Have you been socialized into the professional practice of nursing or Are you just practicing to be practicing and clocking/signing/swiping in for your next paycheck?

I haven't posted as much the last week or so because my grandfather is hospitalized and between my law practice and my hospital visits my hands are pretty full. My grandfather is doing better. He is hospitalized at the University of Cincinnati in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit with COPD, pneumonia, and a bowel perf.

Thank you to the staff at UC Hospital for taking such good care of my papa including but not limited to GI, Pulmonary, Interventional Radiology,  and ICU docs as well as the PT/OT and of course the nursing staff.

I have received two inquiries this week from nurses who were busted at work doing really unprofessional acts. Keep it professional at work. Do you know what is means to be a professional nurse? What is professionalism in nursing? Have you been socialized into the professional practice of nursing or are you just practicing from paycheck to paycheck?

My papa is hospitalized and I can't imagine one of the nurses taking a digital picture of his "tally wacker" and showing it to other nurses. This was an allegation pending against a nurse. I am not kidding.

Keep it professional at work. What is professionalism? If you don't know take an online CE, read a few articles, perform a little internet research, and observe other healthcare professionals and their interactions with patients and family members. Read the classics: the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, and the Nursing's Social Policy Statement.

If you still don't know what it means to be a professional nurse and what is means to be part of a profession, then just ask yourself would you want a nurse caring for your papa, mother, child, or dear friend who behaved, performed, or acted in such a manner?

Personally, I think there are some of us working as nurses who shouldn't be nurses because for some its just a paycheck or a job and this is eventually reflected in the care provided and the behavior, attitude, or work ethic of the nurse which of course can sour and impact the entire unit, floor, wing, or hall.

This is the real world not nursing school and of course its okay to do what you do just for a paycheck, to practice only from paycheck to paycheck, and to practice and to work not because you like what you do but because it affords you with a decent living....We see this of course in every profession or occupation.

Are you a blue collar nurse, pink collar nurse, or a white collar nurse?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-collar_worker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-collar_worker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink-collar_worker