Commitment to Nursing*

Abstract

After a discussion of models of nursing, the author focuses on what nurses are and argues that their perceptions are significantly different from those of medical practitioners. The commitment of nurses is discussed, debated and explored and some values shared between newly qualified nurses and the lay public. Commitment is put into the prespective of 'accountability' and its effects on assessing quality of care and nurse-patient relationships are discussed. The author also argues that in certain circumstances she would contemplate defecting from 'being a nurse', particularly with regards to her personal concern for the mentally disordered. But the message that pervades the paper is that once one is a nurse, one is a nurse forever. Finally researchers are admonished to strive for 'an elucidation of the nature of commitment'.

Caregivers' Perceptions and Interpretations of Severely Demented Patients during Feeding in a Task Assignment System

“…He meant that a lack of commitment is the same as the opposite of love. Commitment has been found to be very difficult to measure in research (Altschul 1979). No literature from clinical research in this area has been found.…”

Job satisfaction and its related factors: A questionnaire survey of hospital nurses in Mainland China

“…People can develop devotion to their profession if they think that the profession is valuable (Altschul, 1979). Nurses, in some respects, embody the absolute moral worth of the person who gives unselfish and devoted care and in return receives a high regard in society.…”

Commitment to nursing: results of a qualitative interview study

“…1988). In nursing a close relationship is thought to exist between professional commitment and the state of the profession itself (Altschul 1979). The existence of a cadre of practitioners demonstrating high levels of professional commitment appears to be associated with the profile of nursing and how it is esteemed by the patients and the public (Pinkleton 1982).…”