Organizations in medicine using the book
What does it mean to be a professional nurse?
What can this book do for you if you are a nurse?
How to inspire professionalism in your organization
Are you a professional nurse? (Professionalism Tips and Reminders for Nurses)
If You Are a Nurse,
You Can
Increase Your Career Success by Reading
Professionalism Is for Everyone
and Applying the
Five Keys to Being a True Professional.
Order your copy of Professionalism Is for Everyone today.
To: Nurses and medical professionals
From: Jim Ball, President, The Goals Institute
Hello,
I co-founded The Goals Institute fifteen years ago to help individuals and organizations achieve their potential.
When I go to work everyday, my job is to help people like you appreciate just how much you can achieve and become.
As a nurse, I know you already have made a big investment and commitment to your career and your potential.
My wife practiced as a nurse in a hospital and then a doctor's office when we were starting out. I have many friends who are nurses. We have had many nurses in our seminars and many nurses are customers of our business. I have been cared for by many nurses during various surgeries and hospitalizations over the years.
Regardless of your current level of experience or positions, you are going to put a lot into the remainder of your nursing that lies ahead of you. You are going to work hard, make personal sacrifices, and be under constant stress to do more. In addition, you are going to have to continually learn and develop if you want to keep pace with your colleagues and the stringent requirements of your profession.
The way I see, since you are going to be putting so much into your career, you might as well get as much out of it as you can.
That makes sense, doesn't it?
Professionalism Makes the Difference
One big factor that causes the differences in growth and success that individuals achieve is the overall professionalism they have and convey.
Individuals who think and act like professionals have distinct advantages over those who do not. They get more opportunities, advance faster, are more in demand, are given greater responsibilities, and make more money.
It all starts with you.
The greatest benefit of being a professional is the pride and satisfaction you experience from doing your work to the best of your ability. When you have pride in your nursing skills and the work you do, this bolsters your self-confidence and provides you with an invisible support system for success.
When you take pride in yourself and your work, patients, family members, doctors, and adminstators will notice. They will respect and honor you. They will admire you and hold you in high esteem. They will seek you out because they prefer you in comparison to others who might be available.
People will go out of their way to make sure you are the nurse who helps them. Employers will want you to be on their staff because they know what a rarity you are in today’s workforce. They will be excited about having you work for their organization.
In a word, you will be in demand.
People who can help you advance in your career will notice you and give you greater responsibility. Doors for rapid advancement and new opportunities will appear and be open for you that will not appear and be open for others. By pursuing these opportunities you will expand your experiences, improve your abilities, and increase your career and lifetime rewards, success, and happiness.
Do you value excellence?
I do. Excellence is one of my core values.
I am not saying I am perfect or a role model. I am working on improving and polishing many things.
However, I know we all can improve and grow. And I know a lifetime pursuit of excellence is the best strategy to achieve success and happiness.
Professionalism is the foundation and starting point for pursuing and attaining excellence in your career as a nurse and your personal life.
Professionalism can be taught and learned and everyone can improve and polish their professionalism.
Professionalism Is for Everyone --
Five Keys to Being a True Professional
Professionalism Is for Everyone is the largest selling book on professionalism and professional behavior in the world. I wrote this book in 2001 and it is in its seventh printing. We revised and updated the book in 2008.
Individuals and organizations have purchased tens of thousands of copies of this book. What you may find interesting is that the industry that is the largest purchaser of Professionalism Is for Everyone is healthcare.
Oraganizations in Medicine Using this Book
Thousands of individuals in healthcare, medical, and related fields have purchased this book for their own personal growth and development. Hundreds of hospitals, clinics, and medical teaching institutions have provided this book to their doctors, nurses, administrators, managers, associates, and students. Many hospitals and healthcare provider organizations have provided presentations and seminars on the contents of this book to their employees.
A few examples of organizations in medicine using this book are Schneck Medical Center, HCA, Toledo University School of Medicine, and Mary Washington Hospital.
See many more Examples of Organizations in Medicine Using this Book
Why is a Book on Professionalism so Popular?
Individuals and organizations purchase and use Professionalism Is for Everyone for a variety of reasons. A primary reason we know of is organizations are continually striving for excellence and leaders and managers want to nurture a culture of professionalism. Individuals and organizations want a simple and easy-to-read guide that defines professionalism and summarizes the essence and the dos and don’t's of professional behavior in a quick and effective manner.
As one customer told us, “This book has everything in it that I want my people to know, but was not written down before.”
Professional?
Professionalism?
What Does It Mean to be a Professional Nurse?
Nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals make a tremendous investment in education, training, and experiences to get their degrees, credentials, and jobs. Given this commitment and effort, you might think that every doctor, nurse, and associate in the field of medicine would know exactly what it means to be a professional and specifically what to do or not do to behave in a professional manner.
That’s what you might think, however, that is not the reality that exists today. The reality is that many highly trained and very bright people in the medical and other fields do not know what it means to be a professional. They are not certain what they should do to behave like a professional in many situations they encounter. They do not know what they should do or say to inspire and guide professionalism in others.
This is understandable. The medical workforce has become very diverse. People enter the medical profession from all kinds of backgrounds with varying cultural values, preferences, and experiences. While ethical and legal standards often are spelled out codes of conduct and employee handbooks, the definition of what it means to be a professional is unclear and misunderstood.
Just ask the next nurse colleague you meet, “What does it mean to be a professional?”
I would be willing to bet you a cup of coffee that most nurses will not have a ready answer. I would be willing to add a donut to that bet that no two nurses are going to give you the same answer when first asked that question. This does not apply just to nurses. You can ask any two doctors, hospital administrators, or clinical aids, the same question and you will get the same results.
Who Wants to be a Professional?
I believe that professionalism is for everyone. As I wrote in my book, "There is no such thing as one job that is to be performed professionally and another that is not.”
Most individuals want to be the best that they can be and do the best work they can perform. There always will be an occasional exception, but it has been my experience that most people want to do excellent work and be professionals.
The problem that I saw when I got the idea to write my book was not that individuals did not want to be professionals or behave in a professional manner. The problem was that people were confused over what it means to be a professional and they were not certain what they should or should not do to behave in a professional manner. Furthermore, while leaders and managers may be professionals themselves, most leaders and managers did not know what to do or say to guide and encourage professional behavior in others or to address behavior that is not professional.
What is Professionalism?
When I sat down to write Professionalism Is for Everyone I quickly realized that professionalism has many attributes and the principles of professionalism and even the word itself have different meanings for different people. Professionalism is not a concept you can explain in a sound bite or two.
I began by writing down every aspect and characteristic of professionalism and professional behavior I could think of. I thought about all of the people I had met in my career and personal life and jotted down the names of those individuals I felt were exemplary in their professional presence, actions, and behavior.
Over the years I have met and worked with many impressive professionals at all levels. During college I worked in steel mills, retail stores, restaurants, and even a fancy hotel. After college I started as an associate and ultimately became a managing partner at Arthur Andersen. I then was the founder and CEO of a venture capital firm. Now I am the president of a publishing and learning company that I own with my business partner. I have taught at the college level and provided keynotes and seminars for hundreds of companies with thousands of participants.
As I reminisced my experiences, I asked myself what it was that made certain individuals stand out as exemplary professionals when others did not. I asked colleagues at work, clients, and fellow teachers and professors what they felt were the key attributes of professional behavior. I also asked my family members and my wife, who is a nurse and who worked in a hospital during her nurse’s training and for several years when we were just starting out. Each time I thought of or was reminded of an attribute of professionalism I jotted it down in a little notebook.
The Five Keys to Being a True Professional
As I started to look at all of the attributes of professionalism I was jotting down on the pages in my notebook, I began to see that they could be organized into a few common “buckets” or groups with an overarching characteristic for each group. “Respect” and “Manners” were similar, for example, and they seemed to be attributes of the same overarching principle "Conduct."
I decided to organize and group all of the important attributes of professionalism into five overarching principles and I decided to call these the Five Keys to Being a True Professional. They are:
- Character
- Attitude
- Excellence
- Competency
- Conduct
I then wrote Professionalism Is for Everyone to describe these Five Keys and the important related supporting attributes for each key. I also provide short, bulleted lists of Dos and Don’ts for each major attribute.
When I was done writing the core content, I edited, revised, and polished the book many times. I also had others read and edit the book and provide comments and suggestions.
I pressed hard on these editing and polishing efforts because I wanted people to actually read the book. I knew this would require that the book be concise, to the point, and contain easy-to-understand content that explains the principles and nothing more
The result is a short book you can read in less than an hour. People really like that the book is brief and concise. They like the Five Keys and how the attributes of professionalism are grouped under the keys. They like the bulleted Dos and Don’ts. They like the Ten Rules of Professionalism I provided as a summary. They love that they can read and understand the core content of the book in a very short time.
Professionalism
Is for Nurses
What Can the Book Do for You If You Are a Nurse?
We like to think that Professionalism Is for Everyone has something for everyone.
The principles, concepts, and techniques in the book are so important and universal that the book is an excellent choice for individuals at every level.
Nurses and others just starting out: If you are just starting out in your career, the book will explain why being a professional will help you grow, develop, and be successful in your career.
The book will provide you with solid foundation principles for being a professional and knowing what to do and not do to behave professionally.
Experienced nurses and nurses in leadership roles: If you have been in the nursing field for a while or are in a leadership role, this book will provide you with many tips and reminders you can use to polish your professionalism. It also will provide an easy-to-use framework for establishing, communicating, and enforcing guidelines for professional behavior by others.
This book is a must read for every nurse who wants to make the most of his or her career. Includes 10 Rules of Professionalism. This book will help you:
- Polish your personal professionalism as a nurse
- Pursue excellence in nursing and be your best
- Teach others what it means to be a professional nurse
- Correct behavior that you observe that is not professional
- Promote a culture of high values and standards in your hospital, office, department, and organization
- Inspire excellence in all aspects of your work an life
- Establish and reinforce a professional approach by others
- “Very uplifting!”
- “I never realized how much manners and respect matter.”
- “The concept that character is who you are and what you stand for really hit me.”
- “I am going to start taking more pride in what I do. I am going to be more accountable.”
- “Everyone could benefit from reading this book.”
- “I wish someone had placed this little book in my hands when I was starting out.”
- “I was very surprised. I always have thought of myself as a professional and I thought I would already be doing everything that I would read in the book. I was surprised to read several of the dos and don’ts where I can take steps to polish my behavior. This just goes to show, we can all improve, even if it is just a little bit at a time.”
Softbound
5” x 7¼”
ISBN:
1-887570-05-5
$9.95
Now in its
7th printing!
Volume discounts available
Polish Your Professionalism - Buy the book today!
Professionalism Is for Everyone - Revised in 2008
Five Keys to Being a True Professional
Professionalism really is for everyone, this includes nurses, doctors, and everyone else in the medical field.
This book describes five keys that set professionals apart from everyone else. It provides a solid framework for promoting high values and excellence. Chock full of examples of professional behavior and not-so-professional behavior.
A must read for every nurse who wants to make the most of his or her career. Includes 10 Rules of Professionalism. This book will help you:
- Polish your personal professionalism as a nurse
- Pursue excellence in nursing and be your best
- Teach others what it means to be a professional nurse
- Correct behavior that you observe that is not professional
- Promote a culture of high values and standards in your hospital, office, department, and organization
- Inspire excellence in all aspects of your work and life
- Establish and reinforce a professional approach by others
Buy 1 to 9 books @ $9.95 each
Buy 10 to 99 books @ $8.45 each; save $1.50 (15%) per book
Please call us for a price quote for 100 or more books.
Just $3 for Shipping and Delivery: To simplify things, for shipments inside the Continental U.S. we charge a flat $3 shipping charge for each order to one location, no matter how many books you buy. If you are outside the Continental U.S. we will email you a quote for the shipping cost before we ship your order.
We ship orders by US Postal Service and FedEx Ground from Virginia. Orders usually are shipped the next business day after the order is placed. Orders to Western states take several days transit time. If you want overnight, special delivery, or need your order by a specific date, please email or call us to discuss shipping options.
Home • Bookstore • Teach-It-Yourself • About Us • Free Goal Mind
