Power and Empowerment in Nursing - Essay Example

Power and Empowerment in Nursing I believe that power comes from within. An individual whose thoughts, ideas, and aspirations are based on rational and logical principles and especially the principles of ethics and morality, that individual is empowered. My family did not support me in my decision of choosing Nursing as my major. They were more inclined toward Engineering and Science. I followed my aspirations and went against their consent to choose Nursing as a major. I can feel that as my family has started to get a deeper insight into this profession, they have become more supportive of me and are happy that I took a stand.

This article discusses the use of poststructuralism to explore power and empowerment in nursing drawing on the three theoretical approaches namely critical social theory, organizational theory, and social psychological theory. I used the disciplinary power of hierarchical observation to reflect upon my experiences so as to better self-manage my routine and behavior in nursing. I used the power of normalizing judgment to improve my academic and career growth profile. I established goals for myself and strived to achieve them, thus getting ahead in my career.

I used the examination form of disciplinary power to document my achievements and failures as I studied Nursing. This not only helped me keep a gaze at my performance, but also gauge how far I was from my goals. A type of popular knowledge that can facilitate empowerment in nursing is the inclusion of nurses in decision-making. Nurses need to realize the power of their role in healthcare. Many nurses disqualify their knowledge obsessed with the impression that they are inferior to the doctors.

Being the closest to the patient in caregiving, nurses are valuable resources that should be consulted for making important decisions regarding operations and patients’ health in general.