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NURSING-AN OVERVIEW
The World Health Organisation in its publication Health for All Nursing Series: Mission and Functions of the Nurse (1991) states:
The mission of nursing in society is to help individuals, families and groups to determine and achieve physical, mental and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work. This requires nurses to develop and perform functions that relate to the promotion and maintenance of health as well as to the prevention of ill health. Nursing also includes the planning and implementation of care during illness and rehabilitation, and encompasses the physical, mental and social aspects of life as they affect health, illness, disability and dying.
Nursing is the provision of care for individuals, families and groups throughout the entire life span - from conception to death.
Nursing is both an art and a science that requires the understanding and application of the knowledge and skills specific to the discipline. It also draws on knowledge and techniques derived from the humanities and the physical, social, medical and biological sciences.
Nurses ensure the active involvement of the individual and his or her family, friends, social group and community, as appropriate, in all aspects of health care and, in this context, encourage self-reliance and self-determination. Nurses also work as partners with members of other professions and occupations involved in providing health and related services.
The nurse - who is the professional practitioner of nursing - accepts responsibility for and exercises the requisite authority in the direct provision of nursing care to individuals, families, groups and communities.
The nurse is an autonomous practitioner of nursing, accountable for the care she or he provides.
The nurse is the linchpin of the nursing care team. The nurse also has a responsibility to assess her or his own personal needs for refresher and advanced professional education in management, teaching, clinical practice and research, and to take the appropriate action to meet those needs.
The functions of the nurse derive directly from the mission of nursing in society. These functions remain constant, regardless of the place (home, workplace, school, university, prison, refugee camp, hospital, primary healthcare clinic and other sites) or time in which nursing care is given, the health status of the individual or group to be served, or the resources available.
These functions relate to:
Providing and managing direct practical nursing, that is, employing the primary nursing method to provide nursing care, whether promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative or supportive, to individuals, families or groups Teaching patients/clients and health care personnel
Acting as an effective member of a healthcare team at the various levels of a healthcare system Developing nursing practice based on critical thinking and research.
The activities and tasks in which the nurse fulfils the aforementioned functions are a product of the knowledge and skills of the practitioners in the discipline and are influenced by the health status of the individual or group served, and the self-care abilities of the patients/clients. The activities and tasks of nursing are determined by the nurse’s mission and functions, prevailing legislation and policies, and available resources (WHO, 1991).
The scope of nursing practice regarding nursing in the Republic of Ireland is the range of roles, functions, responsibilities and activities that a nurse is educated, competent, and has authority to perform. Competence is the ability of the nurse to practise safely and effectively, fulfilling her professional responsibility within her scope of practice. Nursing practice is underpinned by values that guide the way in which nursing care is delivered.
An Bord Altranais (2000a) considers that the following values should underpin nursing practice and provide the basis for the formulation of a philosophy of nursing:
- In making decisions about an individual nurse’s scope of practice, the best interests of the patient/client and the importance of promoting and maintaining the highest standards of quality in the health services, should be foremost
- Nursing care should be delivered in a way that respects the uniqueness and dignity of each patient/client regardless of culture or religion
- Fundamental to nursing practice is the therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the patient/client that is based on trust, understanding, compassion, support and serves to empower the patient/client to make life choices
- Nursing practice involves advocacy for the individual patient/client and for his/her family. The practice is based on the best available evidence
- Nursing practice should always be based on the principles of professional conduct as outlined in the latest version of the Code of Professional Conduct for Each Nurse and Midwife produced by An Bord Altranais (An Bord Altranais, April 2000b).
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