Evolution Of Nurse Practitioner

Nurse Practitioners have crusaded through the years paving a way of professionalism for the future Nurse Practitioners. Early Nurse Practitioner’s fought adversity within our own profession despite the benefits and potential benefits of Nurse Practitioners. Kurt Lewin’s theory of change is uncannily supported when reflecting back on the evolution of Nurse Practitioner profession:
1. Unfreezing: Challenging the status quo to gain support that a change is needed.
2. Freezing: Making a change
3. Refreezing: Solidifying the change into the culture.
The American Nurses Association has assisted us by the dedication to standards, guidelines, and principles. This has allowed the nursing profession to elevate by defining the values and priorities for
ANA Principles for Nursing Practice: From pay to staffing, delegation to documentation, and even cutting-edge topics such as social media – ANA has principles aimed at giving you practical information for your professional practice.

This framework for professionalism in nursing began with our early roots with Florence Nightingale who set the bar rather high in regards to giving herself to others and her expectation of excellence in nursing practice. She was an inventor, a visionary, a missionary and she delivered all with a commitment to passion and love.

Nursing as a profession embodies many values inherent in those who pursue nursing careers. When nurses are asked to identify their core values, they are surprisingly consistent throughout the profession globally. They include honesty, responsibility, pursuit of new knowledge, belief in human dignity, equality of all patients and the desire to prevent and alleviate suffering.
Professionalism will be judged in your personal behaviors and how you present yourself to all those around you, and through those behaviors, you tell the world who you are. Components of your professionalism include your attitude, your appearance and your willingness to help others. Let’s explore these a
There needs to be solidarity in our profession, and yet, what I have observed, is a more individualized approach where we, as nurses, are more worried about ourselves than the whole of the profession. This translates into your willingness to help others and to work together as a team, as well as speak positively about your profession whenever you can.
Remember, your profession is different than your job. At times we, as nurses, may tend to talk negatively about the nursing profession because we do not like where we work, and that you have control over. There is no question that nursing is a tough profession, both physically and mentally, and that with changes in the economy and the pressures of health care reform, the work environment will become even more challenging.
To survive and actually thrive in nursing, we will all need to pull together as a profession and begin by working together at the bedside and being great team players willing to support each other. Something magical happens when we give to others; wonderful things begin to come back to us in far greater ways than what we have originally