Nurse’s Professional Image

Over the years, the nursing employment has approach an take care fall that concretely defined her role in the society. The book a interchangeables which exude the near diagnosable mark of the profession in the wellness sector and the society have also faced alterations that greatly push the opens perception of nurses. In an exhibit at the Philadelphias Fabric Workshop, umteen conclude that nurses argon no longer identifiable with the profession.The contemporary transitions that constantly evolved to define her busy role has brought forth an identicalness crisis that even patients, family members, other(a) health professionals and workers have difficulty labeling her role in the health trade setting. This transition was highly observed in the concluding two decades as nurses have found the ease in corroding casual and sometime colorful uniform attire (Harrion, 200141)(Houweling, 200442). The identity of the sporting uniform became lost as nurses prefer the comfort an d ease of the chafe uniforms (Houweling, 200440).In the past decades, the nurse in a snow-clad uniform nonifyd a professional confidence brought about by the competency of her prank and training. The nurses treetop was also the known distinguishing mark that level-headed nurses wore based on Florence Nightingales 1874 model(Dodd,20057).To look back, the earliest uniforms concentrate more on functionality and feminine virtue and were more or less(prenominal) associated with the religious orders and military nursing groups (Ellis and Harley, 2004 185).The propriety of erodinging a uppercase also followed uniformity as a respectable way for women to bring in and be distinguished at the institution. The early uniforms were long, starched long sleeves with detachable collars and cut that included a cape that could be worn during the winter months (Houweling, 200441). By the end of the 19th century, the functional sporty dress was adapted that catered to the developing of pa ntsuits in the 60s. The usanceal nurse uniform has existed in some(prenominal) variants from the dress, apron and cap yet the basic style has remained recognizable in many years (Hallam, 41).In the late 60s, psychiatric nurses pushed against the white uniform in their setting and were finally allowed to withstand street robes in the 1970s. In the 1980s, many hospitals no longer required nurses to wear the nursing cap turn over awayn their expanded nursing roles (Ellis, Hartley & Love 184). Harrion explained that the cap discourages the men from entering the profession and the cap is identified with a handmaid mark attached to it which is contradicted as male nurses were unlikely forced to wear the nurses cap, this status was reserved for the female nurses.Another insistence is that the cap was sooner hard to keep clean which is again contradicted merely by the occurrence that starched caps can be dry cleaned. Even the nursing pin which was a significant mark and a coat of ar ms of the nursing profession has lost its appeal. Contemporary nurses are now reduced to wearing cheerful scrubs that were once limited to the specialty areas such as the CCU, intensive care unit and ER where practicality is an issue.In lacquer, nurses were once kimono clad and appeared like the under-maid types to keep their tradition alive (Takahashi, 2004 4). Stimulated by the womens position in the occidental society, the western concept of the profession gained popular adherence as the white uniform was adapted for all Nipponese nurses in the health helper (Takahashi5).This process faced grandstanding as Japanese doctors trained Europe pushed for the toleration of the white uniform among the Japanese nurses in an effort to domineeringly catch and identify the professional nurse. After many years of retaining their traditional garb, Japan soon crystalized that issues of hygiene and practicality were at stake. Further they were able to realize and understand that the nur sing uniform embodies probity and purity that is needed to overhaul the image of the female workers in Japan.Today, the nursing profession is again set about major upheavals that de-emphasize the purity of the standard white uniform in favor of the comfortable scrubs. This is a dilemma that nurses face in a work setting where many other caregivers wear the same garb. Patients and other health workers have trouble identifying the nurse from the rest of the ordinary caregivers. The public image of the nursing profession is suffering as the effort to communicate the value of the profession is diminishing. Mangum, Garrison, Lind, Thackeray and Wyatt once recommend that nurses wear clothing that intelligibly distinguish them as professional nurses (Ellis, Hartley & Love, 2004 184).Others believed that the white standard uniform exudes spot and authority compared to the rumpled and disordered appearance of the swarthy scrubs. Despite the many images equated with the profession and the medias continued assault on the appearance of nurses on that point is an immediate need to revamp the current attire. White according to most nurses denotes sanitation and cleanliness they could be tailored and modified to enhance the figure utilise a fine material with insignias that could denote rank and position would give power and authority over the other ordinary caregivers in the health institution. Given the physical exertion of the profession, the cap might pose to be too unrealistic.This could prove to be more amenable rather than seeing professional nurses around the hospital garbed in attire that are commonly worn by the orderlies. This is an image problem and physicians would probably like to see nurses in uniforms of power rather than in rumpled an colored attires dressed like ordinary orderlies. The uniform is what makes nurses look good and give in a professional appearance.When one wears costumes that convey their attributes, virtues and training, the patient s ees the nurse as someone he can trust along with his physician. Wearing a well-tailored uniform and displaying the nursing pin helps nurses from being belittled by patients and their families. Nurses give up their power and authority as a profession when not dressed uniformly and loose their self-esteem when viewed ordinarily (Masters, 2005130). The uniform identifies the particular(prenominal) and unique place that professional nurses have in the health care system (Masters, 2005112).Thus, if nurses wish for doctors to treat them as colleagues in healthcare, society to have intercourse them as authorities, and to be paid as the profession deserves, the professional image should be insisted. Therefore if one wishes to be treated as a ministering angel (Hallam 133) or as a professional and as a privileged individual, the professional appearance must portray a positive public image (Dodd, 2005 6).Works CitedHallam, Julia. Nursing the Image Media, Image and master key Identity. Rout ledge.Masters, Kathleen. (2005). Role Development in Professional Nursing Practice. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.Ellis, Janice passenger and Hartley, Love, Celia. (2004). Nursing in todays World Challenges, Issues and Trends. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.Takahashi, Aya. (2004). The Development of the Japanese Nursing Profession Adopting and Adapting Western Influences. Routledge.Harrion, Lois. (20010. Professional Practical/Vocational Nursing. Thomson Delmar Learning.Houweling, Lynn. (2004, April). Image, Function, and title A history of the nursing uniform. American Journal of Nursing, 104, 4. p. 40 48Dodd, Elizabeth, Bates, C., Rousseau, N. (eds). (2005). On All Frontiers Four Centuries of Canadian Nursing. Ottawa University of Ottawa.