Nursing is a profession in which professionalism and high moral character go hand in hand. Nurses have access to very important information and care for patients during critical times in their lives. Because of the nature of work that a nurse does, they must always maintain professionalism to ensure that their patients have the upmost trust in them.
A. Functional Differences
In order to become a registered nurse, one must pass nursing school and then go on to pass a test given by their state regulatory agency, such as the board of nursing (BON). The state board of nursing has many different duties. One of the many duties of a BON is to grant and renew nursing licenses. The BON can also take disciplinary review of nurses. It will review a complaint against a nurse’s actions and then decide whether they should suspend, restrict or revoke a nurse’s license (Cherry & Jacob, 2011, p. 78). A professional nursing organization (PNO), like the emergency nurse association (ENA), is a private organization to which a nurse is a member. A private nurse’s organization may lobby legislature for the interest of the association’s members and to better the nursing profession as whole. A PNO may also hold seminars to further educate the members and to keep their practices the most up to date. For example, the ENA usually holds a yearly seminar where many topics are covered throughout the week in regards to emergency nursing. Overall a PNO provides a united front for specific areas of nursing or for nursing as a whole. A PNO represents the members and a regulatory agency, such as the BON, represents the people for who the nurses will be taking care of.
B. Nursing Code Examples
The nursing code of ethics plays a huge role in the way nurses care for patients. Nurses should always treat patients with the respect they deserve. For most people, being in the hospital is a very stressful and foreign event. It can lead to the patient not always being their