Nursing
The care of others
Science of nursing:
the knowledge base for the care that is given
Art of nursing:
skilled application of the knowledge base to help others reach maximum
health and quality of life
Essence of nursing:
caring for, caring with, and caring about people
Nursing is recognized as a profession based on:
* Well-defined body of specific and unique knowledge
*Strong service orientation
*Recognized authority by a professional group
*Code of ethics
*Professional organization that sets standards
*Ongoing research
*Autonomy
Nursing as a profession:
* Uses an organized body of knowledge that is generated from research/theory
and provides rationale for our nursing interventions/actions
* Uses nursing theory which is self-generated and draws from other
disciplines/fields
Professional nursing organizations:
* American Nurses Association (ANA)
*National League for Nursing (NLN)
*American Association for Colleges in Nurisng (AACN)
*National Student Nurses' Assocation (NSNA)
,ANA:
* Professional organization for RNs in the US
*Founded in the late 1800s
*Membership is comprised of the state nurses' associations to which individual
nurses belong
*Establishes standards of practice, encourages research, and represents
nursing for legislative actions
NLN:
* Open to all people interested in nursing, including nurses, non-nurses, and
agencies
* Established in 1952, its objective is to foster the development and
improvement of all nursing services and nursing education
NSNA:
Prepares students to participate in professional nursing organizations
AACN:
* National voice for baccalaureate and higher degree nursing education
programs
* The organization's goals focus on establishing quality educational standards;
influencing the nursing profession to improve healthcare; and promoting the
public support of baccalaureate and graduate education, research, and nursing
practice
* National accreditation for collegiate nursing programs is provided (based on
meeting standards) through this professional nursing organization by the
Commision on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
, Goals of nursing practice:
1) to promote health
2)to prevent illness
3)to restore health
4)to facilitate coping with disability or death
Nurses accomplish these goals by using knowledge, skills, and critical thinking
4 competencies:
1) cognitive abilities/skills
2)technical skills
3)interpersonal skills (communication)
4)ethical/legal skills
Nurses rely on these skills to achieve goals of practice
Health: Nurses promote this by maximizing the patient's own individual
strengths
Health:
Defined by the World Health Organization, one's health includes physical,
social, and mental components and is not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity
Health Is a subjective state - a person may be medically diagnosed with an
illness but still consider himself or herself healthy
Florence Nightingale:
* Established the first school for nurses that provided both theory-based
knowledge and clinical skill building
*Stressed the need to create a body of nursing knowledge separate from
medical knowledge
*Recognized the influence of environment on health
*Identified personal needs of the patient and the role of the nurse in meeting
those needs
*Established standards for hospital management