What is nursing?
Nursing means looking after people so that they can be as healthy and comfortable as possible. A nurse helps people who are ill, people who are recovering, people who are old, and also people who are well but want to stay well.
Good nursing looks at the whole person: the body, the mind and the feelings. A nurse does not only treat a disease. She also asks: Is the patient scared? Can he sleep? Can he eat? Does the family understand?
What does a nurse do? (roles and functions)
A nurse has four main jobs.
- Care: help with eating, washing, moving, medicine and comfort.
- Watch (observe): check temperature, pulse, breathing and mood, and notice small changes early.
- Teach: explain medicines, food and exercise to patients and families, in simple words.
- Speak up (advocate): tell the team what the patient needs and wants.
Nurses also write records, keep the ward safe and help the patient get ready to go home.
Who receives nursing care?
Nursing is for everyone: babies, children, adults and older people. It is for individuals, for families and for whole communities (for example a village health camp or a school health check). Care can be given in a hospital, a clinic, at home, in a school, or in a care home. It is for people who are sick, people who are recovering and people who are healthy and want to prevent illness.
The team nurses work with
Nobody can do everything alone. The health care team includes doctors (find the illness and decide treatment), pharmacists (prepare medicines), dietitians (plan food), physiotherapists and other therapists (help movement and recovery), lab and X-ray staff (do tests), social workers and care workers, and the family. The nurse is often the one who stays closest to the patient, so she shares what she sees with everyone else. Clear talking inside the team keeps the patient safe.
Ethics in nursing
Ethics are the rules for doing the right thing. Four big ones:
- Respect: treat every person with dignity, whatever their age, money, religion or illness.
- Privacy (confidentiality): keep the patient’s information secret, except from those who need it for care.
- Honesty: tell the truth gently and admit mistakes.
- Safety: never do something you are not trained for, and always protect the patient from harm.
Patients also have the right to know about their treatment and to say yes or no. This is called informed consent.
Key formulas and definitions
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Worked examples
1. A nurse notices an old patient is not eating and looks sad. Which job is this?
Watch (observing). She then cares and speaks up by telling the doctor and the dietitian.
2. A visitor asks a nurse about another patient’s illness. What should she do?
She should not tell. This is privacy. She can say she is unable to share patient information.
3. Who should plan meals for a patient with diabetes?
The dietitian plans the meals, and the nurse helps the patient follow the plan and teaches the family.
Common mistakes
- Thinking nurses only follow the doctor’s orders. Nurses also observe, teach and speak up.
- Thinking nursing is only for sick people. It also keeps healthy people healthy.
- Sharing patient details with friends. Even a kind reason does not allow this.
- Forgetting the family. The family is part of the team and often the patient’s biggest support.