My professional identity is a cultivated source of significant pride that is always maturing with experience and opportunity. I believe that the development of a professional identity is an evolving process that includes your knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. Being a role model for nursing is the best way to project an image that reflects your professional identity (Pullen, 2021). My nursing practice engages all aspects of my personal and professional life. I ensure that my persona displays integrity, etiquette, and kindness. I seek educational opportunities and pursue leadership roles that support my development, my growth and enhance my connection to the nursing profession.
Engaging in the Master of Health Studies program at Athabasca University challenged me to really look back to move forward by auditing my professional identity. I took this opportunity to reflect on my nursing academics and the influence of my nursing career to date. I considered my interactions with colleagues, peers, and prospective employers. I could not ignore the complete absence of a digital identity. My professional identity has been completely embedded in an in-person, daily display of nursing values and a personal set of values-based standards for a strong adherence to good manners. I had not engaged in any social media presence, and I had to acknowledge an underlying self-imposed bias that to have a digital identity was irresponsible. I am very comfortable in living my nursing values; I am proud of my professional approach and in the consistency that I bring to the healthcare environment. However, I knew I needed to explore what having a digital identity meant to me and consider updating my views on the potential missed opportunity.
In working through the resource materials associated with my masters’ studies and by curating my own research, I appreciated how the article “Professionalism in the Digital Age” (2011) outlined how online social networks, blogs, and media sites for personal and professional reasons should be preserved, a proactive approach is recommended that includes actively managing one's online presence and making informed choices about disclosure (para. 2). I have since started the journey to develop a more well-rounded professional identity that includes a digital presence reflective of my values and connection to the broader multidisciplinary healthcare system.
My nursing practice is my professional identity, and my professional identity is essential in navigating my role in the Canadian healthcare system. I participate in direct clinical patient-centered care activities, foster evidence-based practice and engage in operational oversight that is accountable for patient safety, creative resource utilization, and the deliberation of quality improvement. I am part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team that is driven by a common goal of facilitating positive patient outcomes that are proactive, and inclusive of the whole patient. I am honored to work within a system that is built on a foundation of care, compassion, and confidentiality.
The incorporation of health care standards and professional practice guidelines give the collective multidisciplinary team common ground for decision making and a collective professional identity. All public interaction within the healthcare setting are opportunities to foster the relationship, whether during the front-line nursing care delivered at the bedside or the nurse whose social media post provides insight into the hospital setting. The Canadian Nurses Protective Society (2021) outlines that professional practice standards regarding confidentiality, therapeutic boundaries and professional image are engaged when nurses use social media in connection with their professional activities or in a manner that may affect their professional reputation (para. 2). My nursing role is part of this collective professional identity of all healthcare providers that is rooted in public trust. It is the great privilege and responsibility to respect, nurture and protect the relationship between the public as a patient, and enhance my important role as a nurse within the Canadian healthcare system.
References
Canadian Nurses Protective Society Communication. (June, 2021). InfoLAW: Social Media. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from InfoLAW: Social Media - Canadian Nurses Protective Society (cnps.ca)
Professionalism in the Digital Age. (April, 2011) Annals of Internal Medicine. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from (PDF) Professionalism in the Digital Age (researchgate.net)
Pullen, Richard L. (2021). Professional Identity in Nursing Practice: Nursing made incredibly easy. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from March/April 2021 - Volume 19 - Issue 2 - p 55-56
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