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.
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.
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
