A Brief Nursing Overview
By Kadence Buchanan Today nursing
practices are performed in a wide range of settings, from hospitals to paying
personal visits to peoples' homes. Educational institutions, like universities
and schools, summer camps , pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations,
or international organizations like the World Bank, hire nurses to work in
occupational health settings, clinics and physicians' offices, elderly care
facilities or cruise ships. This diverse medical profession can appear in
diverse settings keeping its main goal identical in any situation; provide
caring services to those in need.
 In pre-modern times, nuns and military officers often provided nursing
services. In fact, the religious and military roots of modern nursing remain in
evidence until today. For example, in Great Britain, senior female nurses are
called "sisters" probably due to the people association with nuns. In recent
times, nurses work within churches and community organizations in order to
perform health education, counseling, provide referrals to community support
agencies, and connect volunteers from the church community with those in need
of assistance.
Nursing flourished in response to the World Wars and New Zealand was the
first country to regulate nurses nationally, with adoption of the Nurses
Registration Act on the 12th of September 1901. Ellen Dougherty was the first
Registered Nurse. In recent years, the American Nurses' Association (1980) has
defined nursing as "the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or
potential health problems." Just as medical diagnoses help in the planning,
implementing, and evaluation of medical care, nurses' diagnoses help in the
planning, implementing, and evaluation of nursing care.
Like other maturing disciplines, nursing has developed different theories
that are aligned with diverging philosophical beliefs and paradigms or
worldviews. Nursing theories help nurses to direct their activities in order to
accomplish specific goals with people. Nursing is a knowledge based discipline
committed to the betterment of humankind. Nursing has not only developed into a
profession, but an art as well.
As the world grew larger and larger a large number of specialties within
nursing have developed. In fact, nursing has been divided into different
specialties or classifications. With more than 200 nursing specialties and
sub-specialties, a variety of professional organizations or certifying boards
issue voluntary certification in many of these areas and nurses are interested
in acquiring one of these accreditations, encompassing care throughout the
human lifespan and based upon patient needs.
Overall, the nursing career structure varies considerably throughout the
world. Typically there are several distinct levels of nursing practitioner,
distinguished by increasing education, responsibility and skills. The major
distinction is between task-based nursing and professional nursing. At the top
of the educational ladder is the doctoral-prepared nurse. Nurses may gain the
PhD or another doctoral degree such as Doctor of Nursing Science (DNSc) or
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), specializing in research, clinical nursing,
etc. These nurses practice nursing, teach nursing and carry out nursing
research. As the science of nursing has advanced, so has the demand for
doctoral-prepared nurses.
About the Author: Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including
Nursing, Health, and Women's Health
Source: www.isnare.com
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