Essay about Professional Presence

Society has progressed both socially and technologically as has medicine. This includes our understanding of health and healing as evidenced by Dossey’s three eras of medicine. Era 1, beginning in the 1800’s, reflected the prevailing view that health and illness are totally physical in nature and therapies included surgical procedures and drugs. Era 2, starting in the 1950’s, related to the mind and body. Practitioners began to realize that emotions and feelings can impact health. Era 3, still developing today, began in the 1990’s and builds on the previous eras by adding the spirit and proposes that consciousness is not confined to one’s

Dr. Larry Dossey has recognized three major periods in the history of medicine: Era I medicine (mechanical medicine), Era II medicine (psychosomatic medicine), and Era III medicine (nonlocal medicine). Era I "mechanical medicine" and which started approximately in the 1860s, reflects the prevailing view that health and illness are completely physical in nature, and so all treatments should be physical ones, such as surgical procedures or drugs. In Era I, the mind or consciousness is fundamentally equated with the functioning of the brain. Era II started to take form in the period following World War II. Physicians began to realize, based on scientific evidence, that disease has a "psychosomatic" aspect: that emotions and feelings can influence the body's functions. Psychological stress, for instance, can contribute to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and ulcers. This was an extreme advance over Era I (Dossey, 1999).

I believe that most important indicators of professionalism that I possess are respect, accountability and tenacity. I show respect by listening, being fair, and following through. Instead of seeking to control children’s behavior, rather try to respect and understand it. Being accountable not only means being responsible for something but also ultimately being answerable for your actions. Being engaged as a teacher is important to professionalism because

A professional is characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. Being professional should be a subconscious effort in the fact that it should always be applied. When employees are professional it helps the system run more efficiently and safely. A person must me a certain criteria when being evaluated on professionalism, a person is judged based on the clients; Attitude, Values, Communication techniques, and approachability. Clients who display a committed, dependable attitude will benefit more from work exerted, and overall be rewarded with incentives. Although professionalism may be in the eye of the

Two of the three models of health and healing discussed by Dossey (1999) were Era II Body/Mind Model of the 1950s and Era III Body/Mind/Spirit Model of the 1990s. According to Dossey (1999), post World War II the Medical Doctors noticed that there was proof that the functioning of the human body can be affected by other factors such as stress and emotions which, can lead to diseases such as ulcers and high blood pressure. This model brought to light the realization that treating the human body is complex because when the physical body is not well the mentation of the patient is affected resulting in exacerbation of other

My personality is defined as “Guardian” which fits my personality perfectly. Guardians are practical and down-to-earth, but they know how to have funs with their friends. They take their duties seriously, are hard workers and are dependable and trustworthy. They are most comfortable when life is structured (Keirsey, n.d.). I am a loyal friend who like to have fun, but follow the rules. My friends have said I am their “voice of reason”. I enjoy socializing with my close group of friends, but I am cautious when meeting new people. I enjoy watching sports, probably because there are defined sets of rule which allow for a fair turn for each team. I do not like when plans change suddenly. I am a planner and when things change I have to alter my plans.

Professional presence is an analysis of our past, present and future. It is a construct of our knowledge, our influences, our self-awareness and practices. It comes down to how each of us understands what it means to be human and how to care for one another. This is always evolving based on new experiences and knowledge. Through looking over time at the view point of humans, to personality tests, to personal development and lastly looking at optimal healing environments this paper will construct my professional presence and look at ways to improve my ability to care for others.

Healthcare, and Medicine is advancing more and more each day. As healthcare workers, our understanding of health and healing has improved and changed in the way we care for our patients. Dossey believed in the three eras of medicine. Era 1 began in the 1800s and its focus was solely on the body. The belief that healing and overall health are totally physical. The therapies and treatment were either medications or surgical procedures. The thought that healing all humans based on bodily functions, and how they can be treated will change as time changes. Era 2 began in the 1950s and it focused on the mind and body. Health care providers realized that

What does it mean to be human, and how do we as nurses provide care to our patients? According to Jean Watson “The future of nursing is tied back to Nightingales sense of calling guided by a sense of commitment and covenantal ethic of human service; cherishing our phenomena, our subject matter and those we serve. It is when we include caring and love in our work and our life we discover and affirm that nursing, like teaching is more than just a job but a life giving and life receiving career for a lifetime of growth and learning” (Watson, J. 1978). There have been many different

• “Guardians are concerned citizens who trust authority, join groups, seek security, prize gratitude, and dream of meting out justice”

A1. Models of Health and Healing- The candidate provides a logical discussion, with substantial detail, of the differences between 2 models of health and healing as they relate to what it means to be human.

Professional presence is something of a nebulous concept. Before this course, I honestly never considered what it was and how my nursing practice was defined by it. During my journey through this course I discovered what it truly meant. “Presence is an intersubjective encounter between a nurse and a patient in which the nurse encounters the patient as a unique human being in a unique situation and chooses to spend her/himself on the patient’s behalf’’ (Wingate, 2007). Presence defines how a person interacts with those around them, and particularly in the healthcare field, it’s incredibly important.

Hospice care is a model of care that focuses on relieving symptoms and supporting patients with a life expectancy of six months or less (Altshuler, 2013). For most nurses, caring for a dying elder (individual aged 65 years and above) is a discrete, time-limited experience that begins with first contact, often in a hospital, emergency room, or long term care facility, and ends with the death itself (Phillips & Reed, 2008).

Bohart, A. C., Greenberg, L. S., Elliot, R., & Watson, J. C. (2011). Empathy. Psychotherapy , 48 (1), 43-49.

Within this section, the responses from the four questionnaires returned will be shared and discussed. This is a small sample and all are based within one establishment so it is important to remember that the findings may only be applicable to this establishment and are not intended to be a generalisation or evidence about the development of professional identity in all schools.