A nurse’s overall comportment and communications style, collectively referred to as professional presence, has become increasingly central to core competencies in healthcare. Professional presence impacts the way an individual nurse, and even an entire institution, is perceived by patients and the community. Nurse leaders need to focus more on human resources and professional development practices that stimulate professional presence and related competencies in what is colloquially known as bedside manner. Research is increasingly revealing the direct correlation between patient satisfaction and the minute details of a nurse’s presence, including manner of dress (Ketchem, 2016). Each model of health and healing, including the physical body model, the body-mind model, the body-mind-spirit model, the bio-psycho-social model, the Eastern model, and Western model all inform models of professional comportment, demeanor, and presence. Furthermore, professional presence impacts the extent of a nurses’ influence on nursing practice, patient care, institutional policy, organizational culture, and even public policy in healthcare.
Models of Health and Healing

Each model of health and healing will offer different options and opinions on ideal professional presence and modes of nursing influence. The body-mind-spirit model presents a holistic vision of healthcare, impacting approaches to patient care in multiple healthcare setting including psychiatric care (Rentala, Fong, Nattala, et al., 2015). Within a body-mind-spirit model, the nurse cultivates a professional presence in accordance with the philosophical principles of holistic care. Cultural competencies remain critical to the body-mind-spirit model, as well as to the bio-psycho-social model of healthcare. The bio-psycho-social model is akin to the body-mind-spirit model, taking into account cultural and sociological factors impacting healthcare, attitudes towards healthcare and wellness, and beliefs about healing. On the contrary, the physical body model of healthcare promotes a more singular vision of the role of the nurse, which in turn impacts professional presence and demeanor. The physical body model may not entirely discount the spiritual or cultural dimensions of healing, but it does pre-empt those issues in favor of allopathic medical interventions. Models of health and healing impact beliefs and worldviews, including those that inform what it means to be human. Whereas the physical body model leaves existential and eschatological concerns out of the healthcare equation, while still respecting patient autonomy, individuality, and cross-cultural views on healing, the bio-psycho-social model does far more to incorporate spiritual values and viewpoints into models of what it means to be human.

Models and Professional Presence

The different models of healthcare also impact professional presence. Nurse leaders ascribing to the physical body model will ensure that their nursing staff segregate issues related to spirituality from medical care, whereas those promoting the body-mind-spirit or bio-psycho-social model might encourage nursing staff to allow spirituality to infiltrate healthcare (O’Brien, 2018). In either case, though, professional presence encompasses all aspects of interpersonal communication and organizational culture under one cohesive rubric of healthcare. The nurse leverages emotional intelligence and professional competencies in order to promote high quality of care and positive patient outcomes.

Influence on Nursing Practice

Models of healthcare influence attitudes towards what it means to be human, professional presence, and also other aspects of nursing practice. For example, the physical body model of healthcare has a direct impact on nursing practice in that complementary or alternative modalities might be discounted in favor of evidence-based interventions. The bio-psycho-social model of healthcare would also stress evidence-based practice interventions while also acknowledging the importance of spirituality in caring for patients (Potter, Perry, Stockert, et al., 2016). Administrative decisions, linked to the design of the healthcare institution, institutional policies and procedures, leadership style, and organizational structure, are also pragmatic concerns connected with models of healthcare and professional presence.

Personality Preferences

Personality Assessment Submission

The following results from the Jung personality test indicate that I am an INFP (Introvert-iNtuitive-Feeler-Perceiver).

Test Results Analysis

Test results indicate that I can be private and reserved, and yet still dedicated and caring in my attitude towards patients. I appreciate solitude and time alone, and can be quiet and understated in team environments, which impacts my professional presence. In accordance with my alliance to the bio-psycho-social model of healthcare, I take an intuitive approach that allows for spiritual values and beliefs to influence patient healthcare decisions. I value compassion and harmony over logic and order, although I can also be...…among healthcare workers, it is important for nurses to cultivate the level of self-awareness that can promote optimal patient outcomes. In a geriatric care setting, the nurse can collaborate with fellow members of the healing team to provide patient care according to personal and familial wishes. Psychiatric patients may require additional assistance navigating the stigmas linked to mental health within their respective communities. As Walker & Mann (2016) show, mindfulness has become an evidence-based professional practice intervention for nurses in multiple healing environments.

Best Practices

Best practices inform how I can apply self-awareness and insight to promote professional presence in my current healthcare setting. Research shows how mindfulness on its own promotes respect for the patient and cultural competencies (Green, 2018; Walker & Mann, 2016). As a nurse leader, I can also influence colleagues and members of the healthcare team. Promoting nurse physical health includes becoming more demanding of the institution in terms of maintaining a work-life balance, preventing nurse burnout, and offering more healthful choices for food and exercise for nursing staff. Evidence-based practices applied to patients needs to be applied equally as well to nursing professionals.

Professional Presence Promotion

Because professional presence requires both physical health and emotional/social/spiritual health, I remain dedicated to optimized quality of care within the confines of institutional and legal guidelines. The professional presence I promote reflects the values and principles of the organization. I also align my practice and professional presence with the core competencies of the profession and its ethical values. Promoting professional presence means cultivating cultural competencies and compassion for diversity among the patient population.

Conclusion

Professional presence refers to how a nurse presents the healthcare profession as a whole, and specifically embodies the mission and values of the healthcare organization. Measured using standardized means like the Jung personality type, a nurse can assess individualized tendencies towards certain types of professional comportment. Mindfulness and self-awareness enhance the nurse’s ability to provide optimal evidence-based patient care. The healing environment is culturally sensitive and ultimately provides patients with the physical, psychological, and spiritual healing necessary for holistic care.

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