Professional Identity and Stewardship – Part I: Peer Interview

Professional Identity and Stewardship – Part I: Peer Interview

Grand Canyon University: HLT – 450V

Professional Identity and Stewardship – Part I: Peer Interview

My peer interview introduced herself as a floor nurse working alongside other Labor and Delivery nurses, as well as her manager, their focus was to help maintain and promote the health of antepartum and laboring patients. Her location is a level III NICU facility, so they take care of high-risk newborns. Tasks include administering various medications such as magnesium sulfate. She also helps prep the obstetrics patients to prepare for vaginal or by cesarean delivery. She is generally managing two mothers during her shift. If she has any issues she will utilize her charge/shift manager when she needs to go up the chain of command or has questions regarding any particular care of a patient. She stated that being a labor and delivery nurse she has many tasks. She stated that she pitches in and helps other nurses when needed and they help her when she needs help, you have to be a team player. She also stated that she participates in a quality committee every month to help promote patient safety. She trains a lot of new nurses and transfer nurses to their unit and even work with students which is a big component to their hospital.

The interviewee described Professionalism as being honest, dressing professionally (not wearing too much makeup like bright colors, being mindful your scrubs fit appropriately and not too tight), showing up to work on time, pulling your weight and giving the job one-hundred percent and not slacking off, making sure to pitch in and help those around you, and setting an example. Also, not talking too coarsely at the nurses’ station (more appropriate in the break room, if at all, like no foul language). Not raising your voice at others, and treating everyone with respect (patients, managers, housekeepers, aids, fellow nurses). Professional responsibilities influence the work because every person who is an employee of the hospital should be professional and set an example and not just the things we say but the things we do. The same rules apply to all personal.

When asking the interviewee about if they see that their leaders are stewards she replied with that the leaders in the organization help promote high quality care. The shift managers actually jump in and help with things when things get busy on the floor, and do not just sit behind the desk in their chair all shift. They understand because they were doing what we are doing every day and have just moved up the chain of command. They know that when it gets crazy, they have to help steer the ship to keep it from sinking. The interviewee gave an example of a time that happened recently that times when night shift recently got so overwhelmed, the charge nurse called the director in the middle of the night and told her she needed help, that she did not even have time to call extra nurses in for help. So the director actually started calling nurses in to help. The interviewee that she believes the nurses and managers where she works are all considered leaders, and responsible for promoting high-quality care, and they do so in the quality of care they provide to the patients.

Coming to our last question about leaders exercising professional advocacy and authenticity as well as power and influence she felt that it is important to have all of these qualities. No one wants to work for a dictator or someone who is power-hungry, but someone who will listen to and care about their problems or issues that arise in the workplace, so a positive outcome will ensue. We need leaders to go up to bat for us and be on our side, someone who knows what it is like to be at the bedside and understands what that is like and the pressure that comes with that role. Direct quotes, “I can more easily respect a leader if they are professional in the workplace and are authentic and I feel that they genuinely care about the job and those under them (A. Knapper, personal communication, September 20, 2019).” Since the leader holds a position of power, they hold that seat of having the power and having to make the tough decisions, that is why they have that job. The interviewee stated that she did not want that kind of responsibility. She would want a leader who can take charge and make difficult decisions when needed. It is nice if the leader has a positive influence when working with colleagues because they can have ideas and things they need to accomplish, but they also need to get people on their side and be able to influence their colleagues to commit to those things, and that is where having a positive influence comes in.

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