In response to: Professionalism and professional identity

Dear Dr. Gelinas,

I am writing in response to the article, Professionalism and Professional Identity (Owens et al., 2024). This article is eye-opening as a novice nurse leader striving to mentor my young staff. I came into my role as a strong clinician with no management education. With the turnover rates I have seen in my unit and the stunted hands-on education that shifted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses lack growth through the amended Miller’s pyramid (Owens et al., 2024), which appropriately depicted the transformation of nurses into professionals. I appreciate the visual of the pyramid and the way this article describes the flow and expectations to the next level of nursing while upholding the values nurses are known for.

The similarity to Miller’s pyramid as originally applied to medical students (Witheridge et al., 2019) and nurses is a fitting guide for my role. Having a staff that is mostly made up of nurses who practice at the bottom level of the pyramid, I can visualize guiding them through each level to the goal of professional identity where they can feel they are competently contributing to patient care. Knowledge, competence, performance, actions, and identity (Owens et al., 2024) is the perfect way for me to structure mentoring sessions and assist staff into their professional identities. I appreciate the link between structured growth as it relates to morals, values, and professionalism of nursing.

Sincerely,

Jessica Schemmel, BSN, RN, CPN
Ohio University, MSN Student