1. University of Miami School of Nursing and
Health Studies

2. The faculty and staff commend
you on your commitment to
academic advancement. You
are entering into the role of a
professional nurse. As a
professional nurse you have
standards, codes of ethics and
regulations you must follow.
Let’s start by taking a look at
some definitions of nursing.

3. ANA's Definition of Nursing:
Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and
abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering
through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and
advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and
populations.
The American Nurses Association(ANA) is an organization
that represents registered nurses in the United States. The
following website can be accessed
for more detailed information.
http://www.nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/AboutANA
.aspx

4.  Provision of a caring relationship that
facilitates health and healing,
 Attention to the range of human experiences
and responses to health and illness within the
physical and social environments,
 Integration of objective data with knowledge
gained from an appreciation of the patient or
group's subjective experience,

5.  Application of scientific knowledge to the
processes of diagnosis and treatment
through the use of judgment and critical
thinking,
 Advancement of professional nursing
knowledge through scholarly inquiry, and
 Influence on social and public policy to
promote social justice.
Nursing's Social Policy Statement, Second Edition, 2003, p. 6 & Nursing: Scope
and Standards of Practice, 2004, p. 7

6. While many definitions of the term “profession” exist most
Describe common characteristics that are considered essential.
These include:
 Educational Background-Systematic Theory- Research
 Adherence to the code of ethics
 Participation in the Professional Organizations
 Commitment to life long learning and competency
 Communication
 Autonomy- Self Regulation
Each of these characteristics will be explored in more detail.
Miller, B, Adams, D. & Beck, L (1993)

7.  Nursing practice is guided by a body of knowledge and
skills. Nursing researchers utilize the scientific method
to expand on the body of knowledge unique to the
discipline of nursing. Contributions of major nurse
theorists will be discussed in your courses. Nurses
utilize a specific nomenclature and classification
systems.
 These include :
◦ North American Nursing Diagnosis Association(NANDA)
◦ Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)
◦ Nursing Outcomes Classification(NOC)
These concepts will be taught in your courses.

8. The professional nurse adheres to a code of
ethics that has been developed to
address ethical issues . The American
Association of Nurses (ANA) Code of Ethics for
Nurses can be found at:
Code of Ethics

9. A few specific considerations include:
1. Maintaining appropriate boundaries with
peers, faculty, clients and their significant
others.
2. Confidentiality must be maintained.
 Refrain from gossiping about clients, staff, other
students or faculty. This is non – productive and
unethical behavior . Concerns should be
communicated to the appropriate individual.

10.  Maintain confidentiality for information
regarding the client
 Do not remove any paperwork that could identify a
client from the clinical area. For example you may
not remove a laboratory report that has the clients
name on it from the clinical area.
 Do not discuss clinical information in a non secured
areas such as the elevator, Metro rail, cafeteria, etc.

11. Nurses are ethically and
legally accountable to
maintain confidentiality .
The Health Insurance
Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA) Privacy and Security
Rules protects the privacy of
individually identifiable
health information. You will
be given additional
information regarding HIPAA
in your courses.

12. University of Miami Undergraduate Honor Code
 “This code has been established to protect the academic integrity
of the University of Miami, to encourage consistent ethical
behavior among undergraduate students, and to foster a climate
of fair competition.”
 Examples of violations include: cheating, plagiarism, collusion,
falsifying documents and other acts of academic dishonesty.
Please refer to the University of Miami Undergraduate Honor Code Policy for further
details.
http://www6.miami.edu/dean-students/pdf/undergrad_honorcode.pdf

13. Professional nurses are encouraged to participate
in nursing organizations such as the American
Association of Nurses (ANA) and other specialty
groups based on a nurses interest. For example a
nurse who works in the intensive care setting may
choose to join the American Association of Critical
Care Nurses (AACN). For an extensive list of
nursing organizations please visit the website
listed below.
http://www.nurse.org/orgs.shtml

14. As a nursing student you will have the
opportunity to join an organization.
Below is a list of possible organizations
you can become active in as a nursing
student:
 National Student Nurses
Organization
 National Black Nursing Student
Association
 National Association of Hispanic
Nurses
 The Honor Society of Nursing,
Sigma Theta Tau International

15. Nurses strive to provide the best nursing care to clients to
promote wellness. In order to maintain excellence, a nurse
must commit to life long learning and competency. Life long
learning has been described as “a continuously supportive
process which stimulates and empowers individuals...to
acquire all the knowledge, values, skills and understanding
they will require throughout their lifetimes...and to
apply them with confidence, creativity, and enjoyment”
Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners(1997). “A Nation
Learning: Vision for the 21st Century” Washington, DC:

16. Nurses utilize a variety of
methods to achieve their
educational goals including:
attendance to seminars,
involvement in professional
organizations, obtaining
advance degrees, research
activities, subscriptions to
journals, and specialty
certification, collaboration with
other disciplines such as
medicine, occupational and
physical therapy.

17.  Utilizing effective goal oriented communication
is an essential competency for a nurse. You
will communicate with your student peers, faculty,
clients, clients families/significant others, nurses,
and other members of the health care team.
 Inadequate or poor communication among health
care providers has been associated with increased
errors that jeopardize patient safety.

18.  Utilizing the Chain of Command approach
when communicating is recommended to
provide for an organized method of
communication. This also allows the
opportunity for clarification and resolution of
issues.

19. :
Example : Flow of communication
Student Associate Dean
Faculty for Dean
Concern
Teaching Undergraduate
Regarding SONHS
Course
Course Program
Please refer to the “Communication” learning
module for more detailed information.

20. Nurses are responsible for
planning, implementing and
evaluating the care of
clients/families/significant
others. While nurses are
often part of a
multidisciplinary team of
health care providers, nurses
have autonomy over their
practice.

21.  Remember you represent the University of
Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies(UMSONHS)
on campus and in the community. Your dress,
communication and overall presentation are a
reflection of UMSONHS and the future of nursing.
 Be on time to class. Not only is it disruptive to other
classmates and the faculty when students arrive late,
valuable information may be missed. Turn cell phones
off or to silence mode. Refrain from distracting
behavior such as talking and surfing the internet.

22. Be on time for your clinical
experiences. This includes
lab and simulation activities.
You are expected to
participate in change of shift
report at the beginning of
the clinical day. The client
depends on the nurse to be
there.

23. The faculty and staff at the University of Miami
School of Nursing and Health Studies support
your educational endeavor. We look forward to
the opportunity to facilitate the learning
process and your professional growth.