nursing, 1. the practice in which a nurse assists “the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to a peaceful death) 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). 2. “the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems” (American Nurses Association). There are four principal characteristics that further define nursing care: the phenomena that concern nurses; the use of theories to observe the need for nursing intervention and to plan nursing action; the nursing action taken; and an evaluation of the effects of the actions relative to the phenomena. This definition of nursing provides a framework for the nursing process, including data collection, diagnosis, planning, treatment, and evaluation. The nursing process is supported by standards of nursing practice that are congruent with the definition and that provide more specific guidelines for practice. These standards include systematic, continuous collection of data concerning the health status of the client in recorded form that is accessible and that may be communicated. A nursing diagnosis is derived from the data collected. A plan for nursing care incorporates goals derived from the nursing diagnosis and the priorities and approaches to achieve the goals as indicated by the nursing diagnosis. Nursing actions, which are selected and performed with the client’s participation, provide for promotion, maintenance, or restoration of the client’s health and serve to maximize the client’s health care abilities. The progress or lack of progress toward the goal is mutually determined by the client and the nurse, resulting in reassessment, reordering of priorities, establishment of new goals, and revision of the plan for nursing care. Nursing touches on, intersects with, and complements other professional roles in health care, addressing itself to a wide range of health-related responses in people who are well and in those who are not. Nursing seeks to diagnose and treat the response to the problem; thus the concerns of nursing are less circumscribed and discrete than those of other health-related professions. These concerns include the following: limitations of the client’s self-care ability; impaired ability to function in any fundamental area such as sleeping, breathing, eating, maintaining circulation; pain, anxiety, fear, loneliness, grief, or other physical or emotional problems related to health, illness, or treatment; impaired social or intellectual processes; impaired ability to make decisions and choices; alteration of self-image as required by the change in health; dysfunctional perception of health or health care activities; extra demands posed by such normal life processes as birth, growth, or death; and difficulty in affiliative relationships. Various concepts, principles, processes, and actions developed and examined in nursing research guide the steps in the nursing process from initial observation and diagnosis through evaluation, based on intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systems theories. The boundary for nursing practice is not static; it tends to move outward as the needs and capacities of society change. Collegial, collaborative practice with members of other health care professions further softens the boundaries of nursing practice. All health care professionals share a mission and a scientific database, and to some degree their practices overlap. At its core, nursing is nurturative, generative, and protective; preventive care is a part of every nurse’s practice. Nurses value independence and self-respect. They are guided by an ethical and humanitarian philosophy in which every human being deserves respect, regardless of racial, social, cultural, sexual, economic, religious, or other factors. The nurse practices in the context of a relationship with the client, family, or group that is professional and yet close, in an interpersonal sense. The function of a nurse involves the physical intimacy of laying on of hands; compassion and constant recognition of the person’s dignity are essential. Nursing is practiced by specialists and generalists. Generalists provide most nursing care; specialists, having added to their basic knowledge an organized and systematized body of knowledge and competencies, practice in specialized areas of nursing. Nursing care is given to people at all stages of life in the home, hospital, place of employment, school, or any environment where nursing care is needed. Nurses are ethically and legally accountable for their practice and for delegation of responsibilities to others. 3. the professional practice of a nurse. 4. the process of acting as a nurse, of providing care that encourages and promotes the health of the person or persons being served. See also nursing process. 5. See breastfeeding.
