Anytime a nursing student is questioned as to why he/she chose nursing as a career path, the most obvious answer they usually give is that they had the intention of learning how to save lives. Today, if someone asked me why I decided to join the nursing class in college, I’m most likely to give the same answer. However, the actual reason as to why I decided to embark on this career path was, because I did not consider myself smart enough to pursue medicine. I never really wanted to be a nurse since I had a misguided mentality on the nursing career. I thought that a career in nursing was a risk that was not worth the gamble particularly because I had witnessed several nurses who had quit their jobs out of frustration and stress (National League for Nursing, 2001, p. 344). I know that most people today share the sentiments as I had when embarking on this journey to self discovery. However, through this nursing discourse, I came to understand and recognize that nursing, when viewed as a way of life, can be a very rewarding career path just like medicine and engineering which I initially viewed as carriers that were outside my league.
I came to realize that with a career in nursing, I would hardly pass up an employment opportunity. I would surely live up to my dream like I had always planned. The question is that remained unanswered was whether I could afford the dream that came with this career? The answer to that question being, yes I could. The nursing profession affords fairly handsome emoluments to nurses. In addition to fulfilling my dreams, a career in nursing would see me improve my quality of life. Nonetheless, a few discourses had to be done before I could consider myself a nurse. This essay contains a pithy analysis that registers my discourse community; nursing. This short analysis that touches on the most important aspects of this discourse giving brief details on key areas in this field, why I chose it and an outline of the evidence that supports my choice to become a nurse.
A discourse is vital in virtually all aspects of life. A discourse community can be defined as a group of individuals in a certain community, for instance individuals within a college, who share knowledge on a particular area of study. It encompasses people who have been through similar experiences, common values and people who communicate in a common way. Some of the most important areas of nursing include: Medical expression and the terminologies used in this field include, communication, confidentiality of the patient and knowing what to do when faced with certain situations. These are some of the important ingredients that make a great nurse (Holloway, 2007, p, 254). These skills, when combined with the personal attributes of a nurse, form the wider view of the skill set that fully define a nurse. Joining this discourse community was a process that took a lot of self-searching and the belief that I was on the right path just like I did when I was joining my high school’s soccer team. I never liked soccer when I was growing up until I met my high school soccer coach who gave me the self conviction to play. In the same manner, I never thought that nursing had a lot to offer until I made a firm stand that it would be my career of choice (Holloway, 2007, p, 254).
Out of this discourse community project, I came to the realization that communication was the number one discourse in the field of nursing. It is very important for a nurse to have the ability to communicate in a clear manner, especially within the discourse community and within other important stakeholders related to the field of nursing e.g. doctors. It has been observed that nurses play a major role in helping doctors to administer various kinds of treatment to patients (National League for Nursing, 2001, p. 344). In case a life threatening situation arises, it would be very important for a nurse to communicate accurately and effectively with doctors and other fellow nurses so as to avoid unnecessary mistakes that may arise due to the lack of proper communication skills. Perhaps the most obvious way through which nurses and other medical personnel communicate, is through documenting their patient’s information. It is the role of a nurse to ensure that all the medical information relating to a particular patient has been recorded properly and that such information should be updated each time the patient comes for a checkup. The nurse has to organize the information in an orderly fashion that will enable doctors and other nurses to understand the patient’s sickness or condition easily.
Medical terminology is an important discourse to a nurse and nurses should be well versed with all terminologies used by the doctors during the course of their duties. Developing this skill allows nurses to avoid making huge mistakes such as making incorrect prescriptions to patients which may translate to disastrous results or even cause death. A nurse must be in a position to understand the preparation of the equipment required by the doctor prior the performance of a particular medical procedure (Holloway, 2007, p, 254). A nurse should not keep seeking clarifications from a doctor on every request that the doctor makes since this would compromise the performance of medical procedures especially in instances where time is of the essence. Nurses help also help in directing new arrivals to sections of the hospital where they can receive proper attention. Unlike a doctor who only studies what he treats, nurses have to be versatile enough in order to have the knowledge concerning all types of illnesses and conditions that may be portrayed by a patient. This is important since it will enable a nurse to direct patients to the right sections of hospitals where they can be accorded the right medical attention.
Patient confidentiality forms part of the nursing code of ethics. All nurses must be well equipped with the do’s and the don’ts when it comes to disclosing confidential information concerning a patient. Failure to comply with such regulations may amount to litigation cases. Nurses found guilty of such misdeeds may be given prison sentences (National League for Nursing, 2001, p. 345). All nurses subscribe to a nursing code of ethics and swear during their graduation to uphold, by all means necessary, the provisions contained therein. A nurse should never disclose confidential medical information unless their patients allow them to disclose their information.
The last important discourse in the nursing fraternity that each nurse must be equipped with, is being able to determine the best course of action when faced with different situations especially those that are a matter of life or death. A nurse must be sharp and posses the ability to think on her/his feet both in times of emergency and during normal circumstances. Emergency situations are not times to compare notes with colleagues or ask questions. A nurse must have a very good judgment and he/she must anticipate events right before they happen in order to provide sufficient time for counteractive measures to be taken to remedy any medical situation before it gets out of hand. In my view, nurses are the big minds behind every successful medical procedure. Without the nurses, doctors are just big minds with little ideas on how to implement their brilliance.
References
Powers, P., & National League for Nursing. (2001). The methodology of discourse analysis. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Holloway, I., & Freshwater, D. (2007). Narrative research in nursing. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub.
