Introduction to Nursing

The term "nurse" comes from the Latin word nutritive, which means to support, nurture, and protect. As a result, nursing is the provision for, maintenance of, and promotion of people's health. Nursing has been done since the beginning of time whenever someone took care of someone who was unwell or hurt. Nursing practice has been carried out in a variety of methods over the years. In the past, a nurse was described as a woman who gave untrained care to those who were ill, hurt, or dying. The modern definition of a nurse has changed.In the provision of preventive, promotional, curative, and rehabilitative services in health care, nursing is one of the most significant professions. The need for professionals in the nursing area is very high. The goal of the nursing profession in the health care sector is to help people attain, maintain, or regain optimal health and quality of life. Aspects of nursing include the preservation, enhancement, and promotion of health and abilities; the prevention of illness and injury; the alleviation of suffering through the recognition and control of human responses; and advocacy in the treatment of individuals, families, communities, and populations. It fuses art and science together. In other words, a professional nurse gains the ability to give care in a creative way while demonstrating empathy, concern, and respect for the personality and dignity of each client. As a science, nursing is based on a body of knowledge that is continually expanding as a result of new discoveries and innovations. When nurses apply both the science and the art of nursing to their daily work, patients receive care that is of the highest caliber. The patients gain from this in a variety of ways. Nurses improve and save lives as front-line members of the healthcare delivery team. By using a comprehensive approach, they independently assess, monitor, and decide what the patients need to do to attain and maintain their health. Following that, nurses provide care and, if necessary, call in other medical professionals for assistance.

Definitions of Nursing

Although nursing practice varies across specialties and nations, the following definitions are provided by various individuals and nursing organizations:

"Nursing is the care which puts a person in the best possible condition for nature to restore or preserve health, to prevent or to care disease or injury."-Florence Nightingale

"Nursing is assisting the individual, sick or well, to perform those activities contributing to health or recovery 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 independence as rapidly as possible." -Virginia Henderson

"Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; prevention of illness and injury; alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses; and advocacy in health care for individuals, families, communities, and populations." -American Nurses Association

"Nursing is an art and science based on knowledge, skill and attitude, aimed at assisting the individual, the family and community in health and illness, to maintain heath, to prevent illness, to alleviate physical, biological and psychological pain, to avoid complication and to fulfill self-reliance in meeting daily health needs." -WHO

"Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborating care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness and care of ill, disable and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of safe environment, research and participation in shaping health policy and in-patient and health system management, and education are also key nursing roles". - International Council of Nurses

Nursing is "the use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems, and to achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death." -Royal College of Nursing, UK

"Nursing and midwifery in Nepal is a profession which provides holistic and comprehensive health care to raise the health status of people, sick and well and the population as a whole." - nursing task force, MOH

Definitions of Nurse

A nurse combines science and technology with human skills including communication, problem-solving, education, and compassion. Nurses make a difference in people's lives when they're in need. Nurses play a major role in our healthcare system. Nursing entails more than just giving sick people medical attention. Today's registered nurses aim to:

• Promote health.
• Eliminate sickness.
• helping people with illnesses, emergencies, and chronic problems as well as their families.
• Retaining life.
• Improve community health.
• Those who treat the sick, the hurt, and those who are emotionally, physically, and mentally challenged are known as nurses.

In the diagnosis, treatment, and promotion of health, nurses provide comprehensive care to individuals, families, and communities.

"A nurse is a person educated and licensed in the practice of nursing; one who is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems." -American Nurses Association

"A nurse is a person who has completed a program of basic nursing education and is qualified and authorized in his/her country to provide responsible and competent professional services for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, care of the sick and rehabilitation of the disabled." -ICN

Qualities of a Good Nurse

A profession, not just a job, is nursing. It is therefore incredibly idealistic and expected. To be a good nurse and provide professional services to the individual, family, and community, a person must possess a variety of attributes. As a result, a nurse needs to possess a few traits that set them apart as caregivers.

These characteristics include:

Honest
In order to properly care for patients and maintain positive relationships with them, their families, and other team members, honesty is crucial. Despite the difficulty, a nurse must learn to accept her errors. It will aid her in developing into an honorable professional.

Well-balanced/Emotional stability
They should work on this skill throughout their nursing careers in order to be able to maintain emotional control under pressure. A nurse deals with all types of patients, in all kinds of settings, and with all kinds of individuals. These partnerships could occasionally be in conflict. Sometimes the nurse must be in charge of the patients' lives. A balanced nurse will therefore be able to work or act with ease and provide patients with the care they need. The nurse must exhibit mature behavior and complete emotional control even when under duress or in challenging situations.

Tactful
In all circumstances, a nurse must be considerate of the needs and feelings of the patients and handle them correctly. Nurses have to deal with a wide range of illnesses and patients in various circumstances. She should be able to use sound judgment to deal with any challenging situation and a variety of people. She needs to act diplomatically when dealing with any situations at work.

Discipline
Only when a nurse can maintain good discipline will she be able to deliver superior nursing care without disruption or stress. Self-control or developing a habit of abiding by the rules and regulations established by the system or organization are examples of discipline. To accomplish a purpose of an organization, specific rules and regulations must constantly be adhered to. For an organization or unit to function well, each member must uphold excellent discipline within a set of guidelines.

Creative
The divine power of creativity affects transformation in the creative mind for recurrent manifestations. To come up with fresh solutions and ease the patients, a nurse must be imaginative. A nurse is always flexible and focused on the future.

Healthy
Everything a person encounters with will be influenced by their bodily, mental, and spiritual health. A nurse does not appear pleasant, confident, or enthusiastic if she is not in good physical and mental condition. A healthy nurse will have a professional appearance, be pleasant to be around, and be able to confidently and correctly manage her work. In order to work with and care for people of many various religious beliefs, one must be able to protect their own personal beliefs as well as address the spiritual needs of others.

Intelligent
Intelligent refers to mental aptitude. To be a good nurse, one must possess the capacity for perception, learning, understanding, and knowledge. A nurse is required to work with various types of staff in a variety of challenging conditions that can be difficult for a nurse to handle.She must act swiftly and wisely when it comes to patient care. In these situations, the nurse's nursing care plan is based on how she sees and comprehends the patient's state, which later influences the patient's recovery. Nursing practice calls for extensive knowledge and a variety of complicated abilities. Nursing professionals have a duty to stay current on the most recent advancements and best practices in their field because medicine is always changing.

Courageous
To be brave or unafraid is to be courageous. A nurse is required to collaborate with diverse types of staff in numerous challenging circumstances. Therefore, nurses must have courage because they are in charge of patients' lives and deaths. For instance, a nurse may have to travel to remote locations for work where she knows no one, but she must show courage in the face of the challenge.

Good personality
A person's personality is implied by a number of physical and mental qualities. To some extent, the individual's behavior or responses to his environment are determined by these defining characteristics. Professional success requires a good personality. "The first impression is the last one," goes the saying. A nurse's appearance will have a big impact on her work and relationships. People, especially patients, are deeply affected by a person's tidy, attractive appearance.

Friendly and helpful
A nurse must have an outgoing and supportive personality. One of the most significant and fulfilling relationships is friendship. One of the most significant and fulfilling relationships one can have to win the trust of others is to be nice and helpful. A nurse must have solid relationships with the person, society, and community in order to win a patient's trust.

Communication skill
One of the crucial traits that shouldn't be on a nurse's resume is their ability to communicate. Successful caring relationships and teamwork depend on good communication. An outstanding nurse have strong communicating and listening abilities.

Empathy and sympathy
Empathy is the capacity to comprehend and, to some extent, share another person's feelings and mental states as well as the significance and meaning behind that person's actions. A demonstrated interest or care in another person's issue, emotion, or mental state is referred to as sympathy. Nurses must treat patients with empathy to avoid becoming emotionally invested and disturbed.

Poise
A nurse interacts with patients of many types, in a variety of settings, and with numerous people. She had to act maturely and in complete control of her emotions even when under duress or in trying situations. When these circumstances do occur, poise is crucial for the patients' and other staff members' physical and psychological well-being.

Clean and pleasant appearance
It is important to always maintain a neat appearance since it leaves a lasting effect on both the person being observed and her own inner feelings.

Interested
Interest can be defined as a special desire for something or concern. Interest fuels desire and keeps the nurse focused on doing her work. Outside of work interests are also beneficial. Therefore, kids ought to take part in social and communal activities. They interact with others who work in different fields, and they gain a lot of satisfaction from their interpersonal relationships.

Patience
Patience is essential to success for nurses in any speciality or field. Excellent nurses are aware that perseverance can help patients and coworkers feel empowered by wise choices, overcoming anxieties and misunderstandings.

Dedicated
Successful nurses put their patients' needs first and give them the finest care they can, no matter what. These committed nurses never stop learning, rising to the top of their profession and instructing other nurses in their area of expertise.

Attentiveness
In order to fulfill their ethical obligations, nurses must be mindful of not just the needs of their patients but also those of their coworkers, employers, and communities.

Patient responsiveness
Nurses frequently interact with patients more frequently than other professionals on a multidisciplinary care team. It is the ethical duty of nurses to keep an eye on how patients are reacting to interventions and therapy and to let the other professionals in the treatment team know about it. The patient's worries about the treatment must also be addressed by the nurses.

Others

• Faith in the guiding principles of the democratic way of life.
• Fignity of the human being. self-giving for the benefit of others.
• The fundamental understanding, aptitude, and disposition required to confront social issues, as well as practical, well-structured, and ordered views.
• Skills in developing one's own ideas and communicating them to others through written and spoken language.
• The capacity to accept and make an effort to comprehend individuals of all kinds, regardless of race, religion, or color.