Memo
To: Bill Templeman
From: Uvbi Osatohangbon
Date: January 30, 2023
Re: Exploring the Discourse Community of Practical Nursing
Introduction
I am writing this report to inform newcomers about practical nursing and to introduce them to the discourse community.
I will be talking about some of the basic duties that follow when becoming a part of this community. In addition to that I will go over needed education, training, and certification. As well as specific lexis, methods of intercommunication, and common public goals. I will then conclude with significant characteristics of the practical nursing community and my recommendations to a newcomer.
Background
As a Practical Nurse, there are many places you can choose to work in like hospitals, health clinics, extended care facilities, or private homes. A Practical Nurse is often found supporting other healthcare workers or working under other medical professionals’ direction. Their duties can include patient care like changing dressings, monitoring a patients treatment progress or well-being, which can include as charting vital signs, preparing patients for surgery, assessing clients, working in health promotion or illness prevention, planning, implementing and evaluating care for clients, keeping detailed records of patient’s health, collecting samples for tests, Communicating treatment and health information, providing care that can include comfort or personal care, administering medications, providing education to patients on health management or maintenance, cleaning or sterilization of medical equipment, instruments, and operating rooms. There are a lot of things a practical nurse tends to be in charge and become of this every person that desires to be a practical nurse in Ontario is required to go to a college approved by the college of nurses of Ontario (CNO) and complete a test that will grant will allow you to be recognized as a nurse. According to the College of Nurses of Ontario (n.d.), to successfully become a part of the practical nursing discourse community “A valid certificate of registration from CNO is required of all nurses who wish to practice nursing in Ontario” (para. 2).
Research and Analysis
Due to characteristics like acquired specific lexis, mechanisms of intercommunication among its members and an agreed set of common public goals, practical nursing is considered not only a profession but also a discourse community.
According to Swales (1990) “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals” (p.471) and when it comes to the discourse community of practical nursing these agreed set of common public goals are known as the College of Nurses of Ontario practice standards and are valued and closely followed by this discourse community. They can be narrowed down to 7 goals that are constantly aimed be achieved by this discourse community. As mentioned by CNO (2006) these are, “accountability, continuing competence, ethics, knowledge, knowledge application,