Definitions of Nursing 5/12/20151. To understand what nursing is, one must first define the word. Many definitions exist, some of which misrepresent the.

Definitions of Nursing

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• To understand what nursing is, one must first define the word. Many definitions exist, some of which misrepresent the complex knowledge and skill of professional nursing.

• The word nurse originated from the Latin word nutrix, meaning" to nourish.'' Most definitions of nurse and nursing describe the nurse as a person who nourishes, fosters, and protects and who is prepared to take care of sick, injured, and aged people.

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Nurses as "a person, usually a woman trained to care for the sick ".

Florence Nightingale defined nursing over 100 years ago as '' the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery"

(Nightingale, 1860).

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Virginia Henderson was one of the first modern nurses to define nursing " the unique function of the nursing is to assist the individual , sick or well , in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength , will, or knowledge, and to do this in such a way as to help him gain independent as rapidly as possible." (Henderson, 1966).

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American Nurses Association (ANA)

describes nursing practice as "direct, goal

oriented and adaptable to the needs of the

individual, the family, and community during

health and illness" (ANA, 1973).

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Canadian Nurses Association ( CNA ) describe

nursing practice as '' a dynamic , caring , helping

relationship in which the nurses assists the client to

achieve and maintain optimal health ( CNA , 1987 ) .

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There are many definitions for the '' Nursing“

• Nursing is caring • Nursing is an art • Nursing is a science • Nursing is client centered • Nursing is holistic شمولي • Nursing is adaptive • Nursing is concerned with health promotion, health

maintenance, and health restoration • Nursing is a helping profession

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- The central focus in all definitions of nursing is the patient (the person receiving care) and includes the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of that persons.

- Nursing is no longer considered to be concerned primarily with illness care.

- Nursing's concepts and definitions have expanded to include the prevention of illness and the promotion and maintenance of health for individuals, families, and communities.

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Recipients of nursing

• The recipients of nursing are sometimes called

consumers, sometimes patients, and sometimes

clients.

• A consumer is an individual, a group of people, or a

community that uses a service or commodity (السلعة).

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A patient is a person who is waiting for or undergoing

medical treatment and care.

A client is a person who engages the advice or services

of another who is qualified to provide this service.

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Aims of Nursing

Four broad aims of nursing practice can be identified in

the definitions of nursing:

• To promote health

• To prevent illness

• To restore health

• To facilitate coping with disability or death

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To meet these aims, the nurse uses knowledge, skills,

and critical thinking to give care in a variety of

traditional and expanding nursing roles. To achieve

the goals of nursing, nurses rely on four essential

competencies: cognitive, technical, interpersonal,

and ethical/ legal skills. These competencies, or

skills, are used/ blended together to perform

knowledgeable and effective care.

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Cognitive skilled nurses think about the nature of things sufficiently to" make sense" of their world.

Cognitively skilled nurses are able to accomplish the following:

• Offer a scientific rationale for the patient's plan of care.

• Select those nursing interventions that are most likely to yield the desired outcomes.

• Use critical thinking to solve problems creatively.

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Technically skilled nurses manipulate equipment

skillfully to produce a desired outcome or result. Also

technical involves everything including good eye –

hand coordination to an ability to troubleshoot when

equipment malfunctions, based on an understanding

of the technical workings of the equipment.

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Technically skilled nurses are able to accomplish the following:

• Use technical equipment with sufficient competence and ease to achieve goals with minimal distress to participants involved.

• Creatively adapt equipment and technical procedures to the needs of particular patients.

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Interpersonally skilled nurses establish and maintain caring relationships that facilitate the achievement of valued goals. Nurses skilled in interpersonal relations are able to accomplish the following:

• Use interactions with patients, their significant others, and colleagues to affirm their worth.

• Elicit the personal strengths and abilities of patients and their significant others to achieve valued health goals.

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• Provide the healthcare team with knowledge about the patient's valued and expectations.

• Work collaboratively with the healthcare team as a respected and credible colleague to reach valued goals.

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Ethically and legally skilled nurses conduct themselves in a manner consistent with their personal moral code and professional role responsibilities. Nurses skilled in ethical/legal competence are able to accomplish the following:

• Be accountable for their practice to themselves, the patients they serve, the caregiving team, and society.

• Act as effective patient advocates.• Mediate ethical conflicts among the patient,

significant others, health care team, and other interested parties.

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Nursing practice involves four areas:-

1- Promoting health and wellness

Wellness is a state of well – being. This means engaging in attitudes and behavior that enhance the quality of life and maximize personal potential. Such as improving nutrition and physical fitness; restricting smoking; preventing drug; alcohol mis- use.

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2- Preventing illness

The goal of illness prevention activities are to reduce

the risk for illness, to promote good health habits,

and to maintain optimal functioning. Nurses prevent

illness primarily by teaching and by personal

example. Such activities include the following:

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– Educational programs in areas such as prenatal care for pregnant women, smoking – cessation programs, and stress reduction seminars.

– Community programs that encourage healthy lifestyles, such as physical fitness programs.

– Television, radio, or internet information on diet, exercise, and the importance of good health habits.

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3- Restoring health

Focus on the individual with an illness and range from early detection of a disease to rehabilitation and teaching during recovery. Such activities include the following:-

• Providing direct care to the ill person, such as administering medications, baths.

• Performing diagnostic and assessments that detect an illness e.g., BP, measuring blood sugar.

• Referring questions and abnormal findings to other health care providers as appropriate.

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• Collaboration with other healthcare providers in providing care.

• Rehabilitating clients to their optimal functional level following physical or mental illness, injury.

• Working in mental health and chemical dependency programs.

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4- Facilitating coping with disability or death

Nurses facilitate patient and family coping with altered function, life crisis, and death. Altered function decreases an individuals ability to carry out activities of daily living and expected roles.

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Nurses can facilitate an optimal level of function through maximizing the person's strengths and potentials, through teaching, and through referral to community support system. Nurses provide care to both patients and families during end-of-life care, and they do so in hospitals, long-term-care facilities, and homes.

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Settings for nursing

In the past, the acute care was the only practice setting

open to most nurse‘s. Today most nurses work in

hospitals, but increasingly they work in clients'

homes, community agencies, ambulatory clinics,

health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

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Nursing Roles

Nurses assume a number of roles when they provide care

to clients. For example, the nurse may act as a

counselor while providing physical care and teaching

aspects of that care. The roles required at specific time

depend on the needs of the client and aspects of the

particular environment.

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There are different roles for professional nurse which are:-

• Caregiver

Nurses view each client as unique and consider the ''whole'' person in the caring process. Nurses address not only physiologic concerns but also spiritual, emotional, and social needs. The role of caregiver is the primary role of the nurse.

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• Decision Maker

Problem resolution requires the ability to make sound judgments and decision. Nurses must choose the best approaches to client care, help clients participate in this decision making and use safe and effective judgments when providing care, also involving other members of the health care team and the families of clients in decision making to ensure that sound choices are made.

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• Client advocate

The protection of human or legal rights and the securing of care for all patients based on the belief that patients have the right to make informed decisions about their own health and lives.

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• Communicator

Communication is integral to all nursing roles. Nurses are the healthcare professionals who spend the most time with clients; they have the best opportunity for observing, communicating, and identifying problems or improvements in the plan of care. The use of effective interpersonal and therapeutic communication skills to establish and maintain helping relationships with patients of all ages in a wide variety of healthcare settings.

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• Educator

Educating clients about diseases, prevention, nutrition and healthy behaviors is essential. Nurses must explain treatments and procedures, answer any questions clients have. Education is involved in all nursing activities.

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• Manger and Coordinator

Nurses managing and coordinate the activities, treatments that involve clients care in effective, efficient, and in a manner that benefits the client.

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• Counselor

The use of therapeutic interpersonal communication skills to provide information, make appropriate referrals, and facilitate the patient's problem – solving and decision – making skills.

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• Change agent

The nurse acts as a change agent when assisting others, that is, clients, to make modifications in their own behavior. Nurses also act to make changes in a system, if it is not helping a client return to health.

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• Leader

The assertive, self- confident practice of nursing when providing care, effecting change, and functioning with groups.

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• ResearcherThe participation in or conduct of research to increase

knowledge in nursing and improve patient care.

Expanded nursing roles• Nurse Practitioner • Clinical Nurse Specialist• Nurse Midwife• Nurse Anesthetist• Nurse Administrator

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