Professionalism in the Workplace Denise Thornby RN MS

Professionalism in the Workplace Denise Thornby RN, MS

Is it the role or the behavior?

Professions • have a body of knowledge, scope of practice, agreed upon values, oath or code and accountability to our society for their profession and their professional behavior.

• • Social Workers Lawyers Physicians Nurses Teachers Lawyers Flight Attendants…. .

Professionalism • Describes a certain type of behavior in the workplace • Based on our values and understanding of our professional roles • Evidenced in our behavior

How professionalism is judged • Against a set of expectations or standards • From our own personal values set and understanding of what “professionalism” means • May be situational in nature • Strongly influenced by culture

Professionalism is in the eye of the beholder…

Unprofessional!

Professional is judged through: • • Our Image Our Communication Our Competence Our Demeanor

From the Patient’s Perspective • • • Trustworthy Competent Empathetic Respectful Caring

Our relationships with patients: • Therapeutic context • Safety, trust and ethical behavior are foundational • Relationship has boundaries • Vulnerability of patients and the imbalance of power

Respectful of their: • • Needs Beliefs Concerns Values

Crossing Professional Boundaries • • • Non-therapeutic relationships Inappropriate communication Inappropriate self-disclosure Exploitation – money, gifts Breaches of confidentiality

From the Co-Workers Perspective • • • Trustworthy Competent Supportive Respectful Accountable

Professional Team

Expectations of Professional Team Members • Functional Trust • Mutual Respect • Open Communication

Functional Trust • All people have an equal need for respect • Respect is the basic foundation of all healthy personal relationships • Each team member is equally important • Each team member’s work is equally important

Mutual respect • All people have an equal need for respect • Respect is the basic foundation of all healthy personal relationships • Each team member is equally important • Each team member’s work is equally important

Open Communication • Team members talk to each other about issues directly • All team members avoid the 3 B’s • Supportive feedback is given generously • Corrective feedback is helpful, tactful and constructive

Where Do I Start?

Qualities and Characteristics of a Professional

Professionals are: • • • Competent Trustworthy Respectful Act with Integrity Considerate Empathetic

Professionals are: • • Courteous Dependable Cooperative Committed

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. Og Mandino