurse has been gradually changing since the 1880s when nurses provided
services such as cleaning linen, housekeeping, and preparation of meals (Maurício et al., 2017).
Today, professional nurses assist patients to adapt to lifestyle changes, educating patients about
their health, improve patients’ comfort and conduct research. This paper aims to discuss the
characteristics of the profession of nursing and how they are incorporated in nursing, barriers to
professionalism in nursing, strategies to overcome professionalism in nursing, recommendations
of the Institute of Medicine regarding transforming nursing education, and the value of life-long
learning in my nursing role. Professional Nursing Practice;
Section 1 & 2

Characteristics of the nursing profession

The nursing profession has characteristics such as strong commitment, autonomy, code of
ethics, and increasing knowledge. The nursing profession is one of the few professions with a
high sense of responsibility towards the problems and challenges it faces. The profession is also
committed to providing much-needed care and promoting nursing goals. One of the unique
characteristics of the nursing profession is autonomy (Bock, 2020). The nursing profession
operates independently with the legislative arm in the enactment of policies and also supervises the
practices of its health care workers as well as its professional standards. The nursing boards located anywhere in the United States has the autonomy to determine the standards of practice
and allow nurses to practice without being coerced. Autonomy is incorporated by allowing the
nursing board to create policies independent of the legislative arm. Professional Nursing Practice;

The nursing profession is guided by a professional code of ethics, which guides the
interactions between nurses and patients. More often the nursing profession relies on the code of
ethics established by American Nurses Association (ANA) standards to guide its practice.
According to Gurney et al. (2017), the ANA standards highlight the obligations of nurses, the
values of nursing, the boundaries of a practicing nurse, and the manner in which nurses are
required to act. The code of ethics element has been incorporated in the nursing role by making it
mandatory for nurses to sign that they have read and fully understand the provisions of the
standards (Gurney et al., 2017). Increasing knowledge and skills are prerequisites in the nursing
profession. In other words, the nursing profession is committed to enlarge its body of knowledge.
The need to increase in knowledge is to a great extent due to an increase in complexity in health
care (Bock, 2020). One of the provisions of the ANA posits that the registered nurse should
maintain competency through continued education. This has been incorporated in the nursing
role through assignments and research. Professional Nursing Practice;

Barriers of professionalism in nursing

Professionalism in nursing encompasses a set of values that promote the quality of patient
care without jeopardizing the judgment, methods, and standards that guide the practice of
nursing. Professionalism requires nurses to exhibit qualities such as responsibility, teamwork,
compassion, positive attitude, and integrity. However, there are barriers that prevent nurses from
acting professionally. The barriers include unfamiliar ethical dilemmas, huge workloads, and
lack of enough education and experience (Hwang & Shin, 2017). Professional Nursing Practice;

Nurses are at times faced with unfamiliar ethical dilemmas which may a barrier to
professionalism. The most common dilemmas faced by nurses include end-of-life decision-making, protecting the rights of patients, and advanced care planning. When faced with such
dilemmas, nurses may act in a manner that is inconsistent with their professional standards
(Hwang & Shin, 2017). To overcome this barrier, nurses should endeavor to consult their
colleagues in case a dilemma arises. In addition, nurses should follow the provisions of the
nursing code of ethics such as the ANA standards as the ultimate guide to their practice.
Heavy workloads may affect the manner in which the nurse practice. A heavy nursing
workload, for instance, may limit the amount of time a nurse has to accomplish a task. As a
result of fatigue stemming from heavy workload, nurses may provide substandard services to
patients, develop musculoskeletal disorders, or cause nurse burnout (Hwang & Shin, 2017). To
overcome the heavy workload barrier, the health care facilities should hire more nurses to ease
the burden. The nurses should also classify tasks in order of importance and allocate enough time
for each task to avoid being overwhelmed. Professional Nursing Practice;
The greatest barrier to professionalism in nursing is lack of knowledge, skills, and
experience. Lack of knowledge, skills, and experience required in nursing practice affects the
quality of care offered to patients. This also increases the possibilities of medication errors,
infections, falling accidents, and documentation errors (Hwang & Shin, 2017). To overcome this
barrier to professionalism in nursing, health facilities should organize regular training programs.
Additionally, health organizations should procure services from nurses with genuine academic
credentials and experience.
Section 3

Recommendations of the Institute of Medicine

The institute of medicine (IOM) is an independent and non-profit making organization
that provides unbiased advice to both decision-makers and the public. The IOM has proposed a
number of recommendations with regard to transforming nursing education. One of the
recommendations is that nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training
(Palatnik, 2016). In other words, if the advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are
permitted to practice to the full extent of their education and training, they can help to meet the
primary care needs of the country. This is because their skills are unique and patient-centered.
The second recommendation is that nurses should partner fully with physicians and other health
care workers in redesigning health care in the United States. In other words, nurse should not
only offer part-time services in the United States (Palatnik, 2016). Instead, they should work
hand in hand with other care workers as a way of restructuring the care system in the country.

Value of life-long learning and its impacts

Qalehsari, Khaghanizadeh, & Ebadi (2017), define lifelong learning as the voluntary
pursuit of knowledge either for personal or professional reason. Lifelong learning, therefore,
enhances personal development, self-sustainability, social inclusion, and competitiveness.
Lifelong learning will impact my nursing role in the sense that it will help me improve my critical
thinking skills. This means that it will help me improve how I express ideas and how I maneuver
through complex situations as a nurse. Lifelong learning will also hone my problem-solving
skill, which are needed to resolve disputes that arise in the course of my duty. Moreover, lifelong
learning will improve my understanding of various aspects in my scope of practice. My vision for
the next 5 years is to be a nurse that is well-grounded in the nursing profession and be able to
handle my patients and colleagues with decorum. Professional Nursing Practice; Read more

In conclusion, professional nursing entails the provision of care services that meet the needs
of clients, the community, and society. The nursing profession is characterized by elements such as
strong commitment, autonomy, a code of ethics, and increasing knowledge. Nurses are at times
unable to act with professionalism due to factors such as unfamiliar ethical dilemmas, huge
workloads, and lack of enough education and experience. The recommendations of the Institute
of Medicine include one, nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training, and two, nurses should partner fully with physicians and other health care workers in redesigning
health care in the United States. Lifelong learning is important because it improves critical
thinking skills, decision-making, and understanding of various aspects in nursing. Professional Nursing Practice;