Chapter 1 : Introduction to Nursing
Topics covered in this snack-sized chapter:
Nursing as a science is defined as the scientific knowledge and skills in assisting individual to achieve optimal health
Nursing is the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery
Patient safety is the cornerstone of high-quality health care
Nurses are critical to the surveillance and coordination that reduce adverse outcomes such as mortality and morbidity
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
- To achieve the best possible quality of life whatever their disease or disability, until death
Following are the purpose of nursing:
- To promote and maintain health
- To care for people when their health is compromised
- To facilitate independence
- To improve, maintain quality of life
Following are the four major areas of nursing practice:
- Promoting health and wellness
- Caring of the person, who is at the stage of dying
Wellness means engaging in attitudes and behavior that enhance the quality of life and maximize personal potential
Nurses promote wellness in clients who are both healthy and ill
Nursing activities that prevent illness include
- Prevention of sexually transmitted disease
Nursing focuses on the ill client and it extends from early detection of disease through helping the client during the recovery period
This area involves comforting and caring for people of all ages who are dying
- Helping clients to live as comfortable as possible until death
- Helping support person to cope up with death
Nursing activities include the following:
- Providing direct care to the ill person, such as:
- Administering medications
- Performing diagnostic and assessment procedures, such as:
- Examining feces for occult blood
- Consulting with other health care professionals about client problems
- Teaching clients about recovery activities, such as exercises that will accelerate recovery after a stroke
- Rehabilitating clients to their optimal functional level following:
- Physical or mental illness
A nurse is a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or disabled.
Following are the roles and responsibilities of a nurse:
The nurse supports the client by attitudes and actions that show concern for client welfare and acceptance of the client as a person
The nurse is primarily concerned with the client’s needs
Nurse provides direct care and promotes comfort of client
The nurse communicates with clients, support persons and colleagues to facilitate all nursing actions
Nurse provides information and helps the client to learn or acquire new knowledge and technical skills
- Encourages compliance with prescribed therapy
- Promotes healthy lifestyle
- Interprets information to the client
The nurse helps the client to recognize and cope with the stressful psychological or social problems, to develop improved personal relationships and to promote personal growth.
Nurse promotes what is best for the client, ensuring that the client’s needs are met and protecting the client’s right.
Nurse provides explanation in clients’ language and support clients decisions.
The nurse initiates changes and assist the client to make modifications in the lifestyle to promote health.
The nurse participates in scientific investigation and uses research findings in practice.
The nurse works in a combined effort with all those involved in care delivery, for a mutually acceptable plan to be obtained that will achieve common goals.
Quality assurance provides the mechanisms to effectively monitor patient care provided by health care professionals using cost-effective resources
Nursing programs of quality assurance are concerned with the quantitative assessment of nursing care.
Quality assurance system motivates nurses to strive for excellence in delivering quality care.
It also helps them to be more open and flexible in experimenting with innovative ways to change outmoded systems
