TRENDS COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
CURRENT ISSUES AND FUTURE TRENDS IN
NURSING PRACTICE
◉ Job. Answer: A group of positions similar in nature and level of
skill that can be carried out by one or more individuals.
◉ Occupation. Answer: A group of jobs similar in type of work that
are usually found throughout an industry or work environment.
◉ Profession. Answer: A type of occupation that requires prolonged
preparation and formal qualifications and meets certain higher-level
criteria (discussed later in this chapter) that raise it to a level above
that of an occupation.
◉ Professional. Answer: A person who belongs to and practices a
profession (The term professional is probably the most misused of
all these terms when describing people who are clearly involved in
jobs or occupations, such as a "professional truck driver,"
"professional football player," or even "professional thief.")
◉ Professionalism. Answer: The demonstration of high-level
personal, ethical, and skill characteristics of a member of a
, profession. Behavior and or characteristic you have in your
profession.
Behaviors and attitudes exhibited by an individual that are
recognized by others as the traits of a professional.
◉ What is the Power Approach of Profession?. Answer: The
approach that bases judgement of a profession on the independence
of practice and the power of the occupation.
◉ What is the trait approach?. Answer: The Approach that nursing
most closely meets the criteria to be deemed a profession.
◉ What do responsibility and accountability do in nursing in regard
to profession?. Answer: Increases the independence of nursing as a
profession
◉ How much independence of practice does this occupation have?
(Under the power approach). Answer: Nurses do have some
independence or autonomy, but we still require provider orders.
Nurse Practitioner's are autonomous and can write their own
orders.
◉ In regard to the power approach How much power does the
Nursing occupation control?. Answer: Nurses do not weld much
power according to the power approach.