Importance of psychology in nursing and how gender plays a role Dissertation

Importance of psychology in nursing and how gender plays a role - Dissertation Example With its over-arching knowledge and general applicability to various discourses, psychology has been successful in having an impact on the profession of nursing as well. The profession of nursing entails, â€Å"the use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems and to achieve the best possible quality of life whatever their disease or disability until death† (Glasper & Richardson, pp. 95, 2006). As obvious from this definition, nursing is inevitably related to psychology and its inferences since it does not only deal with humans (patients) but also has a critical impact on how nurses deal with different patients, as well as on the element of care and strategies that focus on the stimulation of quicker recovery. Thus, in all aspects, psychology and nursing are highly interrelated with one affecting the performance of the other. However, there is more to it than just the element of care and its psychological underlying themes. What is particularly interesting, especially in the light of modern advancements in career planning and professional motivations is the issue of gender in nursing. Recently, what was considered to be only women’s profession, first of prostitutes and nuns and later on, by the virtue of Florence Nightingale, of decent educated and cultures young women, is now profession of young men. In specific, there has been a significant rise in number of male nurses in the past decade globally. Interesting to note; however, are the differences and similarities between these trends and behaviors of caring and treating the patients by male and female nurses individually (Miers, 2000). In this regard, this paper will attempt to discover these differences and trends and identify response patterns particular to each of them. Brief analysis of the literature indicated research of Kalisch & Kalisch (1987) who put efforts to explore change in the image of nurs ing profession all along the passage of time. In specific, concise description of their hypothesis is that perception of the female nurse as Angel of Mary in late 19th century evolved into that of Girl Friday prevalent in 1920’s. Subsequently, during World War II, the nurses played the role of Heroines followed by their image as Wives and Mothers in 1950’s and from mid 1960’s until 1980’s, they confronted their perception as sex objects (Kalisch & Kalisch, 1987). However, since after 1980s, the image of female nurses has changed radically. Nowadays, society look at the nurses as middle-aged, Caucasian, overworked and female representatives of the society. In addition, one can come across many reasons to evaluate how the femininity in the perception of nursing has accentuated. Specifically, nursing came about as a popular profession for women who wanted to step outside their homes and work. Therefore, since the very beginning, society perceived it as a fem inine profession. Several other researchers (Miers, 2000) noted that during the World Wars, this gender divide became all the more visible as the women took up the care-giving role and supported their male counterparts who went and fought in the battle. On the other hand, men were also discouraged as they confront rejection while acquiring admission in nursing schools.

EVALUATING HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EVALUATING HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT - Essay Example It aims to establish a more open, flexible and caring management style so that staff will be motivated, developed and managed in a way that they can give of their best to support the concerned departments. Good HRM practices are instrumental in helping achieve departmental objectives and enhance productivity. In the larger interest of a company it is imperative that employees are taught the nuance of the trade. Personnel with positive attitudes and can lend themselves to the causes are what organisations look for. HRM is all about this. Employees are taught to be positive, deliver quality work, have a sense of humour, and work as a team. Employees should be interested in performing as a team and take joy in team results, rather than individual accomplishments. The work of HRM is to identify people with such qualities. Building a team with members with such exemplary qualities mitigate the work of an organisation and they can build a work force that is prepared for the culture one desire (Corporate Culture, Auxillium West -The HR Manager). The above is well illustrated in the way Japanese HRM function in unison with company motives and policies. Strong HRM practices are characterised by an equally strong internal labour market, consultative decision making and enterprise unionism. Such practices, individually and collectively, encourage the incorporation of employees into the mainstream (The culture of the enterprise). This results in a strong employee-management relationship, leading to employee identification with the firm, and a high commitment to innovative production practices that enhance the firm's performance. In return the firm or organisation, in recognition of their work ethics, provides job security and rewards (John Benson and Philippe Debroux, HRM in Japanese Enterprises: Trends and Challenges). 2.0 HRM-An Overview No organisation can grow or for that matter, survive without incorporating policies that are pro-human in nature. "Functions such as managing cash flow, business transactions, communication, public relations, and production are part of human activities in sustainability and growth of an organisation. Unless human resources are looked after diligently by the organisation managers, the firm is likely to face drawbacks, which could have serious repercussions on the organisation as a whole. It is no secret that humans are the driving force of any establishment, and it is they who possess the drive to make or break an organisation. In lieu of the current market and multi-polar world situation, the work ethics of most organisations are continuously changing. This change not only affects the business but its employees as well. In order to maximise organisational effectiveness, managers must be able to manage employee capabilities, their time, and talent. Human resource management is about e mployees and organisational goals. In a nutshell, HRM