Verified Document

Nursing Is A Science And An Art, Research Paper

Nursing is a science and an art, combining evidence-based practice with a practice based on caring, compassion, kindness, and respect. Evidence-based practice legitimizes nursing as a profession, as it eliminates guesswork during the delivery of care and ensuring a scientific foundation for clinical decisions. Nursing involves following and often developing the standards and procedures that promote both individual health and public health. As an art, however, nursing involves caring for patients, families, and communities. The ontological root of nursing is the act and process of promoting health and well-being. Nursing is a relational profession, highlighting the nurse's role within the health care system. Nursing is frequently defined as both "art" and "science," (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2013; Mississippi Delta Community College, n.d.). The art component of nursing is best expressed in the subtle nuances of the delivery of care, including attitudes and behaviors toward patients. As an art, nursing entails a broad vision of health, health care, and healing. As a science, nursing includes a compendium of knowledge including scholarly literature that informs judicious practice. Nursing is also a multidisciplinary science, which draws from a number of different realms of study both within and outside of the medical professions. Combining art and science, nursing is a dynamic and complex process.

The American Nurses' Association (2013) defines nursing as "the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations." This definition can be enhanced by a conceptualization of the nurse as a public health promoter, a role best achieved via involvement in education, policy, and health care administration. Defining nursing with clarity has "coincided with the emergence of unprecedented change in the management of health care," which is why redefining nursing remains an essential part of the evolution of the practice (McMahon, Pearson & Pearson, 1998, p. vii).

No definition of nursing would be complete without including...

Regardless of the specific role that is fulfilled by the nurse, these three primary qualities of compassion, caring, and respect remain salient. Nurses working in a variety of professional contexts exhibit compassion, caring, and respect for the end-users of the health care system including patients, family members, and the community as an aggregate entity. The patient is and remains the "center" of the nursing practice even when the nurse no longer works directly with patients on a daily basis (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2013, p. 1). Moreover, nurses care and respect for their colleagues and the profession as a whole. This is why a nurse is still a nurse when he or she works in nurse education or policy development. Nursing is as much about transforming and improving the health care system as it is about providing bedside care or performing medical procedures.
The emergence of evidence-based practice has transformed the nature of the nursing profession and continues to do so. Evidence-based practice has legitimized the nursing profession, by making sure nurses follow protocols that are rooted in empirical research. Most nurses will engage in research design of their own to promote the ideals of the profession and discover new methods of helping patients. Nursing involves a high degree of both critical thinking and creative thinking, especially when applying evidence to practice. Applying evidence to practice entails analyzing a large corpus of knowledge and adapting that knowledge to individual patient situations. Interpreting scientific knowledge is only part of the inputs into critical thought that define the role of the nurse; in addition to scientific knowledge, the nurse must also trust the wisdom that comes from clinical experience.

Nursing has been a gendered profession since its inception. During the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale and other females provided nursing care to wounded soldiers. Nursing remains a profession that is dominated by women, and has often been a "subservient role under the patriarchal system," (Chinn & Wheeler, 1985, p. 74). Wresting itself from a…

Sources used in this document:
References

American Nurses' Association (2013). What is nursing? Retrieved online: http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing

Chinn, P.L. & Wheeler, C.E. (1985). Feminism and nursing. Nursing Outlook 33(2): 74-77.

Cody, W.K. & Kennedy, J.W. (2006). Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives for Advanced Nursing Practice. Jones & Bartlett.

McMahon, R., Pearson, A. & Pearson, A. (1998). Nursing as Therapy. Nelson Thornes.
Mississippi Delta Community College (n.d.). What is nursing? Retrieved online: http://www.msdelta.edu/mdcc/health_sciences/pn/whatisnursing.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Nursing Science the Historical Development of Nursing
Words: 1104 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Nursing Science The historical development of nursing science can largely be dated back to the era of Florence Nightingale. It is however imperative to note that nursing as a largely independent profession has over the past century converged into a well founded theoretical perspectives culture. In this text, I will develop a nursing science historical development timeline with a mention of specific theorists, theories, years as well as events in nursing

Nursing Science the Nursing Profession
Words: 2643 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

As such, a nurse is primarily to recognize herself as an individual in the world, with certain responses to this world. When a patient enters the hospital, such a patient is also to be seen as a unique individual who responds to the world and his or her environment in a certain way. Humanistic nursing is then primarily experiential rather than experimental. This means that new knowledge is gained with

Timeline: Historical Development of Nursing Science Nurse
Words: 1087 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Timeline: Historical Development of Nursing Science Nurse Science Timeline Timeline 1850-2010: Historical Development of Nursing Science Nineteenth Century Florence Nightingale begins her nursing training in Alexandria, Egypt at the Institute of St. Paul. Florence Nightingale, in Paris, visits the Daughters of Charity in their Motherhouse in Paris to learn their methods. Florence Nightingale goes to Turkey with 38 volunteer nurses to assist in caring for the injured of the Crimean War. (October21) Mary Seacole leaves London to

Nursing Most Scholars Are in
Words: 2627 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

" (1) What does the phrase "concept inventing" mean to you? 2) Does the process of concept inventing add clarity to a unique lived experience that aides in individualizing patient care? - or - Does the process of concept inventing add unnecessary jargon to the profession of nursing which creates barriers in collaboration with other disciplines? (3) State your stance on this issue and create a logical argument to defend your

Art and Science of Nursing
Words: 997 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Art & Science of Nursing Since its very inception, there has been a conflict within the nursing profession about its status as to whether it is a science or an art. This is due to the fact that the profession of nursing includes within its tradition both scientific and artistic aspects. The opposition between science and art has existed from the beginning of modern nursing. Nightingale championed the view of nursing as

Nursing Jean Watson's Human Caring Theory Has
Words: 1239 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Nursing Jean Watson's Human Caring Theory has become entrenched in all aspects of nursing practice, inseparable from the art and science of nursing. Watson's philosophy of caring evolved into the science of caring, as evidence-based practice can support the efficacy of carative factors. However, Watson understood also that caring was a moral imperative of nursing care that extends beyond the traditional medical model toward a new transpersonal paradigm. To promote this

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now