nursing nursing nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. nurses may be differentiated from other healthcare providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. nurses comprise the largest component of most healthcare environments; but there is evidence of international shortages of qualified nurses. nurses collaborate with other healthcare providers such as physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, and psychologists. unlike nurse practitioners, nurses typically cannot prescribe medications in the us. nurse practitioners are nurses with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing. they practice independently in a variety of settings in more than half of the united states. since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing. nursingnurse checks patient's blood pressure.occupationactivity sectorsnursingdescriptioncompetenciescaring for general and specialized well-being of patientseducation requiredqualifications in terms of statutory regulations according to national, state, or provincial legislation in each countryfields ofemployment hospital clinic laboratory research education home care related jobs medicine glossary of medicine nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient's family, and other team members that focuses on treating illness to improve quality of life. in the united kingdom and the united states, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe the correct medications and other therapies, depending on particular state regulations. nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a multidisciplinary health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners, and dietitians. nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals. in addition to providing care and support, nurses educate the public and promote health and wellness. history main articles: history of nursing and timeline of nursing history premodern nursing historians face the challenges of determining whether care provided to the sick or injured in antiquity is called nursing care. in the fifth century bc, for example, the hippocratic collection in places describes skilled care and observation of patients by male "attendants," who may have been early nurses. around 600 bc in india, it is recorded in sushruta samhita, book 3, chapter v about the role of the nurse as "the different parts or members of the body as mentioned before including the skin, cannot be correctly described by one who is not well versed in anatomy. hence, anyone desirous of acquiring a thorough knowledge of anatomy should prepare a dead body and carefully, observe, by dissecting it, and examining its different parts." before the foundation of modern nursing, members of religious orders such as nuns and monks often provided nursing-like care. examples exist in christian, islamic, and buddhist traditions amongst others. phoebe, mentioned in romans 16 has been described in many sources as "the first visiting nurse". these traditions were influential in the development of the ethos of modern nursing. the religious roots of modern nursing remain in evidence today in many countries. one example in the united kingdom is the use of the historical title "sister" to refer to a senior nurse in the past. during the reformation of the 16th century, protestant reformers shut down the monasteries and convents, allowing a few hundred municipal hospices to remain in operation in northern europe. those nuns who had been serving as nurses were given pensions or told to get married and stay home. nursing care went to the inexperienced as traditional caretakers, rooted in the roman catholic church, were removed from their positions. the nursing profession suffered a major setback for approximately 200 years. 19th century russian sisters of mercy in the crimea, 1854–1855 during the crimean war the grand duchess elena pavlovna issued the call for women to join the order of exaltation of the cross (krestodvizhenskaya obshchina) for the year of service in the military hospitals. the first section of twenty-eight "sisters", headed by aleksandra petrovna stakhovich, the directress of the order, went off to the crimea early in november 1854. florence nightingale was an influential figure in the development of modern nursing. no uniform had been created when nightingale was employed during the crimean war. often considered the first nurse theorist, nightingale linked health with five environmental factors: (1) pure or fresh air, (2) pure water, (3) efficient drainage, (4) cleanliness, and (5) light, especially direct sunlight. deficiencies in these five factors resulted in a lack of health or illness. both the role of nursing and education were first defined by nightingale. florence nightingale laid the foundations of professional nursing after the crimean war. nightingale believed that nursing was a social freedom and mission for women. she believed that any educated woman can help improve the care of the medically sick. her notes on nursing (1859) became popular. the nightingale model of professional education, having set up one of the first schools of nursing that is connected to a continuously operating hospital and medical school, spread widely in europe and north america after 1870. nightingale was also a pioneer of the graphical presentation of statistical data. florence nightingale worked by sub concepts of the environmental theory. she included five factors that helped nurses in her time of working in poor sanitation and with uneducated nurses. these factors included (1) fresh air, (2) clean water, (3) a working drainage system, (4) cleanliness, and (5) good light or sunlight. nightingale believed that a clean, working environment were important in caring for patients. in the 19th century, this theory was ideal for helping patients, providing a guide for nurses to alter the environment around the patient for the better of their health. nightingale's recommendations built upon the successes of jamaican "doctresses" such as mary seacole, who like nightingale, served in the crimean war. seacole practised hygiene and the use of herbs in healing wounded soldiers and those suffering from diseases in the 19th century in the crimea, central america, and jamaica. her predecessors had great success as healers in the colony of jamaica in the 18th century, and they included seacole's mother, mrs. grant, sarah adams, cubah cornwallis, and grace donne, the mistress and doctress to jamaica's wealthiest planter, simon taylor. other important nurses in the development of the profession include: agnes hunt from shropshire was the first orthopedic nurse and was pivotal in the emergence of the orthopedic hospital the robert jones & agnes hunt hospital in oswestry, shropshire. valérie de gasparin who opened, with her husband agénor de gasparin, the first nursing school in the world : la source, in lausanne, switzerland. agnes jones, who established a nurse training regime at the brownlow hill infirmary, liverpool, in 1865. linda richards, who established quality nursing schools in the united states and japan, and was officially the first professionally trained nurse in the us, graduating in 1873 from the new england hospital for women and children in boston. clarissa harlowe "clara" barton, a pioneer american teacher, patent clerk, nurse, and humanitarian, and the founder of the american red cross. saint marianne cope, a sister of st. francis who opened and operated some of the first general hospitals in the united states, instituting cleanliness standards which influenced the development of america's modern hospital system. red cross chapters, which began appearing after the establishment of the international committee of the red cross in 1863, offered employment and professionalization opportunities for nurses (despite initial objections from florence nightingale). catholic orders such as little sisters of the poor, sisters of mercy, sisters of st. mary, st. francis health services, inc. and sisters of charity built hospitals and provided nursing services during this period. in turn, the modern deaconess movement began in germany in 1836. within a half century, there were over 5,000 deaconesses in europe. formal use of nurses in the modern military began in the latter half of the nineteenth century. nurses saw active duty in the first boer war, the egyptian campaign (1882), and the sudan campaign (1883). 20th century a recruiting poster for australian nurses from world war i hospital-based training came to the fore in the early 1900s, with an emphasis on practical experience. the nightingale-style school began to disappear. hospitals and physicians saw women in nursing as a source of free or inexpensive labor. exploitation of nurses was not uncommon by employers, physicians, and educational providers. many nurses saw active duty in world war i, but the profession was transformed during the second world war. british nurses of the army nursing service were part of every overseas campaign. more nurses volunteered for service in the us army and navy than any other occupation. the nazis had their own brown nurses, 40,000 strong. two dozen german red cross nurses were awarded the iron cross for heroism under fire. the modern era saw the development of undergraduate and post-graduate nursing degrees. advancement of nursing research and a desire for association and organization led to the formation of a wide variety of professional organizations and academic journals. growing recognition of nursing as a distinct academic discipline was accompanied by an awareness of the need to define the theoretical basis for practice. in the 19th and early 20th century, nursing was considered a women's profession, just as doctoring was a men's profession. with increasing expectations of workplace equality during the late 20th century, nursing became an officially gender-neutral profession, though in practice the percentage of male nurses remains well below that of female physicians in the early 21st century. shortages the biggest shortages of nurses and midwives are in south east asia and africa. a global survey by mckinsey & company in 2022 found that between 28% and 38% of nurse respondents in the united states, the united kingdom, singapore, japan, and france said they were likely to leave their current role in direct patient care in the next year. nursing shortages are a rising risk in many countries. the top five factors which they said would make them stay were a safe working environment work-life balance caring and trusting team-mates doing meaningful work flexible work schedule pay was eighth on the list. an american survey in 2023 found about 30% the respondents were considering leaving. definition although nursing practice varies both through its various specialties and countries, these nursing organizations offer the following definitions: 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. — international council of nurses the use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems, and to achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death.— royal college of nursing (2003) nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; prevention of illness and injury; alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses; and advocacy in health care for individuals, families, communities, and populations.— american nurses association the unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge.— virginia avenel henderson as a profession a nurse in indonesia examining a patient a nurse treating a patient with burns, ziguinchor paigc hospital, 1973 the authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. in almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law, and entrance to the profession is regulated at the national or state level. the aim of the nursing community worldwide is for professional nurses to ensure quality care for all, while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards, and competencies, and continuing their education. there are a number of