Discussion Question
Discussion Question 1
Professional socialization involves the interaction between health providers and their colleagues and the interaction between the health provider and the patient, family, groups, or communities. In the healthcare workplace, professional socialization occurs through nurses working together in a specific department to ensure total and quality delivery of care that ensures positive outcomes. Nurses help one another solve health care problems, assist each other during shifts, and share knowledge and skills about on how to deliver quality care. On the other hand, professional socialization between nurses and patients occur when both have close relationships. The Orlando’s theory of Nursing Process Discipline argues that the practice of nursing involves an interaction between the nurse and ill people to meet their immediate health needs. The interaction depends on the nurse’s reaction, action, and behaviors (Nelson, 2015).
Socialization in the healthcare workplace arises from interpersonal relationships and interactions that make up the nursing profession (Zarshenas, et al., 2014). Professional socialization allows nurses make good assumptions of the nursing role by influencing their attitude and values towards care. Nurses become more aware of their duties and responsibilities and become more knowledgeable of factors influencing the delivery of quality and safe care to patients through professional socialization.
The impact of patriarchal health care system on socialization in the nursing role
Gender politics continues shaping the social concept of public health affecting the professional interaction between physicians and nurses. The traditional belief that physicians are basically men while nurses are women finds dominance in the health care setting today as evidenced by a high number of patriarchal health care systems. Patriarchal health systems affect socialization in the nursing role because of the presence of gender bias where men tend to assume dominance and ignore decisions made by women. Moreover, to understand the doctor-nurse relationship in a patriarchal health system requires the awareness men-women relationships in the society. The system denies female nurses the much-needed freedom to interact with male counterparts because of social and cultural norms that control behaviors of these professionals.
Discussion Question 2
Application of the change theory in the area of practice
The health care system undergoes continuous improvements that require frequent changes. Organizational managers should implement an appropriate change mechanism following acceptable strategies to achieve the objective and goal of the change plan. The application of change theories in different areas of practice helps bring out positive and long-term outcomes. One of the areas of practice where the change theory finds more application is on health safety. The change theory plays a critical role in guiding the process of implementing changes in the health safety to ensure nurses adopt new changes. Lewin’s Change Management theory has shown a lot of positivity in guiding nurses through the implementation of changes aimed at improving safety in nursing practice. The theory allows change managers understand human behaviors and patterns related to change and factors influencing resistance to change (Nazarko, 2004).
Weaknesses of the change theory that influences its application in practice
Lewin’s Change Management theory has some weaknesses that influence its application in the practice of nursing. First, the theory utilizes three stages of change management. The transition from one stage to the other depends on the success of the previous stage. In the circumstance where the staff fails to complete one stage, the proposed change stagnates causing delays and affecting the overall impact of the planned change to the practice.
Discussion Question 3
Application of role theory in healthcare settings
Nursing practice
The role theory helps in evidence-based advanced nursing practice by determining the applicability of different nurses’ roles into practice through evidence gained from research. The Role theory assists in creating models for change management and utilization in the practice of nursing to promote good, quality and safe care.
Nursing education
The role theory helps in promoting nursing education by developing education interventions aimed at improving nursing curriculum. The traditional curriculum taught in nursing colleges is a thing of the past. Institutions and colleges now focus on modern nursing practices and education capable of overcoming health care challenges faced today and those expected in the future. The role theory creates a better platform for implementing changes needed in the area of nursing education.
Nursing research
The role theory helps in understanding concepts of research through translating theory into evidence-based assessment tools needed to successfully conduct nursing researchers. The theory helps the researcher understand the problems by making them more aware of the environment and formulate new methods of approaching the problem. Second, the role theory helps in developing research questions using the PICOT format. The format ensures the research understands the research Population, the Intervention of interest, study group Comparisons, expected Outcomes, and Timeframe (Fawcett, 2015).
Nursing administration
The role theory helps in pronouncing the role of nurse administrator in a health setting. Nursing administration is a critical area in health care setting that determines the running and operation of the organization. The application of the role theory helps nurse administrators develop administration strategies and develop models for implementing changes necessary for the successful management of other nurses.
References
Fawcett, J. (2015). Using Theory in Evidence-Based Advanced Nursing Practice in In Butts, J.
B., & In Rich, K. L. (2015). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Nazarko, L. (2004). Managing a quality service. Oxford: Heinemann.
Nelson, S. (2015). Theories Focused on Interpersonal Relationships, In Butts, J. B., & In Rich,
K. L. (2015). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Zarshenas, L., Sharif, F., Molazem, Z., Khayyer, M., Zare, N., & Ebadi, A. (2014). Professional
socialization in nursing: A qualitative content analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(4), 432–438.
