Section one
Nursing is one of the oldest professions that individuals have pursued over time. The evolution and development of nursing are intricately connected to the many historical developments over time. It is only through the study of the history of nursing that we are able to comprehend the issues and societal forces that have confronted the profession over time. This study also has a major role in helping the nurses to be appreciative of the profession and the role that nursing has played over time. In many societies, the decision as to who would become a nurse or caregiver was made even before the individual had the opportunity to make that choice. Some of the traditions that were used were that if an individual were born with the placenta covering her face, then the child would be molded to become a caregiver. In many societies, the care giving profession was considered a female profession. The reasoning behind this kind of thought was that the individual (female) had had an opportunity to give care to their children when they were infants, and this kind of care could be applied to the sick adults and the injured in the community.
During this time, there were no instances of education, and it was up to the individuals to be taught through apprenticeship. This was done through the observation of how other people were treated, and this was normally done to sick people through the process of trial and error. It is only through the Christian eras that the nurses were able to form organizations that they were able to provide care to the patients. During these periods, the sick individuals received the care that they required in their homes. The people who sought help in the hospitals were those individuals who did not have homes. Some of the working conditions in these hospitals were dire. In many cases, the ill individuals had to share the beds. This increased their chances of transmission of diseases and the chances of reinfection of the contagious diseases. In the America, the career of nursing began during the outbreak of the civil war. The title ‘nurse’ was often restricted to the wives of defense force who had supplemented their husbands to the battlefields. In the United States, the first nursing school was founded in Philadelphia in 1872. This model was established as a copy of the Florence Nightingale nursing school model. This meant that individuals had to learn the set curriculum, and pay the required fees for them to be taught the nursing skills.
Over time, the hospitals began paying the students to study nursing as they had become aware of the student labor that could be provided by the student who was on ‘clinical training.' Today, the profession of nursing has grown in leaps and bounds. The profession of nursing is in demand. The salaries of the nurses are fairly lucrative. This however is dependent on the various factors such as the level of training, the years of experience that an individual nurse has and specialty that the nurses have pursued. Annually, the basic salary of and individual in the nursing profession is about $40000. This may however change depending on the area in which a nurse lives in. The level of education is the attainment of a Bachelor’s of science, Nursing. The operational conditions of the caregiver in the United States are fair, and there are only a few instances of shortages in the nursing profession. This is normally dependent on the number of patients in the hospitals. This can become a problem in the instance of a breakout of the disease.
Section two
There are various issues that were addressed in the films that we watched in class in cognizance with the issues that are being felt by individuals in the nursing industry. In Morgan Spurlock’s film, the issue of minimum wage has been properly depicted. This film is about the plight of a family that is trying to make ends meet by surviving through the minimum wage. Personally, I have several instances of social phenomena that can be analyzed from this film. These social phenomena can be interpreted from the sweeping generalizations of the society and the social behavior of the society in general. There can be three sociological perspectives which may include the symbolic, the functionalism theory and the conflict theory. In the film, Morgan and his wife are beginning a life with all their savings after moving to Columbus as this represented a place whereby all American are mainstream, and they knew that they could put their lives together in such an environment. One of the first obstacles that the couple encounters is the renting of an apartment. This is symbolic of the general American requirement in that one had to present to the landlord a proof of employment before being allowed to move into the house. For them to be allowed to move in, they first had to get a job. The job that they sought was difficult to find, and they had to settle for a job that paid the minimum wage. This is representative of the many trained and registered nurses in America who after their education, have to look for jobs. This means that nurses are not guaranteed jobs and in the instance of job seeking, the nurses have to look for other jobs before they can be able to find a place to live or look for other lucrative paying jobs.
Morgan’s wife also hurt her wrist during one of her work outings and this is representative of the bad working conditions that the nurses may have. Some of the nurses work in places that there are high chances of infection. This prompted Morgan to look for medical insurance. This was however not provided for by the employers as he was working on the minimum wage. This is also representative of the many American jobs that do not provide medical care insurance. In terms of functionalism, the film depicts several instances in how the society works. In this theory it is depicted that if an individual is in a position of power, then he or she can assert some influence on the decisions being made. Due to their limited budget, they had to buy one bus pass. This however represented some issues in that in the case that they missed their bus, they had to walk home. This shows that the society is always moving, and one had to be punctual or spend more for their travel in a taxi. This means that individuals have limited options especially when they are not financially well off. In terms of the conflict theory, the individuals have to cope with the subject of the capitalistic nature of individual in that if you do not have the financial strength, then you have to work for the minimum wage. This film is representative of the various issues in the society and especially the health insurance concerns. Finally, this film dispels the notion that the individuals who are uneducated only work for minimum wage. It is evident that Morgan was educated and decided to work for the minimum wage due to the lack of jobs. Such instances can also be found in the nursing profession.
Section Three
Over the years, there have been several emerging trends in the nursing profession. One of the main emerging trend that the nurses have to encounter is the treating the patients as consumers. When this is critically analyzed, the patient is well educated, technologically sophisticated, aggressive and demanding, have the choices and control over the treatment and finally the patients demand that the nurses prove that the treatment that they are offering is successful. It is thus positive to comprehend that the growing numbers of patients see the variance in the quality, service and costs that they are encountering. The patients that the nurses have to deal with are continuously comparing the health plans, self-remedies, medications and the devices that are being used to treat them. Due to the high education levels that the patients have, they are determined to find other treatment plans that are alternative to the conventional approaches that have been used by the nurses over time. It can thus be concluded that the provision of healthcare in the market can be viewed as a consumer market. The cost concerns of the patients are changing the manner in which the healthcare is being provided. The patients are thus embracing the innovations that embrace their self-cares. There are other trends such as the diversity of the populations that the nurses have to deal with. Some of the people in these diverse populations belief that it is only the people from their tribe that can be able to treat them. If other individuals from other ethnic or cultural backgrounds treat them, then they think that is a bad omen.
According to Webb and Brenda (55), it is also evident that nurses have to deal with the various beliefs of the different ethnic populations, the difference in cultures, and the various social, economic factors. To deal with these variances, the nurses have to increase the proportions of nurses with baccalaureate degrees. The scope of barriers that the nurses have to go through also has to be eliminated. In the United States, there has been a reduction in the number of nurses being employed. This is not however because of the voluntary cutbacks that were implemented by the government, and the government through a revamped process of recruitment should solve this. It is also evident that there is a trend that has emerged whereby qualified nurses in various fields are leaving to work in other lucrative business ventures due to the low paying nature of the nursing profession. Evidently, it has been noted that it is not only the wages that are leading the nurses to their massive exodus in the business ventures, but also the issue of job satisfaction. Since the nurses are the people who are best qualified to assess the quality of the healthcare, most of them have decided that the quality of healthcare is declining. Another factor that is evident in the shortages of the nursing profession in the United States is the aging factor of the registered nurses. In America, most of the registered nurses are from the baby boomers generation and most of them are retiring. It is up to the regime to deliver solutions for such cases. Another major emerging trend that is present in the nursing profession is the development of the issue of outsourcing of labor from other countries. The governments tend to look for methods and ways of ensuring that they get cheap labor. This kind of cheap labor can only be found through the outsourcing of nurses from other countries. The levels of qualifications of the nurses who are ‘imported’ is normally high. This is because in the countries that these nurses come from, the people there view that as brain drain.
Section four
The nursing professions in the United Kingdom and the United States have several similarities and differences. It is however the same values that are depicted in the nursing profession that is present in the two countries. Some of the values that are depicted in the two countries about the nursing profession are the ability of the nurses to listen, respect, the value of inclusiveness regardless of the ethnicity, or cultural values, respect and equality. The major differences in the nursing profession are the difference in the healthcare systems that are used in the two countries. A good example is whereby in the United Kingdom, it is the expected norm that the patients receive free medical care in any point that the service of healthcare is provided. In the United States, however, the patients are expected to pay for the services that they receive as the system is not free for all the citizens. In the United Kingdom, the patients are more dependent on the healthcare provided by the government as this is free and can be assessed in many places.. The patients have very high expectations as they expect that all the nurses attending to them are qualified professionally. In the United States, the patients are less dependent on the healthcare systems and it is up to them to make the necessary choices that they feel are favorable to them. In conclusion, the difference and the similarities in the two systems of the provision of healthcare are in the education modes, the health systems and the various issues of diversity that are present in the healthcare systems.
The issue of the cultural diversity and the cultural norms aspects affect the provision of nursing in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The diverse nature of the society ensures that there are problems that are encountered especially during the education and the provision of nursing services. In the United Kingdom, for example, the issue of employment is a dire one. The major immigration laws in the European Union ensure that all members of the European Union can be employed in the nursing sector of the United Kingdom. This provides major challenges especially in the levels of training and the competency levels that are required. This problem is not faced by the United States. This is because before the nurses are employed, they are carefully scrutinized, and their education levels are critically analyzed. The United States also has strict migration laws, and this makes it difficult for quack nurses to be employed. It is also vital to comprehend that it is not professionally favorable to stereotype the individuals from different background to their competency in the nursing profession. When individuals are stereotyped, this makes it difficult for them to work as they find their work being unappreciated. The nursing profession requires sympathy on the part of the patients and if the nurses do not feel appreciated, then it is difficult for them to show compassion. In the nursing industry, there is a perception that the nurses from India or those individuals who have been trained in India are quacks. This is not normally true. In many instances, there are nurses from India who are highly professional are qualified nurses. Personally I have learnt that it is best to be appreciative of the different cultures and their procedures of doing work. As a nurse, I understand that there is no single way of performing a particular task. It is the end outcome that typically matters. There are also other emerging trends that I must be able to consider and improve my education level so that I can be able to land a more lucrative payment package in the future.
Works cited
Webb, Christine, and Brenda H. Roe. Reviewing Research Evidence for Nursing Practice: Systematic Reviews. Oxford: Blackwell Pub, 2007. Internet resource.
