The Science and Art of Nursing Essay
Nursing can be expressed as both a science and an art. Nursing has to embrace both science and art of the practice. The field of nursing can be broad and ambiguous. Therefore nurse’s duties are misconstrued causing appropriate boundaries between primary physician activates and nursing activities to be blurred. The effectiveness of nursing is dependent on the interaction of the people in the nursing sector and a developed control of human emotion, discipline, and adequate skillset. The skill, knowledge and judgment that must be exercised by nurses are what are constituted as an art form, because of the level of control involved with the practice. Science aims at expanding the knowledge of the individual and the subject matter involved. This is what relates nurse partitioning as a science (Donahue, 2011). The increase in knowledge that informs and underpins the practice and thinking of a discipline is the science, nature, and art of the study. This short dissertation outlines the elements that make nursing both an art and a science, which when adequately balanced benefit the patient and surrounding practitioners’ experience.
“Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive
devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for
what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared
with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit?” (Sienna Heights University, 2013)
Nursing as a Science
Medical Science has had an instrumental role in health. The major focus has been placed on the reliable methodologies and scientific development. According to the American Nurses Association, nurses have a unique role to assist the sick individuals in activities that contribute to health and recovery. The way that nurses fulfill their duties is what will determine whether the act is an art or a science or an equivalent application of both characteristics. The nurse should be familiar with and understand the medical terms, medical procedures, and various medicines administered to patients to provide optimal care patient care. They must also study and thoroughly understand symptoms and precautionary actions to be taken in regard to patient illness. There is a noteworthy constituent of precision to be utilized to facilitate daily medical tasks within the medical environment. Science is a study of precision, facts, and an aim to transform theory to fact. Nurses must be familiar with a plethora of facts on a daily basis. The process of mastering this ability is a science. The mastering of this process delineates a less skilled nurse from an expert (Lynch & Duval, 2011).
As a science, the scientific progress in nursing provides a practical aid to the nurses that help them enhance the relationship with and care for the people. Even still, nursing is a scholarly adventure that requires the nurses to be equipped with purpose, boldness and a sense of creativity and freedom. This segment of nursing is the art of it. The aforesaid components enable nurses to share their personal scholarship and broaden the understanding of the profession. It is this “personal touch” that makes nursing just as much an art as a science. More carefully explained, the two comingle, more often than not. Each nurse has their own style of executing the necessary daily assignments of their profession. The way these actions are carried out make nursing an art, controlled by a science, that may be individualized, unique, and customized to each nurse’s liking. The ability to customize their experience bust still perform required responsibilities is a challenge that also differentiates a good nurse from a bad one. This same process is becomes a meticulous science that must be intricately pursued (Sienna Heights University, 2013)
Research indicates that a huge potency of the nurse practitioner is in his capacity to trounce the objectivity gaze that only describes the disease and forgets the human experience (Sienna Heights University, 2013). The nurses have in history proven their capability to survive in certain ways comparable to the pioneers of the occupation. In order to tackle the prospective challenges, nurses need to extend themselves beyond a reactive level. This extension must be a well-planned methodology, though, because if not properly managed nurses can be overwhelmed by emotional stress, preventing them from accurately doing their job.
A strategic approach to the workforce development has been recognized internationally as imperative. The strategic approach presents the nurses an opportunity to develop professionally and academically. The nurse theorist and other scholars furthering the development of the nursing practices are considered to be cultural creators of nursing. They are also seen as contributors to the larger movement towards science within the society. The American Nurses Association encourages the nurses to continue studying in the field just to ensure that one is head of the curve (Lynch & Duval, 2011).
Nursing as a science is the most obvious form of. The ability to be a satisfactory nurse heavily relies on the understanding of medical terms and procedures. For instance, a relatively new doctor may treat a diabetic patient for symptoms. A nurse working under the new doctor may have previously worked with diabetic patients extensively and immediately known since the patient did not have in infection, they could easily provide the patient with food to raise his or her blood sugar. The science aspect of nursing – understanding the effect of glucose – is displayed as the nurse obviously had more sufficient training in understanding the symptoms of the patient.
Nursing as an Art
As an art, the nurses enhance the ability to feel, sense, know and perceive care delivery in a manner that demonstrate their mastery of the field’s practices. Nursing has empowered and transformed situations with the clients towards favorable health changes. Hildegard Peplau, a great psychiatrist and nursing theorist, outlined the three components of nursing as an art. They are product, medium and the process. The product facet of art involves the enhanced operation of the client, which might not include observable outcomes. The process entails the interactions initiated by the nurse as he moves to the end point. The process might also involve the application of practical or technical skills. The medium is an art that brings about the amendment towards health in the course of stimulating the client’s potential (Smith & Turkel, 2012).
An example is that of a patient at the hospital, who is a fugitive of the law or ought to be a witness. When the government or police learn of the patient’s whereabouts, they should make arrangements with the hospital to transfer the patient for security purposes. When a nurse travels along with the patient to offer assistance when required, the nurse must be equipped to offer the much needed care to the patient. Similarly, it is artistic how the nurse interacts with the patient. The situation also depends on the type of care given to this patient that will see to his recovery. The crafty way that a nurse quickly and efficiently administers care is an art form that must not be taken for granted (Masters, 2012).
Improving the Professional Nursing Environment
Nurses should realize the reality that their job is about the balance of the art and the science of their methodologies. This process will broaden their mind on the methods of inquiry needed to nurture patients and improve the field of nursing. Integration of the science and art facets can result in an expert revelation of further discovery and advancement in the practice of nursing worldwide. This hiatus has hindered the practice of nursing for quite some time but provided a link between nursing theory and practice, this gap can be sealed.
Another element that is artful is practiced in a reflective way through the enriched knowledge of self-caring, meaning that many nursing neglect the care of their own mental and physical health for their sake of their patients. These actions give way to burnout, fatigue, confusion and depression – all of which characteristics are detrimental to the nursing process. The health care environment, in its entirety, must be more inviting to change and more sympathetic of each facet (employee) involved in the magic of medical care. For these reasons, the major influences necessary to improve the nursing field are flexibility and open-mindedness, balance and constant evaluation. (Smith, & Turkel, 2012).
Changes in Nursing: The Last Half Decade
In the last five years, I have realized that much of the nursing I do centers around patient contact and communication. I recall a night in the ER when a man was transported to the hospital for disorderly inebriation. The staff soon learned that he was in town for a funeral and was a part of the Witness Protection Program. The police immediately decided to transport the patient due to the possibility that the hospital could be put into danger. I remember speaking to the police and advising them that it was not in his best interest to be transported. However, the police insisted he must be transported. Therefore, I volunteered to ride along in the ambulance to ensure the patients’ health during the transportation. The art of nursing was displayed as I knew the patient would feel secure and at ease knowing a professional is with him. This is a prime example of the lack of concern displayed by medical practitioners in regard to patients and on the count of protocol. Protocol should be less important when concerning the health and safety of human life.
Other major influences changing the health care environment and professional nursing practice, including changes in health care services due to productivity and cost-effectiveness being used to restructure hospitals. Furthermore, there are various changes in policy and health care taken place in the industry. These simple changes lead to dissatisfaction and a lack of clear direction for some employees in my work environment. If customers are dissatisfied with the services they are receiving, hospitals will not receive the revenue and patient capacity to exist for as long as they have.
Lastly, an even more common problem that my hospital has encountered is a repeated cycle of nurse shortages. I recently spoke to a faculty member at a University and she stated they turn away quality applicants due to a shortage of faculty and teaching sites. Nursing shortages are a frightful occurrence that should alarm any physician. Without the assistance of nurses, doctors are presented with an even greater challenge of helping others than ever before. The shortage of assistance with the hospital will pose an egregious threat to the medical field in the very near future.
Suggested Strategies After BSN training
Upon completing my BSN, I would hope to investigate changes that can prevent the vicious cycle detailed above. Educating nurses on the art and science correlation should be reformed so that qualified students are able to enter a nursing program and exit with a greater understanding of the underlying principles of their field. Reforming education is always a beneficial suggestion to any field, but particularly concerning the field of nurses, demand for new nurses may increase because nurses will be more dynamically educated.
Several techniques can be implemented to increase employee morale and allow for better adjustment to the changes. Hospitals can update policy and guidelines to make it easier for nurses to understand the new changes. Several meetings can be held to establish a clear direction for nurses and reiterate the values of the company. Furthermore, the company can provide nurses with training on organizational barriers to increase communication between staff and constantly reinforce principles to avoid burnout and misperception.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nursing profession has drastically evolved since the Florence Nightingale Era. With the advancement of technology and nursing education, the profession has become more respectable but still faces significant hurdles to overcome. Nurses are not only care providers but are playing a vital role in care-giving. For this reason, the nursing profession is interchangeably an art and a science. As an art, nursing entails an appropriate interaction between the patient and the nurse. This enables the nurse to offer ideal care to the patient. As a science, the nurse must be knowledgeable and accurate in respect to the profession. Nurses should be aware of the changing environment of nurses, more particularly the medical terms, the procedures, disease symptom, and evolving ways to care for patients and themselves. The improvement in the nursing profession would be possible if the nurses take it upon themselves the responsibility of constantly expanding their knowledge base in this field and informing and involving all other medical professionals in their vicinity, as well.
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