Handbook of Nursing

Definition of nursing

Nursing is a health-care profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death. Nursing involves a greater, and often continued, level of human interaction than any other health care discipline. It is a holistic discipline with its own body of scientific knowledge. Nurses work in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members as to provide the best evidence based care. At the highest levels of nursing practice, nurse practitioners may act as primary health care providers.

Nurses work in a large variety of specialties where they work independently and as part of a team to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care. Nursing Science is a field of knowledge based on the contributions of nursing scientists through peer-reviewed scholarly journals and evidenced-based practice.

Nurses care for individuals and populations on all degrees of wellness, ages and cultural backgrounds, and who have physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The profession innovates art and science from numerous fields including nursing in caring for those individuals. Some nurses follow the traditional role of working in a hospital setting, but there are a number of career specializations which can be pursued, such as psycho-gerontological nursing.

Scope of this book

This book is intended for registered nurses,researchers and academics. A more basic nursing text is under development at Nursing Study Guide

Entry to nursing

There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse, which all involve extensive study of nursing training and licensure by a regional regulatory body.

In order to work in the nursing profession, nurses hold one or more credentials depending on their training and scope of practice . Vocational nurses have a variety of titles including enrolled (EN), licensed (LPN) or registered practical nurse (RPN). A vocational nurse works with Registered nurse supervision.

A Registered nurse (RN) provides scientific, psychological, and technological knowledge in the care of patients and families in many health care settings. Registered nurses may also earn additional credentials or degrees enabling them to work under different titles and career stages.

Subjects (Gordon's Functional Health Patterns)

Subjects (Additional)

References

Joanna Briggs Institute for Nursing Research
Australian Nursing Midwifery Board

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