Nursing as a profession
Nursing is a dynamically changing profession that seeks to promote health and improve the quality of life. With increased focus on caring, safety, and prevention, the nursing profession has welcomed numerous changes over the years.
The promise of personal fulfillment, endless opportunities for professional growth, and unmatched benefits have turned nursing into a very attractive occupation for those who want to help others. The field encourages involvement in activities of all kinds - from simple bedside care to complex diagnostic procedures. It offers the chance to take part in research and development, and also to sit on boards of directors. With nursing, one can design a career of his or her own choosing without any limitations as to length of stay or place of employment.
The range of professional possibilities is truly astonishing. Today's nurses work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, home health agencies, outpatient clinics, physicians' offices, rehabilitation centers, schools, prisons, extended care facilities and psychiatric wards. They may specialize in geriatric care; pediatrics; oncology; alternative medicine; or mental illness. They can choose to spend their time in critical care units or surgical recovery rooms or working with terminally ill patients. It is also possible to take on supervisory roles, such as Director of Nursing, Nursing Education Coordinator, or Clinical Nurse Specialist. It is true that many people come into the profession looking for work in an intensive care unit and then leave to become managers after they realize they would prefer to supervise rather than undertake hands-on work.
The main responsibilities of a nurse include:
1. Assisting physicians in diagnosing and treating patients' health problems
2. Coordinating patient care activities, including diet, hygiene and exercise programs
3. Administering medications, injections or other therapeutic agents
4. Maintaining contact with the patient's family and consulting with physicians as necessary
5. Providing emotional support for patients and their families
6. Developing ways of helping patients cope with illness and facilitate the return to normal health-span
7. Monitoring patient progress in order to ensure that prescribed interventions are effective
8. Providing care at other times when needed, such as taking blood pressure or temperature when necessary, or giving shots to treat pain, confinement of blood in veins, etc. [...]
9. Educating patients and their families on health care issues
10. Supporting staff members in delivering the services they are responsible for
11. Participating in professional development activities [...]
12. Participating in community improvement efforts [...]
13. Ensuring safety and security at workplace [...]
14. Comply with the policies of employer, local, state and federal government rules and regulations [...]
15. Demonstrating ethical and legal conduct [...]
16. Complying with the nursing standards of practice [...]
In addition to providing care to ill or injured persons, nurses may also be involved in community health education, preparation of patients for surgery, health research and promotion of public health. Nursing is both a science (the study and application of theory) and an art (the application of creative techniques). Nursing practice is based on nursing theory, which is the foundation of the science of nursing. Nursing theory supports clinical judgment and decisions. The judgment or clinical decision making skills of nurses are integral to carrying out the policies, procedures and protocols as defined in the nurse's scope of practice.
There are five nursing theories that have proved to be important to the overall development of nursing as a science and art:
1. Florence Nightingale's principles of nursing care include: Caring, comfort, cure, continuity and humanity. Nightingale believed an important aspect of care was "the need for fresh air". She said that fresh air was important not only to help those with infectious diseases but also for everyone to "attain excellence. Her views contributed to the development of professional nursing and her achievements are recognized today by the Florence Nightingale Medal.
The National League for Nursing named their highest award for nursing excellence in her honor.
2. Mabel Keaton Stauffacher developed a theory of health that includes three components: body structure, function and body process. She emphasized a holistic approach to health care that included illness prevention, promoting positive mental attitude and living in harmony with nature. The holistic approach is an important element in nursing and is considered a foundation theory by many nurses.
3. Lucy Webb used the term "sickness" as a label for something negative. She believed that to define a patient as sick was to say that they were less able than others to cope with life. To her, sickness was a normal event in life's cycle, not an illness.
4. Germaine Tillion considered human beings living with themselves, living with others and living in society. In "Woman, An Appreciation of her Role through the Ages", she wrote “What is it that makes one woman beautiful and another ugly? Is it the expression of her face, or the way she carries herself?”
5. Jean Watson identified five components for nursing theory: care, comfort, cure, research and education. She believed that nursing is an art and a science. She said "Nursing is an art requiring the knowledge of the science of nursing".
Many nurses have contributed to the development of theory and practice throughout history. The following are a few of their contributions:
Theoretical perspectives in nursing have evolved from straightforward concepts to more complex constructions since Florence Nightingale's time. Such perspectives are important for researchers and students to understand, as it is through them that we can approach an understanding of how knowledge on nursing is acquired. Currently there are three major theoretical approaches in nursing: scientific research, critical scholarship, and post-modern philosophy.
There are two types of theoretical perspectives: descriptive and prescriptive.
Descriptive approaches draw knowledge about nursing from scientific research and activities for which it was never intended. These approaches focus on particular issues in the theory, practice and research of nursing. They can also be used to explain nursing concepts in a practical way, such as how to handle a particular situation that arises in practice. Such approaches demonstrate how nurses "explore new possibilities and use the results of that exploration to make new decisions" (O'Carroll 2007). Descriptive approaches may include: meta-ethnography or ethnography; different models and theories.
Prescriptive approaches draw knowledge about nursing from critical scholarship. Critical theory is considered a more complex approach to nursing. However, it is an important aspect of how nursing can be approached when considering the construction of knowledge for nurses (Dineen 2005). Researchers who use a prescriptive perspective make recommendations for practice and policy development. For example, they may suggest areas that need further research or changes to the way nurses approach certain situations or medicine.
Post-modern perspectives are multidimensional in nature (Crocker 2011). These perspectives focus on epistemology and ontology as well as representation of reality, power relations and social influences on human experience (Archie 2005).
Conclusion
According to O'Carroll (2007), the science and art of nursing are inseparable. Nurses use the theories and philosophies that have been developed by other people throughout history, but they also use their own understanding of a situation to improve the care they provide.
In summary, there are many perspectives on theories that lead nursing. The key is to realize that it is through theories and philosophies that we can approach an understanding of how knowledge on nursing is acquired.
Nursing theory has evolved from simple ideas of caring to complex constructions based on scientific research, critical scholarship and postmodern philosophy. Nurses use these theories in practice as well as in research activities for which it was never intended (Dineen 2005).
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Nursing as a profession