Attainment of emotional and intellectual maturity nursing essay

The idea of nursing has been around for several years. However, the role of nurses as we know them today was first recognized in the 16th Century. Boulton (2007) reports a widow, Ellen Wright, of St. Botolph Aldgate (London) who, from 1588-1599 took sick people and pregnant women into her house and cared for them. Today, we are so influenced by the ubiquity of Florence Nightingale, who was a woman who transformed the image of nursing. She changed the outlook on nursing of not only the general public, but of nurses themselves. Nursing was no longer just about taking care of sick patients, but instead about being aware of the patients’ needs and going above and beyond the basics in order to meet those needs. The nursing profession is arguably the most complex profession of health care providers. The scope of nursing includes two very different sides; it is both an art and a science. THE OPPOSITION between science and art has existed from the beginning of modern nursing. Nightingale championed the view of nursing as a moral art, while Fenwick argued for registration and insisted that nursing was an independent profession allied with science and technology. 1 Peplau 2 states clearly that art values subjectivity and involvement while science emphasizes objectivity and detachment. Nurses often have struggled to achieve a theoretical stance between art and science that permits appropriate and skillful help. An attempt to claim both these paradigms has produced abundant discourse, diversity of opinion, and heightened awareness to alternatives, which is evident in the nursing literature. The science of nursing is perhaps the most obvious. Nurses must have a good understanding of medical terms, medicine, and medical procedures in order to best care for a patient. Nurses need to know the symptoms and side effects of particular illnesses in order to understand what is happening to his or her patient and know how to properly care for and treat the patient.  Knowledge about the necessary and safe amount of drugs for a patient is very important for a nurse because it could mean the difference between life and death. As information is continually updated, nurses need to be up to date on new policies, practices, and procedures.  They also need to be equipped to use new technologies including electronic medical records and diagnostic equipment. It is very easy to see why nursing could be considered a science, and the science side of nursing is critical to caring for a patient. To many nurses, the word ” science” is more likely to be associated with medicine than nursing. To understand science in a nursing context we must first examine what science is and what it is not. The primary aim for the development of science is to expand a body of knowledge. This increasing knowledge then underpins and informs the thinking and practice of a particular discipline. Scientific methods have been developed and refined, permitting issues previously beyond the bounds of scientific investigation to be addressed. The scope of scientific endeavor has expanded enormously in recent decades with the acceptance of qualitative methods and computer based data analysis. Developing the science of nursing cannot be viewed within the realms of a traditional medical paradigm, or be confused with the goals of medical scientific method. Medical science has undoubtedly made a significant contribution to health, though as one commentator suggests, the quest for Verb 1. quest for – go in search of or hunt for; ” pursue a hobby” quest after, go after, pursuelook for, search, seek – try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; ” The police are searching for clues”; ” They are searching for the  objective truth limits the scope of this science to methodologies that have increasingly become reliant on technological tools. (9) As a consequence, the need to ” re-tool” has become the primary focus of further scientific development. Technological advances in nursing often provide practical aids with which nurses can enhance their relationship with, and caring for people. As nurses, we have no need to emphasize technology over art, or become so enamored enamoured or US enamoredAdjectiveenamoured ofa. in love withb. very fond of and impressed by: he is not enamoured of Moscow [Latin amor love]  with science we become narrow minded in our methods of Inquiry necessary to mature the body of nursing science. Contributions to the advance of nursing knowledge do not always seek to verify truth, although this may be appropriate in some circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or . Nursing science aims to generate and test extant ex·tantadj. 1. Still in existence; not destroyed, lost, or extinct: extant manuscripts. 2. Archaic Standing out; projecting.  theory, discover meaning and to develop a growing knowledge with which to articulate the work we do. Nursing science has been described as, ” a scholarly adventure, one guided by purpose undertaken with boldness, sense of freedom and creativity, merged intellectual rigor rigor /rig·or/ (rig´er) [L.] chill; rigidity. rigor mor´tis  the stiffening of a dead body accompanying depletion of adenosine triphosphate in the muscle fibers.  and integrity”. (10)Benner (6) reminds us that a great strength of the nursing practitioner lies in her/his ability to overcome the ‘objectifying gaze’ that would otherwise describe only a disease and not include the human experience. Policy makers are continuing to seek ways to meet more than just the physical health needs of clients. This concept is not new to nurses, but as yet has not been well articulated. The integration of art and science can produce a professional balance of discovery and verification, and provide the means to link nursing theory with practice in ways meaningful to nurses devoted to scholarship or clinical specialty. In the same way the nursing profession could be considered a science, it could also be considered an art. Nursing is more than just the knowledge of medical information. Good nurses are not only able to understand what is on a patient’s chart, but they are also able to communicate that information to the patient in a skilled and respectful way. So much of what a nurse does is centered on patient contact that interaction and communication with patients is a key skill. A good nurse is also very aware. He or she is aware of the patients’ needs and can tell when a patient needs something, and when the patient can or cannot handle particular things. In many ways the nurse is more important than the doctor because the nurse is who the patient interacts with. In the eyes of a patient, the nurse is a caregiver, a listener, an advocate, and in many cases, a friend. Many nurse writers agree there are elements of nursing that are artful art·fuladj. 1. Exhibiting art or skill: ” The furniture is an artful blend of antiques and reproductions” Michael W. Robbins. 2. . More rigorous debate tends to occur when the finer meaning of the word ” art” is applied to the nursing context. One writer describes art to be applicable to nursing in the everyday sense. Art is about the whole of the nursing experience and not a distinctly separate part of it. (2)Because nursing involves people in a variety of settings and situations, effectiveness is dependent on the quality of those interactions. The art of nursing will often be practiced practisedAdjectiveexpert or skilled because of long experience in a skill or field: the doctor answered with a practised smoothnessAdj. 1.  in environments that are unpredictable and spontaneous, requiring the nurse to be creative in her/his response to individual client needs, hence the term art is used. Additional aspects of nursing considered artful are the knowledge, judgement and skill exercised by nurses in their everyday practice. (3) Nurses develop the ability to sense, feel, perceive and know how to deliver care in ways that increasingly demonstrate mastery in their field. Nursing has also been described as a helping art and one that is able to empower empower verb To encourage or provide a person with the means or information to become involved in solving his/her own problems  and transform situations with clients toward favorable health changes. The great psychiatric psy·chi·at·ricadj. Of or relating to psychiatry. psychiatric adjective Pertaining to psychiatry, mental disorders  nursing theorist the·o·ristn. One who theorizes; a theoretician.

theorist

a person who forms theories or who specializes in the theory of a particular subject. See also: Ideas, Learning

Noun 1.

….. Click the link for more information. Hildegard Peplau described three major components of nursing art–medium, process and product. (4) The medium is the art of bringing about change towards health through activating the potential of clients. The process is the interaction that is initiated by the nurse and moves towards an end point, which may include the application of technical skill. The product aspects of art are described as the improved functioning of the client that may or may not include observable ob·serv·a·bleadj. 1. Possible to observe: observable phenomena; an observable change in demeanor. See Synonyms at noticeable. 2.  outcomes. As a complement to the demonstrable de·mon·stra·bleadj. 1. Capable of being demonstrated or proved: demonstrable truths. 2. Obvious or apparent: demonstrable lies…… Click the link for more information. aspects of art, outcomes in practice can also be legitimately intangible. The arts of caring and practicing intuitively, for example, could be described as elusive elements of nursing that can lead to health change. Such change can also remain private to a client, who may not share this with the nurse. Practicing in a reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD…… Click the link for more information. manner through the enhanced knowledge of self is also artful. This integration of being and self-expression is not dissimilar to that of an artist. (5)These elements of nursing, however, cannot be easily accounted for by objective science and are therefore more likely to be shunned by others in the health environment for being overly subjective. (6) It may be however, that these elusive aspects of our practice are the very issues that define the art of nursing. (7) In contrast, another writer suggests nurses are also able to celebrate their art through a variety of expressions including song, inspirational in·spi·ra·tion·aladj. 1. Of or relating to inspiration. 2. Providing or intended to convey inspiration. 3. Resulting from inspiration.  verse, comedy and stories from professional practice. (8)Although the outward expression of art in nursing is not uniform, an iterative it·er·a·tiveadj. 1. Characterized by or involving repetition, recurrence, reiteration, or repetitiousness. 2. Grammar Frequentative. Noun 1.  process of scholarly debate will help us to understand the artistic parameters of our profession. This will add to existing knowledge, and the implementation of art in everyday practice. The profession of nursing has come a long way since the time of Florence Nightingale. With the addition of technology and the strides in nursing education, nursing has become a very well respected profession. To many people, modern day nurses are considered heroes. They work hard and save lives and do it with knowledge and respect. Nurses are more than just a health care provider – they are part caregiver, part doctor-patient liaison, and part friend. As we continue the journey to a consensus of role and function, we must nurture NURTURE. The act of taking care of children and educating them: the right to the nurture of children generally belongs to the father till the child shall arrive at the age of fourteen years, and not longer. Till then, he is guardian by nurture. Co. Litt. 38 b.  our art and develop our science. The maturation maturation /mat·u·ra·tion/ (mach-u-ra´shun)1. the process of becoming mature. 2. attainment of emotional and intellectual maturity. 3.  of a body of unique nursing knowledge will provide nurses with the foundation from which to take a lead role in the future of health care in New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4, 035, 000), 104, 454 sq mi (270, 534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1, 000 mi (1, 600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. . Many more nurses are creating their art and practicing their science on a daily basis without any formal recognition. These creative and scholarly abilities must continue to be exercised and celebrated, so nurses can demonstrate not only their tangible skill, but also articulate the nursing knowledge that has led to these skills being developed. Shields, L. (2013). A personal essay on the role of the nurse. Contemporary Nurse, 43(2), 213+. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id= GALE%7CA323658621&v= 2. 1&u= lincclin_mdcc&it= r&p= AONE&sw= wDiabetes education; art, science, and evidence. (2012, December). Reference & Research Book News. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id= GALE%7CA312256370&v= 2. 1&u= lincclin_mdcc&it= r&p= AONE&sw= wSmith, A.  (2009, June 10). Exploring the legitimacy of intuition as a form of nursing knowledge. Nursing Standard, 23(40), 35-41. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from Nursing and Allied Health Collection via Gale: http://find. galegroup. com/nrcx/start. do? prodId= NRC