Professionalism in nursing is an essential ingredient in achieving a healthy work environment and is enabled by the context of practice. Overall Goals of the BPG:

1. To identify the concept of professionalism as a guiding tenet that enhances outcomes for nurses, patients, organizations and systems.
2. To define the attributes of professionalism.
3. To identify and discuss the evidence related to each attribute of professionalism.
4. To provide strategies for success.

The key areas addressed by this guideline are:

• Identification of a set of attributes that signify professionalism of the nurse
• Evidence from the Joanna Briggs Institute39 systematic reviewG and other literature
• Knowledge, competencies and behaviors of effective nurses who exhibit professional practices in their workplace
• Organizational structures, key elements and processes that support development of effective nursing professional practices