Transition to a Professional Role
Jennifer Quijano
Florida International University
January 26, 2013

Transition to a Professional Role
Introduction
Nurses who have prepared to assume advanced nursing roles can contribute to the healthcare system through new ideas and insights in education, administration, research, and practice. During the process of further education nurses are exposed to professional socialization, which addresses values, norms and ways of viewing situations that are unique to the profession. This process will later provide the common ground that shapes the way work is conducted. Such process, forces nurses to go through different models of transition that will help them overcome personal and professional …show more content…

I moved to a new house and it was a long distance from my previous work place forcing me to look for a new job closer to home. I felt frustrated and disoriented. Then, I started what Bridges will call the “neutral zone”, where I am adapting to the new job, but still thinking of the old one. I do not feel completely satisfied. But, I do feel some comfort with the change.
Roles in the Nursing Profession
Role theory “involves preparation for particular job expectations or roles” (Blais & Hayes, 2011, p. 4). A role is a set of expectations associated with a position in society. Any role has three elements: the ideal role, the perceived role, and the performed role. The ideal role is what society expects from a person in a particular role. The perceived role is what the person carrying out the role believes he/she should behave in the role. The performed role is what the person actually does. Role stress is the discrepancy between the person’s perception of what a particular role should be and the reality of what it is. Role strain refers to the felt difficulty in fulfilling role obligations.
As of today, I am playing several roles in society; wife, mother, nurse and student. In my roles as wife and mother, I have been stretched through daily challenges and frustration as well as through life’s victories and joys. As a nurse, I feel I have a responsibility with society. It gives me the satisfaction of seeing a critical-ill patient go through