Qualitative Research Critique

This paper explores the personal nursing philosophy I plan to convey in my personal career. This philosophy is going to be described in my own terms to explain what being a nurse means to me. I believe that there are a number of factors that are important to be successful in the nursing field. I believe that being a nurse it takes commitment to accountability, professionalism, and compassion for the ill. I will explain each one of these in my paper and what they mean to me.

McKenna, L., & Newton, J. M. (2009). After the graduate year: a phenomenological exploration of how new nurses develop their knowledge and skill over the first 18 months following graduation. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxymu.wrlc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=57a243af-c0d3-4f81-addf-041456493db3%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4206

Regrettably, the existence of nursing depends on the medical inadequacy of others. Unfortunately, nursing exists because people get hurt, cannot care for themselves, or need assistance with daily activities. Carol Taylor (2011), author of Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, writes, “Nursing care involves any number of activities, from carrying out complicated technical procedures to something as seemingly as holding a hand” (p. 5). Taylor explains it is the duty of a nurse not only to learn the pertinent skills but also to bond with and comfort others. Nurses have to do and become many things: They must be stern when necessary, compassionate when needed, open minded

Nursing is as much science as it is a study in the human condition. Combining caring and the notion of human flourishing allows the nurse sharpen her understanding of patients’ needs by observing and understanding herself (Husted & Husted, 2008). A nurse is able to better anticipate the needs of her patients by noting similarities and differences between the two of them. With caring in the nursing corner, even under less-than-ideal conditions, one can still create havens of hope, nourishment, and the possibility for flourishing (MacCulloh, 2011).

This exposure of the nursing graduates to the professional environment is not alienated from the concepts of

One of the main differences between male and female nurses that researchers note is the perception that male nurses do not have the ability to express themselves in a way that comes across as caring to the patient. In recent decades, there has been a major focus on caring being a core value for the profession (Grady, Stewardson & Hall, 2008). The definition of caring for the purposes of nursing fits the role of the traditional feminine acts of showing empathy and emotion. Nurse Stacey Robinson feels that female nurses are generally more sensitive to their patients and can openly discuss feelings, which is the behavior that is encouraged in school (Personal communication, November 24, 2008). Many male nurse educators feel that males expressed difficulty in this area because they

Hogston and Simpson (2002) describe this traditional task-orientated method of nursing care as contrary to the nursing process, compromising the concept of individualised patient centred care. Price (2006) supports this view, suggesting that patient-centred care requires the nurse to be flexible and not confined to set care pathways or task-orientated methods. I complied with functional nursing and completed tasks assigned to me which Higginson (2006) states many first year nursing students do as they are preoccupied with worries about their ability to perform nursing duties. However, through this I found that I did not engage completely with the patients which according to Squire (2001) would have built a good, therapeutic and interpersonal relationship with the patients. Reflecting using Benner (1984), in terms of starting to become a proficient and capable staff nurse, I was a novice. Rather (2007) states that novices are taught rules to help them perform, and although I was not taught these rules within my first placement I still adhered to them and reflecting back I would consider my practice as limited and inflexible due to these rules. Consequently I saw managerial skills such as time management, prioritising and delegation beyond my capabilities, Hill and Howlett (2005) state feeling incapable of managing patient care is normal for a first year student nurse.

The beginning of a new graduate nurses career rarely begins easily, there seems to be a distinct disconnect between the fantasy of what it means to be a nurse and the reality of bedside nursing. Nursing school seems to feed into this disconnection, in that it does not prepare the new graduate registered nurse (NGRN) for their professional practice. What nursing school does is give the NGRN the basics, a peak into what is to come. The NGRN has to find out for themselves what the true meaning of being a nurse is and if it fits their preconceived ideas.

New advertisements for the nursing field include posters designed for this campaign aimed to boost the attractiveness of the image of men in nursing by illustrating concepts of brotherhood, belonging, men helping men, and leading the way. One of the recent posters out there shows a student nurse "reverse mentoring" another nurse with technology proving that this is an educational line of work. AAMN, American Assembly for Men in Nursing, hopes that these contemporary images of professional, compassionate, and competent nurses will chip away at stereotypes about men in nursing (Stokowski

Nursing was, for my sixteen year old self, taking care of the sick. Little did I know the complexities of that definition. Still, taking care of the sick was interesting enough to make nursing my major. I started practicing nursing years ago. However, I still struggle defining and explaining my profession to others. I usually start by differentiating nursing from medicine. Nurses see patients as humans rather than a disease that needs treatment (Zaccagnini & White, 2014, p. 15). However, as I advance my career, I must actively incorporate nursing theory into my practice. Nursing theory gives a foundation to understand patients and their health problems better. The use of nursing theory provides a framework to evaluate nurses’ interventions on a higher standard (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Kenney described five steps to follow once the decision to include nursing theory has being made. This paper will explore the process of applying the Kenney’s five steps into my practice.

While the nursing field continues to flourish in today’s job market,it is also experiencing a massive shortage. Despite this alarming fact, according to Buerhaus (2008): “ Of the estimated 2.24 million RNs in the nursing workforce in 2006, 200,000 were men (8%)” (p. 2424). In order to alleviate the nursing shortage, nursing schools must allure men into the field by eliminating the feminization of the profession and appealing to a diverse demographic who choose to pursue a career in a female dominated field. Moreover, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students, omitting gender differences between associate and baccalaureate degree levels, and comparing nursing programs from various regions will bring about the necessary and crucial change the nursing field is in dire need for. However, by eliminating the comparison of male and female students; nursing schools are unable to distinguish the elite from the amateur slackers. Omitting gender differences between degree levels, will considerably affect the quality of care and patient safety and above all comparing nursing schools will only result in misleading information that gives students the run around .

So I bring up this controversial topic again, about both mental and physical health and how important it is to take some time out of our crazy busy lives as nurses just to sit with our patients for a few minutes to discuss their pain. By pain, I mean both mental and physical pain. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a situation I was involved in as a nursing student in the clinical setting and how I can critically analyze this situation using Carper’s Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing (1978). This model has helped many practitioners to consider what they learn throughout reflection on their experience within a holistic way.

This paper will discuss the functions of caring within the nursing practice, as well as my own personal views regarding caring. I will review the Benner model of Clinical Nursing and the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition in relationship to my own personal skills. I will identify my competencies within each domain of the Benner Model. I will reflect upon my own personal nursing practice in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. Also included will be a discussion of my own professional goals, areas of improvement needed within my practice and solutions for how I can improve in order to help me achieve these personal goals.

As this research consisted of 30 participants, a table format listing the four themes with clustered excerpts would have provided this writer with easier interpretation of the data collected. It would have been useful to quantitatively designate the percentage of participants in support of a theme versus those with alternative perceptions. Narrative display of data collection findings made this research less vivid for this writer.

Male nurses make up about 9% of nursing students in both Canada and the United States. Whilst, on the one hand, the circumstance of male nurses seems to be growing, on the other hand, it is not growing too rapidly and, at the same time, attrition is taking place so that more male nurses are leaving the nursing field that are entering it (Stott, 2007). This is astonishing particularly given the fact that males who enter nursing are given more opportunity than females and open to lucrative payment. It is furthermore surprising given that other fields, such as medicine and engineering have largely closed ranks in regards to the gap between male and female workers (Davis and Bartfay, 2001). Part of the problem, however, may be the gendered environment that is part of the nursing field and that discomfits males and induces them to leave. In fact, evidence does indicate that the training environment is largely slanted to that of females and that males continue to be outsiders in both a demographic and cultural manner in nursing institutions. It is this, and the effects, that the following essay will evaluate.