Personal and Professional Accountability in Nursing

Nursing Profession
Name
Institution
Introduction
Personal and professional accountability in Nursing
Accountability is at the core of nursing profession, and it has maneuvered its way in all settings of nursing practice and at all levels. As a nurse, one is expected to uphold high level of accountability. According to Banks (2013) accountability is the driving force throughout the entire organization. Where there is a strong culture of accountability, people are expected to whatever they are expected to do. Just like nurses are expected to offer medical care to the patients and conduct themselves as prescribed by their ethics of conduct as nurses. Just like everyone professional is expected to build credibility for him or herself and also for the organization, so does a nurse is expected to do the same. There are three main elements of accountability that is expected from everyone. Some of those elements of accountability include: clarity, commitment, and consequences. Clarity simply means that goals, objectives and expectations and precise and clear. As I have my goals clear and precise I don’t have to complicate my work as a nurse. Since my work is to deal with those individuals that are in need I am expected to be clear and precise when communicating with them.
It is also important to remember that as a way of showing accountability, I am expected to show some level of commitments to my patients. By being committed to the patients, a nurse can actually make them to be committed to him or her. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that if the patients and/ or members of the organization have not agreed with you, it would be prudent for you to initiate a discussion with these people (Banks, 2013).
Career Planning in Nursing
To begin with, it is important to remember that nursing is a great career and therefore anyone willing to become one should be comfortable. One thing that makes nursing is that there are a number of entry points and clear paths within the field. It is possible for everyone that would be interested in the nursing field to find the right niche whether he or she is interested in jumping into the career in as soon as possible after secondary school education or to advance later in life. Personally I had weaknesses in choosing the right career to pursue, but after having researched intensively, I was finally able to decide on which career to pursue later in life. According to Gielen & Sleet (2003) if anyone is considering a new career in nursing, it is important for one to decide or co...