Nursing as a Profession

¶ … nursing should be classified as a profession. Webster's Dictionary defines a profession as "a type of job that requires special education, training, or skill." In addition to education, to be considered a profession, the person has to have a particular skill set which is specific to their chosen field. For nursing, a person must have education and specialized training, but they also must have an innate sense of ethics, knowing the difference between right and wrong while being able to make the right call in high-pressure situations.

Just as a lawyer must have a the ability to read people and teachers must have enthusiasm for learning, nurses must be dedicated to the preservation of life as well as an attitude which instills hope and comfort in the patients under their care. If to enter a profession, someone must have special training and specified skills as well as a personality which is appropriate to the type of work that must be performed, then nursing is unquestionably a profession.

To get certified as a nurse, candidates must attend an institution of higher learning. Most states require a Bachelor's degree before the person can even enroll in nursing school. In the state of California, for example, prospective nurses must put in years of study and erudition in order to qualify for licensing (Board of Registered Nursing 2013). First they have to take courses at an approved institution of higher learning which they must submit to the state along with transcripts which prove that they have obtained this education.

Only if their grades reflect dedication and intelligence in the medical sciences are they even allowed to take the examination to get licensed in the state. Once a candidate has received their nursing license, they must undergo periods of review as well as having to continue their education in order to renew the licenses before they expire. Just because a nurse is allowed to begin practice does not mean that they will always be able to do so.

Nurses are required by law to learn new practices and technologies and to obtain a level of mastery over them if they hope to continue working. In addition, if a nurse moves to another state they must go through a great deal of the initial process over again. Becoming a nurse is not done quickly and is not for those who are interested in an easy job.

Some argue that nursing should not be classified as a profession as it does not require the same level of education and training as a doctor or other "professional" occupations. This perspective is limited because it only takes into account the amount of time to get certification, not the fact that nurses need to continue with training and furthering their education for their rest of their careers. One of the most important components of nursing, as with many professions, is the code of ethics inherent to the occupation.

According to the American Nurses Association (2014), "The ANA believes the Code for Nurses is nonnegotiable and that each nurse has an obligation to uphold and adhere to the code of ethics." When a person becomes a nurse, they are pledging not only that they have the education, but that they have the temperament, the personality, and the mental ability to do the right thing for the patient at all times.

The nurse, even more so than the doctors, must be the advocate for the patients because they have more direct interaction with them. The nurse will be the one to closely read the case file and therefore know the medications the patient is on, their allergies, their conditions, and to have to comfort the patient and.