Name: Mourene Lineke Gaspersz

NIM: 50120110020

Nursing Profession
What comes to mind when you think of the word nurse? Many people
have different thoughts and ideas of what nurses are. In general nurses are seen as
either a kind and caring person who looks after patients or hard cruel human
beings who have immoral lives. It all depends on peoples experience and where
they come from. According to oxforddictionary.com a nurse is a person trained to
care for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital. This is the fact of who and
what nurses are. There are also differences in the professionalism of nursing care
one of these examples are between American and Indonesian nurses.
The nursing profession in America has much to do with their values,
beliefs, and the way they think. Their values of individualism, freedom,
competitiveness, privacy, equality, informality, future, change progress, goodness
of humanity, time, achievement, action, work, materialism, directness, and
assertiveness influences the way nursing care is given, taught and acted out.
(Althen & Bennett, 2011; Nursing Degree Guide) The nursing profession in
America started in 1897 with the establishment of Nurses Associated Alumnae of
the United States and quickly advanced with the rise of trainings for nurses.
Finally in the 1900s licensure laws were put out by various states. Now the
nursing profession has branched into different specialties such as surgical,
pediatrics, pain, ICU, and many others. Most of all research is a big part of the
healthcare in America and therefore the nursing profession in America has begun
to embrace research as a part of their studies. To become a nurse in America may
vary since they have courses from a 2 to 4 years or a 4-year total.
On the other hand, the nursing profession in Indonesia was just legalized
in 1992, which effected the advancement of its professionalism, knowledge, and
growth. Nursing in Indonesia is viewed as an unworthy job where nurses are
doctors helpers, are immoral, and are not knowledgeable. There is a lack of
standard care, quality, clear roles, and adequate education. Indonesian nurses
arent paid well and have insufficient laws to protect them. There is also a lack of
collaboration between doctors and nurses. Most of all the lack of care is greatly

Name: Mourene Lineke Gaspersz

NIM: 50120110020

known in the Indonesian nursing profession. These are mostly the effect of
inadequate education.
The majority of nurses (60%) are educated to high school level only, 39%
have a diploma and 1% are graduates; these latter two groups typically
move into education soon after completing their training. This means that
not only do nurse educators have little clinical experience in the field,
which could compromise the applicability of their teaching, but also that
the majority of direct clinical care is delivered by the least qualified
nurses. There appears to be little differentiation between clinical roles for
the different levels of education. (Hennessy, Hicks, Hilan, & Kawonal,
2006)
The only advanced known education center that has a good enough training for
nurses is UI (Universitas Indonesia) who has up to Masters degree. Yet still there
are many nurses who dont understand the seriousness or the honor of being a
nurse and what it means. Nurses in Indonesia have an unclear job description and
therefore there is a shortfall in competence and professionalism. Nurses in
Indonesia are unable to grow and blossom.
From these facts it is very easy to choose where I would prefer to be a
nurse. For all the conveniences that the nursing profession in America are able to
give such as respect, support, protection, chance to grow and reach higher, and
enough research resources to help you become the best of the best, America would
certainly be my choice especially when everything would be in English. A student
may very much achieve their highest in America. But for all its opportunities
Indonesia is my home country and I dream to be able to be the agent of change
that is one of the roles in the nursing profession. I would like to keep fighting in
building the nursing profession in Indonesia for that is what it took to build the
well-advanced nursing professions in other countries. There may be sacrifices but
God willing I may be able to give what I can to help build the nursing profession
in Indonesia.

Name: Mourene Lineke Gaspersz

NIM: 50120110020

REFRENCE
(n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.oxforddictionary.com:
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nurse
Universitas Indonesia. (2008). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from www.ui.ac.id:
http://www.ui.ac.id/en/academic/page/fik
Althen, G., & Bennett, J. (2011, February). American Ways: A cultural guide to
the United States. Retrieved April 23, 20120, from ebrary:
http://ezproxy.library.uph.edu:2130/lib/pelitaharapan/docDetail.action?
docID=10451131&adv.x=1&p00=Nursing&f00=all&p01=
%22United+States%22&f01=subject
Bodenheimer T.S., Grumbach K. (2009). Chapter 7. The Health Care Workforce
and the Education of Health Professionals. In T.S. Bodenheimer, K.
Grumbach (Eds), Understanding Health Policy: A Clinical Approach, 5e.
Retrieved
April
23,
2012
from
http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3613585.
Hennessy, D., Hicks, C., Hilan, A., & Kawonal, Y. (2006). The training and
development needs of nurses in Indonesia: paper 3 of 3. Hum Resour
Health , 1-14.
Nursing Degree Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from
www.nursingdegreeguide.org:
http://www.nursingdegreeguide.org/articles/general/history_of_nursing_in
_the_united_states/