How Can a Nurse Improve and Develop Professional Identity?

How Can a Nurse Improve and Develop Professional Identity? According to DeJong 2014, professionalism can be defined as the means of acting in an acceptable and appropriate way while adhering to a professional code of conduct. It also means completing given tasks and responsibilities on time. On the other hand a Professional identity can be described as a set of principles that define a person in their professional career. A professional identity can also be defined according to the attitudes, beliefs, experiences, ideals, professional involvement, need for advancement and codes of a given career. These virtues determine the kind of people we interact with in our lines of profession. These experiences and professional interactions tend to define ones professional identity. In the line of nursing professionalism is significantly essential if nurses are expected to provide quality and effective services and care to their clients and to the population as a whole. In health care Professionalism is regarded as a bridge between the interests of the nurse and the needs of society. It is evident that better professionalism is associated with good medical care and better health outcomes in general. (DeJong et al 2014). Nurses need to be able to develop and improve their imaginative and creative skills in order to attain and improve effective patient care. In a research by O’Brien, Strzyzewski and Szpara 2013, on nurses working in the surgical department it was found that by creating an organized process of educational projects to encourage, support and promote professionalism nurses were able to improve their professional identity and complete their practice successfully safely and effectively. In order to achieve the best results Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) and Educational Nurse Coordinators (ENCs) in the surgical unit developed meetings for nurses with the medical librarians and unit leaders. Teaching was carried out by use of posters and oral presentations. Through this nurses were able to master effective ways of generating ideas and implementing them to complete projects. (O’Brien, Strzyzewski and Szpara 2013). There are many factors that influence professional competence for nurses for example organization of work, personal characteristics, cognitive abilities and clinical knowledge. In order for a nurse to be able to undergo Professional growth they need to be committed to their work in order to able to fulfill their work tasks. Professional identity is usually accompanied by the workers’ self-concept; self-respect, identity, essential nature, team spirit and values. Moreover for a nurse to improve their professional identity they need to be flexible and resilient in their field of work. This means that nurses need to believe in oneself and be willing to take risks. In addition to that they have a career insight in order to be able to establish realistic career goals by being aware of their strengths and weaknesses. (Tamm 2010). There are some inevitable factors in the health sector that demand for professional growth and that has impact on the management, employers and the employees. First creation of new knowledge, there are changes in the scientific and technical knowledge every few years which demand nurses to update their education levels from time to time. Secondly technological innovations are taking place so rapidly that nurses have to be willing to sharpen their skills and change with the changing times. Lastly, the upcoming of more challenging tasks demands for professional development in order for nurses to be able to cope efficiently. (Willetts and Clarke 2012). Development of professional identity according to Tamm 2010, starts with how individuals view their work roles and how good they manage their work life and related practices. Moreover professional identity is a process of becoming independent and having self-awareness through work. For a nurse to be able to develop and improve their identity they first have to have a professional self-concept and respect, in short they need to accept their roles as nurses. Nurses begin to build their professional identities during their study period and continue to develop all through their work life. Development of professional identity is a life course process comprising of different stages. Which range from novice to expert. (Tamm et al 2010). In conclusion development is accompanied by professional maturity which is a nurse’s preparedness to handle work tasks in different phases of their work. Nurses need to be cognitively prepared, this means that they need to have sufficient knowledge on principles of health care to be able to apply them in real life situations. In additional to that nurse need to have knowledge on the nature of the profession and the occupational sphere. (Willetts et al 2012). In my opinion there are numerous number of factors that have effect on the development and improvement on a nursing professional identity. I have learnt a lot of new information from this assignment. It is a broad topic and I feel I still have a whole lot more to learn about developing my professional identity in the future. REFERENCES D. O’Brien, N. Strzyzewski and T.Szpara 2013, Getting to Success: Supporting Staff Nurses to Enhance Practice and Professionalism. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. Volume 28, Issue 3, June 2013, Pages e34  Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1089947213002037#  Accessed 7th September 2014 G. Willetts and D.Clarke 2012 The shaping of Professional Identity in Nursing: An ethnographic Case Study  Available: http://global-qhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Abstracts.pdf Accessed 7th September 2014  S .M. DeJong 2014 Chapter One–What is Professionalism? Social Media and Online Professionalism in Health Care 2014, Pages 1–11  Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124081284000011  Accessed 7th September 2014 Tiia Tamm, 2010 Professional Identity and Self-concept of Estonian Social Workers .University of Tampere  Available: http://tampub.uta.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/66631/978-951-44-8115-4.pdf?sequence=1#page=69zoom=180,-4,613  Accessed 7th September 2014 Stem Bark Extracts of Anthocleista: Antioxidant Properties Stem Bark Extracts of Anthocleista: Antioxidant Properties Original 1 Research Article PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES  OF STEM BARK EXTRACTS OF ANTHOCLEISTA NOBILIS ABSTRACT Aim: This study was carried out to determine the phytochemical and antioxidant properties of extracts  of Anthocleista nobilis. Methodology: Acetone and methanol extracts of A. nobilis were investigated for their free radical scavenging activities in the presence of diphenyl picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) using ascorbic acid as positive control. Results: In the phytochemical screening of the plant extracts, results showed that both extracts recorded the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, and glycosides. The acetone and methanol extracts of A. nobilis exhibited significant free radical scavenging activities in the DPPH assay with the  acetone extract recording better activity. The antioxidant activity of the two extracts was however, lower than that recorded by the positive control-ascorbic acid. Conclusion: The result suggests that the extracts have potential antioxidant properties which could be  exploited in medicine and food industry. Keyword: Anthocleista nobilis, antioxidant, DPPH. 1. INTRODUCTION Plants have been utilized by humans to treat various infectious and non-infectious diseases since the  beginning of time as they constitute a reliable source of therapy. In addition, they are also the primary  source for many of today’s medicines [1,2,3]. For instance, purified secondary metabolites such as vinca alkaloids are used widely in cancer chemotherapy [4].Quinine and artemisinin, derived from the  bark of the cinchona and qinghaosu trees respectively and their derivatives have been widely used for  the treatment of malaria [5,6,7]. Some of these secondary metabolites are synthesized for specific purposes by plants. Others may be  by-products of plant metabolism which currently have no known biological function. Hydroxylated  coumarins have been reported to accumulate in carrots in response to fungal invasion [8],  glucosinolates, recognized for their antimicrobial properties[9], have also been reported in Brassia  rapa in response to fungal infection/attack [10]. These secondary metabolites fall under one of the major phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins,  glycosides, steroids, terpenes, etc. Although these compounds are known to be bioactive, a lot is yet  to known about their mechanisms of action. Some of these groups of compounds such as flavonoids,  proanthocyanidins and tannins are polyphenols or phenolic [11]. Phenolics are known for their  antioxidant properties [12]. Antioxidants are molecules that halt oxidation processes while the molecules get oxidized in the  process. The antioxidant activity of phenolics is derived from their ability to act as reducing agents,  donating hydrogen, electrons and stabilizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) [13]. ROS such as  hydroxyl radicals (OH.), superoxide anion radicals (O2  .) and singlet oxygen (145 O2) have been implicated  in many disease processes such cancer, diabetes, ageing, atherosclerosis and neurodegeneration[14]. Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables rich in plant polyphenols(antioxidants) as food has  been reported as a protection against several diseases which include cancer, cardiovascular  diseases, diabetes, asthma etc. [15] suggesting that the mechanism of action of the secondary  metabolites can be traced to their antioxidant properties. ROS can cause the deterioration of food by  causing lipid peroxidation. The rancid odor and taste of lipid containing food such as palm oil occur as  result of lipid peroxidation which in turn affects the nutritional value and safety 52 of such food items  [16]. Recently, the use of synthetic preservatives and other additives has been linked to increased  prevalence of cancer. For instance, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite used to preserve processed  meat has been implicated in bowel cancer [17]. As a result, the demand for natural food preservatives  has been rising steadily [14] and that prompted the European Union funded AGROCOS to include the  replacement of synthetic preservatives and other ingredients as part of the FP7 research topics which  has yielded about 30 natural compounds for the food and cosmetic industries presently being further  tested by Greek and German companies [18]. Anthocleista nobilis which is commonly called the candelabrum or cabbage tree in English language,  Duwa Kuchi in Nupe language, Kwari in Hausa language and Apa Ora in Yoruba language belongs to  the family Loganiaceae [19]. Anthocleista nobilisis used in local medicine in parts of West Africa for  curing fever, stomach ache, diarrhoea, and gonorrhoea, and are also aspoultice for sores [20,21]. The  present study was designed to investigate the antioxidant properties of extracts of Anthocleista nobilis  by measuring their free radical scavenging properties with aim of confirming the ethnobotanical use  and assessing their suitability as preservatives in the food industry. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 Sample collection The stem barks of A. nobilis were collected in March, 2014 from Ezza Community in Ebonyi state,  Nigeria. They were identified by a plant taxonomist in the Department of Pharmacognosy and  Traditional Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.  The plant material was pulverized into fine powder using a mechanical grinding machine. 2.2 Extraction   500 g of thepulverized plant was macerated in 1 Liter of acetone and methanol respectively for 48  hrs.The mixture was sieved using porcelain cloth and was further filtered using No. 1 Whatman filter  Ã‚  paper. The filtrate was concentrated using rotary evaporator and the crude concentrate was then  stored at 4o80 C until required for further experiment. 2.3 Phytochemical Screening   In the phytochemical analysis of the extracts of A. nobilis stem barks, tests for alkaloids, tannins,  saponins, flavonoids, steroids, cardiac glycosides, and terpenoids were carried out using standard  methods reported by Trease and Evans [19]. 2.4 In vitro free radical scavenging activity of the extract (Diphenyl dipicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free  radical scavenging activity) The free radical scavenging activity of the various extracts and ascorbic acid was measured with  DPPH. Three (3) mL of DPPH in methanol solution was added 100 ÃŽ ¼L of different concentrations of  extracts (10-1000 ÃŽ ¼g/mL). After 30 minutes, the absorbances of the extract solutions ion methanol  were measured at 517 nm after calibration with methanol. Lower absorbance indicated higher free  radical scavenging activity. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was expressed as IC50 which was  defined as the concentration of the extracts that inhibited the formation of DPPH radical by 50 %. Each  experiment was carried out in triplicate. The average absorbance for each triplicate was calculated  and the percentage inhibition of the extracts at different doses calculated using the formula:   %Inhibition 100 o s o A A x A −   Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ½ Where Ao is absorbance of control and As the absorbance of tested extracts. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The antioxidant activity of the extracts of A. nobilis was investigated and the results were compared to  Ã‚  that of ascorbic acid which was used as the positive control. The results are shown in Figures 1. Also,  Ã‚  the result of the phytochemical analysis links the presence of flavonoids and other polyphenols to the  Ã‚  antioxidant activities observed. Different levels of the secondary metabolites based on the tests  Ã‚  carried out were observed as displayed in Table 1. Table 1. Result of the Phytochemical Analysis of A. nobilis Extracts UNDER PEER REVIEW Alkaloids Tannins Saponins Flavonoids Glycosides Terpenoids Steroids Methanol extract ++ +++ ++ + ++ Acetone extract + ++ ++ + ++ +++ = Abundantly present; ++ = Moderately present; += Mildly 108 present; =Absent Figure 1. Comparison between free radical scavenging activities of acetone and methanol  extracts of A. nobilis and ascorbic acid determined using DPPH. IC50 for Acetone extract= 400  ÃŽ ¼g/mL; Methanol extract= 800 ÃŽ ¼g/mL; Ascorbic acid= 30 ÃŽ ¼g/mL. The bark of A. nobilis is used as warm expellant and as antimalarial remedy amongst other  Ã‚  ethnobotanical uses by the Ezza people in Nigeria. The result of this study showed that the crude  Ã‚  extracts showed significant antioxidant properties with the acetone extract of A. nobilis recording an  Ã‚  IC50 of 400 ÃŽ ¼g/ml. The methanol extract of A. nobilis had the lowest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of  Ã‚  800 ÃŽ ¼g/mL.   However, the acetone extract of A. nobilis which had the best antioxidant activity compared to the  methanol extract had moderate presence of terpenoids, flavonoids and tannins. Flavonoids and  Ã‚  tannins are polyphenols which are known to have potent antioxidant properties due to there reducing  Ã‚  ability [23]. The lower activity observed can be explained by the fact that flavonoids only exihibit  Ã‚  antioxidant properties if features such ortho-dihydroxy substitution in the B-ring, C2-C3 double bond  Ã‚  and a carbonyl group in C-4 of the C-ring are present [24]. Quercetin is a good example of a flavonoid  Ã‚  with such structural features and it has a high antioxidant property [25]. Although the free radical scavenging activities observed for the extracts were not as much as that  observed for ascorbic acid which was the positive control, the antioxidant activity of the extracts, can  be said to be significant considering that the extracts were in the crude form. Further purification of the  aqueous extract is expected to produce pure compounds with improved antioxidant property. 4. CONCLUSION The findings of this study reveal that Anthocleista nobilis possess antioxidant property. This provides a  scientific basis for the ethnomedicinal utilization of this plant. The antioxidant property of this plant  may qualify it for use as preservatives of natural origin in the food industry. 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