Introduction
Professional presence is one of the most important characteristics of a nurse. It is a quality that makes the nursing profession special. Professional presence is a combination of characteristics and behaviors, which includes being competent, reliable, empathetic, and respectful of others.
Professional Presence
The foundation of mechanical or local model (Era I) is entirely based on a belief that health and illness, are solely physical in nature, where mind is merely the result of the fundamental physical or chemical processes in the brain (Dossey, 1999). A person is being treated on a completely physical level where sickness is being controlled by specific substances. Providing physical therapies and treatments is in the core of this model. Besides the traditional use of drugs and surgery it also includes acupuncture, homeopathy, and the use of herbs (Dossey, 1999). According to this mechanistic model, being human means that all health related problems are physical where the human body is treated as having a finite cure.
In contrast, transpersonal or nonlocal model (Era III) includes many various ways that health and illness is interpreted and treated. In this model consciousness is not tied to a single person, but to that individual’s physical environment, social network and the cosmos (Dossey, 1999). Some religious patients perceive illness is an indicator of sin, so for them healing can be brought about by spiritual and religious interventions. This era arguably presents the best overall technique to approaching each patient`s overall wellbeing, by utilizing multiple ways to interact with the patient.
According to this model being human includes several components which are biological, psychological, social, and spiritual in nature. Biological factors include a person`s genes, history of pregnancy and birth, current and past illnesses, and