What is a Nurse?

Nurses are highly skilled and educated individuals who care for the

Oct 12, 2006 Kathy Quan

Nurses are professionals in the health care field who combine the fine art of caring with scientific skills and knowledge.

What is a nurse?

A nurse is a highly trained and skilled professional who cares for the sick and infirm. A nurse helps to educate patients in issues of healthy living and wellness as well as any current or chronic disease process and treatment. A nurse performs treatments and procedures as prescribed by physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Nurses combine the fine art of caring with scientific knowledge and skills acquired throughout their education and careers. Nursing is a lifelong learning experience. Nurses work in many different settings and perform duties related to the setting in which they work. A nurse's Scope of Practice is defined by the level of education and license earned.

Characteristics of Nurses

Nurses need to have a great deal of compassion for their fellow human beings. They have to have good communication skills in both listening as well as speaking and writing in the language of the area in which they practice. Nurses have to be patient and they often have to have a thick skin. Patients are usually ill or concerned about their health status and are not at their best.

Yes, Nurses Have to be Good at Math and Science!

Nurses have to be good at math and science and have to be able to read and write at least at a tenth grade level. Nursing is not just about performing care. It is about understanding anatomy and physiology as well as body chemistry. It is also about understanding disease processes and treatments so as to be able to educate patients in layman's terms.

Documentation is Vital!

Nursing is also about documentation; writing down (charting) findings from their assessments, treatments and procedures performed (including instructions given to the patient) and the reaction or outcomes of those procedures. Communication is vital to successful outcomes for patients. Other nurses and doctors need to be able to pick up a chart and understand exactly what was done and what the outcomes were. Many nurses detest this part of nursing, but it is an essential part. Nurses need to know how to write effectively.

Nursing Education

Nurses are Registered Nurses (RNs) or Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurses (LPN/LVNs) depending upon the education and preparation/training they have received. After graduation from an accredited school of nursing, the sit for a licensing examination. In the U.S this is known as the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN.

Nursing education typically ranges from a 12-15 month program for the LPN to 2-4 year programs for RNs who earn either an Associates degree or Bachelors degree in nursing. RNs can continue their education and earn Masters degrees and even a PhD in nursing. Men as well as women can become nurses at all levels.

Education for nurses is a lifelong commitment. Nurses in the U.S. must renew their licenses every 2-3 years and most states require continuing education courses in order to renew. Learning something new everyday for nurses is one of the perks to keeping a career exciting and invigorating.

Read more about nurses and how to become a nurse:

Steps to Becoming a Nurse

Nurses are Most Honest and Ethical Profession

The Campaign For a National Nurse

Nurses Week

The Nursing Shortage

The Nursing Site

The copyright of the article What is a Nurse? in Health Field is owned by Kathy Quan . Permission to republish What is a Nurse? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Nurse lamp

Comments

Oct 5, 2007 10:48 AM

cachet :

Good afternoon reader on the other side of the computer. My name is cachet brown and im interested in RN Nursing. so there is a couple of questions i would like to ask you. first let me start by saying in order to become a RN Nurse what is the qualifications.

Nov 5, 2007 8:21 PM

Kathy Quan :

Hi Cachet. You can find some more information about a career in nursing in my new article. Here's the link: http://healthfieldmedicare.suite101.com/article.cfm/becoming_a_nurse

Good luck to you!!!

Dec 6, 2007 1:17 PM

diana flores :

hello kathy this is diana...well iam doing a research paper on nursing for school...and i just want to ask you ..what is a typical day at your job?...what is your best part of the day? what would be the most challenging part?....i would really
appreciated...thank you very much for your time:D

Dec 10, 2007 12:46 PM

Kathy Quan :

The latest position as a nurse was in management and that isn't going to answer your questions for this paper. So I'll think back to my days as a field nurse in home health...

In a typical day I would see 6-8 patients in their homes for various reasons. Some had wounds that needed dressing changes, some were diabetics who needed instruction in how to self-inject insulin, test their blood sugars and follow a prescribed diet and exercise. Some had recently had surgery and needed instruction in post-op care and recovery at home. Sometimes I saw patients who had a new medical diagnosis or were on new medications that they needed some instruction in and assessment to be sure they were taking them as directed.

Most of my job as a home health nurse was to teach patients how to care for themselves, or a family member how to assist them.

After seeing each patient I had a lot of paperwork to do. I had to chart all of my observations and the teaching I did as well as any procedures I did such as the dressing changes.

If something had changed I had to call their doctor to report it. I also had to call doctors routinely to give a status update. We also had more paperwork which involved writing any new orders, documenting communication with the physician or other team members such as the home health aides, therapists, social workers, etc. And we had to write summary reports for the physician every 60 days.

I enjoyed the hands on care and interacting with most patients. Sometimes they could be rude or uncooperative, but mostly they were all receptive of my purpose for being there. The paperwork is sometimes redundant and it can be quite time consuming. That part I don't like. It's necessary, and I always tried to be thorough, but it wasn't the best part of my days.

I also detest having to speak with physicians who are rude and arrogant! Most of them aren't, and are grateful for the nurse's assistance with their patients.

The most challenging things could be convincing stubborn patients to comply with their medications, diet, exercise. It can also be very challenging to teach some patients how to perform necessary components of their care such as injections.

I hope this helps!
~Kathy

Jan 25, 2008 1:10 PM

Desmond Riep :

I am interested in a Nursing Career but before I get into it I have a few questions. What is the most challenging part of the job? What are the qualifications? What are the disqualifying factors? How long does it take to obtain a LPN license? What is the starting salary for an LPN?
I want to thank you, in advance, for your response to this inquiry.

Jan 28, 2008 6:56 PM

Kathy Quan :

Nursing is challenging in many aspects. It is physically challenging because you can spend 8-12 hours a day on your feet physically assisting people who need from little or no physical assistance to those who are totally dependent on others.

It is emotionally challenging because nurses have a strong desire to help others and many are in such need that no one can possibly help them enough. Nurses have to learn to accept the fact that they cannot solve all of the ills and injustices for their patients.

Sick people are not at their best. They are often cranky, irritable, impatient and sometimes downright nasty. Usually this is because they are scared and frightened. They feel helpless and alone. And they don't like to have to ask for or accept help from others.

Saying thank you or showing appreciation for what nurses do is not something foremost in their minds. Nurses have to learn how to make their own rewards and to replenish themselves when they have given all that they have to give. This is not an easy task.

Sick people need care 24/7 and that includes weekends and holidays.

LPN programs take about 12-18 months to complete and then you have to take the NCLEX-PN to prove that you have the education and skills to be an LPN. LPN's make an average of $35,000 per year in full time employment.

Read more about LPNs here: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos102.htm

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