Definitions of Nursing

• Nursing is expected to continue changing during the 21st century.

Definitions of Nursing

• Florence Nightingale defined nursing as "the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery."
• Virginia Henderson defined nursing as assisting individuals, sick or well, in performing activities contributing to health or recovery (or peaceful death) that they would perform unaided if they had the necessary strength, will, or knowledge.
• Madeleine Leininger defined nursing as assisting individuals, families, groups, or communities in achieving, maintaining, or recovering health-related culturally congruent values, beliefs, and lifeways.
• Jean Watson defined nursing as “the art and science of caring for the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, using a holistic, caring, and compassionate approach.”
• The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines nursing as protecting, promoting, and optimizing health and abilities; preventing illness and injury; facilitating healing; alleviating suffering through diagnosing and treating human response; and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.
• The International Council of Nurses (ICN) defines nursing as protecting, promoting, and optimizing health and abilities; preventing illness and injury; alleviating suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response; and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.

Nursing as an Art

• Nursing is based upon a body of knowledge that is always changing with new discoveries and innovations.
• Nurses learn to deliver care artfully with compassion, caring, and respect for each client's dignity and personhood.
• Integrating art and science into nursing practice provides the client with quality nursing care.

Nursing as a Profession

• A profession is an occupation that requires extensive education or a calling that requires special knowledge, skills, and preparation.
• Professionalism refers to professional character, spirit, or methods.
• Professionalism is a set of attributes and a way of life that implies responsibility and commitment.
• Influence of Florence Nightingale contributed to nursing professionalism.
• A professional is a person who acquires specific skills, agrees to practice those skills according to community standards of practitioners.

Characteristics of a Profession

• Requires specialized education.
• Has a theoretical body of knowledge that leads to defined skills, abilities, and norms.
• Members have autonomy in decision-making and practice.
• Provides a specific service.
• As a whole, has a code of ethics for practice.

Code of Ethics

• Filipino Nurses' Code of Ethics: promulgated under Resolution No. 220 Series of 2004 last July 14, 2004 and consulted with accredited professional organizations like the Philippine Nurses Association, coincided with Republic Act No. 9173 or the "Philippine Nursing Act of 2002"
• Serves as guidelines, based on fundamental principles, responsibility, and accountability.

Standards of Care and Professional Performance

• The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed the Standards of Professional Performance and Standards of Nursing Practice to describe a competent level of professional behavior and nursing care.
• The standards assure clients that they are receiving high-quality nursing care and that nurses know how to provide the care.
• There are measures to determine if the care meets the established standards and expected outcomes.
• The standards of practice are demonstrated through the nursing process: assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Nursing Education

• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN): requires usually one year of education
• Registered Nurse (RN): requires associates, diploma, baccalaureate degrees
• Master's Education
• Doctoral Preparation
• LPNs provide basic nursing care under the supervision of an RN, including feeding, dressing, or bathing patients; monitoring vital signs; applying or changing bandages; cleaning wounds; or inserting catheters.
• RNs duties include all LPN duties, plus administering medication, drawing blood, inserting IV drips, operating and monitoring medical equipment, performing diagnostic tests, collecting lab samples, teaching patients, and collaborating with doctors.

Licensure

• Mechanism through which each state regulates the practice of safe and competent nursing practice.
• The Nation Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN)
• NCLEX-PN
• There is also continuing education

Nursing Practice

• It includes assessing patients' needs, developing and implementing care plans, administering medication and treatments, and collaborating with other healthcare professionals.
• It is guided by professional standards and regulations.
• Nurses are required to maintain a certain level of education and training.

Nurse Practice Acts

• Regulates licensure and scope of nursing practice.
• Protects the public from unskilled, under-educated, and unlicensed nurses.

Nursing Roles

• Direct Care Provider
• Protector/Client Advocate
• Manager of Care
• Client/Family Educator
• Communicator

Career Roles

• Clinician
• Nurse Educator
• Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)
• Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
• Nurse Practitioner (NP)
• Nurse Administrator
• Nurse Researcher

Professional Nursing Organizations

• American Nurses Association (ANA)
• National League for Nursing (NLN)
• International Council of Nursing (ICN)
• National Student Nurses Association (NSNA)

History of Nursing

• Knowing the profession's history increases nurses' awareness and promotes an understanding of the discipline's social and intellectual origins.
• Nurses' duties in 1887 included sweeping and mopping floors, dusting furniture, maintaining room temperature with coal, filling kerosene lamps, and taking careful notes.
• Nurses were expected to save earnings, abstain from alcohol, and maintain moral integrity.
• Nurses with five years of service and no hospital debts received a five-cent raise per day.
• Florence Nightingale: Founder of Modern Nursing, she established the first nursing philosophy based on health maintenance and restoration, wrote "Notes and Nursing", and was the first practicing nurse epidemiologist.
• During the Civil War and early 20th century, the American Red Cross was ratified by Congress in 1882.
• Civil War -Early 20th century: The initial nursing professional organization was established in 1890.

Key Figures in Nursing History

• Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross, she tended soldiers on the battlefields, cleansed wounds, met basic needs, and comforted the dying during the Civil War - Early 20th century.
• Dorothea Dix: Superintendent of female nurses in the Union Army, she organized hospitals, appointed nurses & regulated supplies for troops during the Civil War and early 20th Century.
• Mary Mahoney: First African American professional nurse (1879), emphasized awareness of cultural diversity and respect for the individual during Civil War (Early 20th Century)
• Lillian Ward and Mary Brewster: Established the Henry Street Settlement in 1893. The first community health service provided nursing therapies aimed at wellness through nutrition, hygiene, and shelter to poor people living in New York City tenements.

20th Century

• This period saw a movement toward a scientific, research-based body of nursing.
• During this time nurses assumed expanded roles.
• The Goldmark Report was during this time, and concluded that nursing education needed increased financial support. It suggested money be given to university schools of nursing.
• Adelaide Nutting: the first professor of nursing
• This period saw the development of Specialized Nursing, the initiation of Graduate mid-wifery programs, and the establishment Mary Breckenridge's Frontier Nursing Service.

21st Century

• The ANA established the Center for Ethics and Human Rights in 1990.
• The ANA revised the nursing code of ethics in 2001.
• Continued efforts to revise nursing practice and school curricula to meet society's changing needs.

Societal Influences on Nursing

• Demographic changes
• Women's health care issues
• Human rights movement
• Medically underserved populations
• Threat of bioterrorism
• Culturally Sensitive Care
• Client Safety
• Health Promotion and Wellness

Influence of Today's Healthcare Delivery System

• Rising health care costs
• Evidenced-based practice
• Nursing and biomedical research
• Nursing shortage

Explore key definitions of nursing from influential figures like Florence Nightingale, Virginia Henderson, and Jean Watson. Understand the evolution of nursing's role in healthcare. Learn about the American Nurses Association's (ANA) definition of nursing.