Nursing facts for kids
A British nurse caring for a baby
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| Occupation | |
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| Names | Nurse |
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Activity sectors
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Nursing |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Caring for general well-being of patients |
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Education required
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Qualifications in terms of statutory regulations according to national, state, or provincial legislation in each country |
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Fields of
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Related jobs
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Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health care providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers. However, nurse practitioners are permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings. Since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.
Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient's family and other team members, that focuses on treating illness to improve quality of life. In the United States and the United Kingdom, advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies, depending on individual state regulations. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a multidisciplinary health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners and dietitians. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.
History of nursing
In Greece, hundreds of years ago, sick people went to temples, where men and women helped them. They made medicines from flowers and other things. In the fifth century BC, about 2400 years ago, one of the Greeks, Hippocrates, was very interested about why people became ill. He wrote over 70 books, and was one of the first people in the world to study healthcare. This is why he is often called the "father of Western medicine".
Religion was also important in the history of nursing. Jesus Christ taught that sick people should be helped. In the Middle Ages, the Christian church opened more hospitals. The Muslims opened some in Baghdad and Damascus too. Muslim hospitals helped people from any country or religion.
Images for kids
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Russian Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea, 1854-1855
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Florence Nightingale was an influential figure in the development of modern nursing. No uniform had been created when Nightingale was employed during the Crimean War. Often considered the first nurse theorist, Nightingale linked health with five environmental factors:(1) pure or fresh air, (2) pure water, (3) efficient drainage, (4) cleanliness, and (5) light, especially direct sunlight. Deficiencies in these five factors resulted in a lack of health or illness. Both the role of nursing and education were first defined by Nightingale.
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A recruiting poster for Australian nurses from World War I
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A nurse in Indonesia examining a patient
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A nurse at Runwell Hospital, Wickford, Essex, in 1943
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Two nurses in Arizona, 1943
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See also
In Spanish: Enfermería para niños
