INTRODUCTION:

Nursing profession is one of the fastest developing professions among all the medical professions, but there is still requirement to focus continuously on evidence based nursing practice, so need to bridge the gap between theory and practice and also to motivate clinical nurses to involve in various kind of research activities.

Definition of Nursing:

Nursing, as an integral part of the health care system, encompasses the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and care of physically ill, mentally ill, and disabled people of all ages, in all health care and other community settings.

Within this broad spectrum of health care, the phenomena of particular concern to nurses are individual, family, and group "responses to actual or potential health problems" (American Nurses Association, 1980, P.9).

My favorite quotes: Nursing is an art; and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painters or sculptors work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or cold marble, compared with having to do with the living body - the temple of Gods spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts; I had almost said the finest of the Fine Arts - Florence Nightingale.

Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles. (ICN, 2002)

NURSE – originated from a Latin word NUTRIX, to nourish.

Fig: 01, Group of Professional Nurses

Profession is defined as a vocation requiring advanced training and usually involving mental rather than manual work, as teaching, engineering, especially medicine, law -Webster1989.

Profession – is a calling that requires special knowledge, skill and preparation.

An occupation that requires advanced knowledge and skills and that it grows out of society’s needs for special services¹.

“Genevieve and Roy Bixler, a husband and wife team of non-Nurses who were nevertheless advocates and supporters of nursing, first wrote about the status of nursing as a profession in 1945”.

Criteria of Profession:

· To provide a needed service to the society.

· To advance knowledge in its field.

· To protect its members and make it possible to practice effectively.

Characteristics of a Profession:

· A basic profession requires an extended education of its members, as well as a basic liberal foundation.

· A profession has a theoretical body of knowledge leading to defined skills, abilities and norms.

· A profession provides a specific service.

· Members of a profession have autonomy in decision-making and practice.

· The profession has a code of ethics for practice.

Nursing:

· It is a disciplined involved in the delivery of health care to the society.

· It is a helping profession

· It is service-oriented to maintain health and well-being of people.

· It is an art and a science².

Characteristics of Nursing:

· Nursing is caring.

· Nursing involves close personal contact with the recipient of care.

· Nursing is concerned with services that take humans into account as physiological, psychological, and sociological organisms.

· Nursing is committed to promoting individual, family, community, and national health goals in its best manner possible.

· Nursing is committed to personalized services for all persons without regard to color, creed, social or economic status.

· Nursing is committed to involvement in ethical, legal, and political issues in the delivery of health care.

Personal Qualities of A Nurse:

· Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.

· Must be physically and mentally fit.

· Must have a license to practice nursing in the country.

A professional nurse therefore, is a person who has completed a basic nursing education program and is licensed in his country to practice professional nursing.

Roles of a Professional:

Caregiver/ Care provider:

· the traditional and most essential role

· functions as nurturer, comforter, provider

· “mothering actions” of the nurse

· provides direct care and promotes comfort of client

· activities involves knowledge and sensitivity to what matters and what is important to clients

· show concern for client welfare and acceptance of the client as a person

Teacher:

· provides information and helps the client to learn or acquire new knowledge and technical skills

· Encourages compliance with prescribed therapy.

· Promotes healthy lifestyles

· Interprets information to the client

Counselor:

· Helps client to recognize and cope with stressful psychological or social problems; to develop an improve interpersonal relationships and to promote personal growth

· Provides emotional, intellectual to and psychological support

· Focuses on helping a client to develop new attitudes, feelings and behaviors rather than Promoting intellectual growth.

· Encourages the client to look at alternative behaviors recognize the choices and develop a sense of control³.

Change agent:

Initiate changes or assist clients to make modifications in themselves or in the system of care.

Client Advocate:

· Involves concern for and actions in behalf of the client to bring about a change.

· Promotes what is best for the client, ensuring that the client’s needs are met and protecting the client’s right.

· Provides explanation in client’s language and support client’s decisions⁴.

Manager:

· Makes decisions, coordinates activities of others, allocate resource

· Evaluate care and personnel

· Plans, give direction, develop staff, monitor operations, give the rewards fairly and represents both staff and administrations as needed.

Researcher:

· Participates in identifying significant researchable problems

· Participates in scientific investigation and must be a consumer of research findings

· Must be aware of the research process, language of research, a sensitive to issues related to protecting the rights of human subjects.

Expanded role as of the nurse:

· Clinical Specialists- is a nurse who has completed a master’s degree in specialty and has considerable clinical expertise in that specialty. She provides expert care to individuals, participates in educating health care professionals and ancillary, acts as a clinical consultant and participates in research⁵.

· Nurse Practitioner: is a nurse who has completed either as certificate program or a master’s degree in a specialty and is also certified by the appropriate specialty organization. She is skilled at making nursing assessments, performing P. E., counseling, teaching and treating minor and self- limiting illness.

· Nurse-midwife: a nurse who has completed a program in midwifery; provides prenatal and postnatal care and delivers babies to woman with uncomplicated pregnancies.

· Nurse anesthetist: a nurse who completed the course of study in an anesthesia school and carries out pre-operative status of clients.

· Nurse Educator: A nurse usually with advanced degree, who beaches in clinical or educational settings, teaches theoretical knowledge, clinical skills and conduct research.

· Nurse Entrepreneur: a nurse who has an advanced degree, and manages health-related business.

· Nurse administrator: a nurse who functions at various levels of management in health settings; responsible for the management and administration of resources and personnel involved in giving patient care⁶.

Fields and Opportunities in Nursing:

· Hospital/Institutional Nursing – a nurse working in an institution with patients Example: rehabilitation, lying-in, etc.

· Public Health Nursing/Community Health Nursing – usually deals with families and communities. Eg. In the village/family/primary health centre.

· Private Duty/special Duty Nurse – privately hired

· Industrial/Occupational Nursing – a nurse working in factories/companies.

· Nursing Education – nurses works in school/college.

· Military Nurse – nurses working in a military base/hospital.

· Clinic Nurse – nurses working in a private and public clinic.

· Independent Nursing Practice – private practice, BP monitoring, home service.

· ICN: Infection Control Nurse is a specialized in infection control programme and works in hospital.

· Nurse Researcher: Nurse who carryout/assist in research activities.

· Nurse administrator: works in hospital as Director/NS/DNS/ANS etc.

CONCLUSION:

Nursing profession is very notable and strong base profession among all the professions, it improving day by day professionalism through the evidence based nursing practice, still nursing profession have to achieve lot more in the field of education/practice/research/administration. It is possible when the expert nurses and nursing leaders of all the countries have to unite and forward in the same direction to achieve.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to thank my colleagues.

Funding: Self

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None

Ethical clearance: Not required.

REFERENCES:

1. Coulehan J. L., Block M. R. (2005): The Medical Interview: Mastering skills for clinical practice, 5th Ed. P.215.

2. Dunphy L. M., Winland-Brown J. E. (2011): Primary care: The art and science of advanced practice nursing.p.119.

3. O'Lynn, CE (2007). "History of men in nursing: a review". In O'Lynn, CE; Tranbarger, RE. Men in Nursing: History, Challenges, and Opportunities. New York: Springer Pub. pp. 6-8.

4. Levine, EB; Levine, ME (1965). "Hippocrates, father of nursing, too?". The American Journal of Nursing. 65 (12): 86–8. doi:10.1097/00000446-196512000-00022

5. Bloy, M. "Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 24 November 2014.

6. Ferngren, GB (2009). Medicine and health care in early Christianity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 121.

Received on 28.03.2017 Modified on 03.05.2017

Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2017; 5(4): 444-447.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2017.00095.3