Nursing Definition

The majority of our society holds the notion that nurses are no more than trained professionals, working for a doctor, who simply provide medical care for the sick and informed. However, what nursing means to me goes deeper than that belief. Nursing is a profession in which individuals are responsible for not only the care of the sick and infirmed but are also responsible for being a support system and an educator, as well as an advocate for the promotion of optimal care. In today’s society, nurses are an important part of any medical facility’s investment. This paper will address the many different aspects of nursing in which nurse’s act as not only caregivers but also act as, counselors and educators.

In the todays century, the responsibilities, roles, and opportunities for nursing and nurse education has grown abundantly to that of modern day nurses. Many nurses in the eighteen century were not educated nurses and never attended nursing school; however, they still provided care for the sick, poor, and needy and played a vital role in health maintenance. With the hard work from many notable nurses in history such as Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and Isabel Robb and the persistence and dedication for change from influential nurses such as Mary Mahoney and Mabel Staupers; nursing today has transformed in many aspects of practice. Although nursing as a profession is continuously evolving throughout the years, the core foundation of nursing hasn’t changed in that nursing is a profession of caring for others and servicing those in need.

In the nursing profession, one of the primary responsibilities over a nurse is to provide care. A caregiver is “a person who provides direct care (as for children, elderly people, or the chro...

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... are available for those who may already be infected with any particular disease. Nurses also have the responsibility of being lifelong learners so that they are able to provide the most current knowledge of care to their patients, their family members and the community.

Nursing is constantly evolving and changing, in order to be more efficient in providing care than in the past. The nursing profession includes professionals who are not only caregivers but support systems as well as educators. All these factors help to provide optimal care for patients and to also better serve their families and the community. All nurses are encouraged to break down the simplistic notion society has about the nursing profession because nursing is a multi-faceted profession encompassing many different factors that are beneficial to overall human development and health.