Definition of Nursing

Nursing is a useful profession in the healthcare environment. The definition of nursing integrates all the elements of the profession, ranging from education to practice tasks. This discussion will explore the definition of nursing within the context of the United States' healthcare environment. Nursing is a unique component of the United States' healthcare system. Different specializations within the nursing profession create a diverse population in which professionals share varying strengths, passions, and professional experiences (Fu et al., 2020). In this discussion, combining research findings about nursing with personal experiences can help shape a personal definition, thereby increasing insights into the profession. Nursing theories are important models that guide nursing practice. An analysis of the concept of nursing in this discussion will provide new insights into some of the responsibilities of nurses featured in literature and the tasks they perform in their respective workplaces to ensure the healthcare of their patients. The application of environmental theory and interpersonal relations theory will highlight the development of models to shape nursing practice. An in-depth analysis of the concept of nursing will enhance understanding of the tasks performed by nurses, thereby appreciating their roles in the healthcare system and guiding students who intend to pursue the profession to take decisive steps to specialize and build their careers in the field.

Nursing and Its Uniqueness in Healthcare

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), nursing is a combination of art and science in practice and a heart and a mind in application. This profession combines the heart of human dignity and the intuition of patients' needs, which act as the driving force for the commitment of healthcare staff across various healthcare settings. The mind supports the practice of nursing by aiding continuous learning in the practice setting. Moreover, nursing is a complex field, encompassing various specialisms. As a result, nurses possess a range of strengths, experiences, skills, expertise, and passions.

Nursing, however, is unique to the American healthcare system. Notably, the nursing profession encompasses various specialties, where individuals undergo rigorous training and exposure to prepare them for diverse work environments. The specialized training they acquire makes nurses suitable to engage with families, patients, and visitors through effective communication (American Nurses Association (ANA), n.d.). Registered nurses are a specialized unit that conducts physical examinations, promotes health, and administers drugs. Advanced practice registered nurses are a different unit that prescribes medications, diagnoses, and treats infections. This group also includes the CNMs to offer gynecological services and CNSs to offer various physical and mental healthcare services. A third cohort consists of licensed practical nurses who check patients for vital signs and assess whether their health is improving or deteriorating (American Nurses Association (ANA), n.d.). These make nursing unique in US healthcare because there are professionals for special functions and needs.

Key Defining Criteria of the Nursing Profession

The key defining criteria of nursing centers on the critical thinking model that guides clinical reasoning and the clinical judgments of professionals when providing healthcare services to patients and families. As a result, there are Standards of Professional Nursing Practice established by the American Nurses Association (ANA) (Ernstmeyer et al., 2021). These standards apply to nurses regardless of specializations, responsibilities, populations served, and the healthcare environment in which they work. They are authoritative accounts of action and conduct expected to feature among the nursing workforce. There are six aspects of the nursing process, including Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes Identification, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation, summarized as ADOPIE to represent the ANA standards applicable in the nursing process (Ernstmeyer et al., 2021).

The Concept of Caring

Nursing practice today incorporates the concept of integrated care, in which nurses integrate the concept of caring into healthcare processes. According to Hughes et al. (2020), integrated care combines various contextual factors in different interventions to achieve the predetermined outcome. The concept of caring, therefore, is integral to all assignments and activities performed by nurses in the healthcare environment. It also includes the integration of relevant policies to achieve person-centered care and build relationships that support patient-centered care. The concept of caring supports a strong correlation between improvements in patient experiences and the system benefits.

Nevertheless, Martínez et al. (2021) approached the discussion on the concept of caring integrated into the nursing practice from the perspective of self-care. Apparently, caring is a complex concept, which, when viewed from a self-care perspective, requires specification of antecedents, consequences, and defining attributes. The nursing profession has created an avenue for nurses to engage patients in developing their skills in self-care by training them in self-awareness, self-reliance, and self-control, enabling them to promote, achieve, and maintain health and well-being (Martínez et al., 2021). This is practical in the healthcare environment because it introduced a new tool and approach to patient education, which enhances the self-care and health-seeking behavior of patients informed by self-awareness.

Personal Definition of and Mission of Nursing

Nursing is a healthcare practice in which a healthcare professional applies the knowledge acquired in professional training and practice settings to manage different conditions, feelings, needs, and perspectives of patients, families, communities, and special populations (Fu et al., 2020). Nursing integrates passion, commitment, zeal, and enthusiasm to help people rather than limiting one’s service to the rewards and personal benefits. It requires an individual who can go beyond rewards, remuneration, perks, or any other personal benefits to provide quality healthcare to communities and populations in need. This validates the notion of a heart and a mind, which means an individual should be willing to do more than expected to help people and improve the health and well-being of populations.

The mission of nursing is to ensure that patients and their families can access quality healthcare that meets their needs, regardless of their socioeconomic, racial, or religious affiliations. As a result, nurses must be willing to dispense quality healthcare equally to all patients regardless of their religious, cultural, gender, or socioeconomic status. Cultural competence is a crucial requirement among nurses that supports this mission of nursing. In this regard, nursing becomes a pillar that connects all key stakeholders in the healthcare environment, enabling the attainment of the common goal of promoting the health and well-being of patients, families, and communities (Fu et al., 2020).

Personal Life Experiences and Background

Nursing has a belief system entrenched in professional integrity and values. In the healthcare environment, nurses encounter patients and family members from diverse backgrounds. Patients present to the clinic with their health needs, trusting the nurse to provide a solution. Their language, cultural beliefs, religion, racial affiliation, and socioeconomic status should not be determining factors for their access to healthcare. The nurse remains committed to providing satisfactory healthcare with due respect to the patients’ or families’ beliefs, cultures, and norms.

Notably, professional integrity and values are key factors influencing nursing practice. Markedly, they enable the application of different principles in various healthcare environments to achieve the desired level of quality and effectiveness in healthcare service. The nursing principles affecting the belief systems include human dignity, altruism, justice, and integrity (Habeeb, 2022). Although they serve as the guiding principles for maintaining professional ethics in nursing practice, they also enable nurses to develop a culture of caring, which fosters their commitment to quality and reliability.

Remarkably, this background and nursing belief system align with the definition of nursing as a profession that combines professional training and work experiences with passion, enthusiasm, zeal, and commitment to meet the needs of patients. A practicing nurse achieves this combination successfully only with this belief system. The belief system entrenched in professional ethics, guided by the tenets of human dignity, integrity, altruism, and justice, supersedes any form of reward. Thus, nurses do not necessarily work for personal gain. Rather, their commitment to service reflects their underlying belief system.

Nursing Theorists

Two nursing theorists contributed tremendously to the development of the nursing profession in the United States and across the world. These include Florence Nightingale, with her environmental theory, and Hildegard Peplau, who developed the interpersonal relations theory. Firstly, the interpersonal relations theory defines nursing as an interpersonal process of interaction between different people with a common goal (Mersha et al., 2023). The theorist is correct because nursing involves the creation of interpersonal relationships through interactions between nurses and patients or communities. However, the definition limits the scope of nursing. Nursing is not a mere interaction between the nurse and the patient or family members due to a common goal of healthcare. Instead, it goes beyond interaction because it builds relationships and finds solutions to problems.

Alternatively, Florence Nightingale introduced the environmental theory based on her assessment and experience in the nursing profession. Although this theory emphasizes the role of the nurse in creating a sanitary set of conditions to enable patients to access quality healthcare, it maintains the notion of professional interactions. A nurse should use the patient’s environment to support recovery (Gilbert, 2020). These include controlling physical factors to ensure access to pure water, fresh air, sanitation, optimal direct sunlight, and efficient drainage (Gilbert, 2020). This environmental theory of nursing applies to the definition of nursing because it identifies some of the activities a nurse undertakes to promote the recovery of the patient beyond simply administering medications and providing other necessities for the patient. In this theory, it is easy to identify areas in which the nurse does more than necessary to ensure the patient's health and well-being.

Practice and Contribute to Nursing

Notably, becoming a professional nurse is a process that requires academic and professional qualifications. Following the complexity of the responsibilities of a nurse in the work setting and the scope of practice, it becomes necessary to specialize in particular fields. Decisions on future specialization will depend on understanding the roles of different nurses in the healthcare environment. Apart from the education specializations, practical experience is also key in preparing a student to become a professional nurse. As a result, keenness in the practicum site and other opportunities for practice are important considerations to prepare a student to serve in the healthcare environment. A combination of practical experiences with academic knowledge will consolidate the skills to groom an informed and experienced professional.

Considering a specialization to become an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), a student should develop plans to attain a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) or an associate degree in nursing (ADN) (Indeed, 2024). An individual would also consider taking a master’s degree in nursing before undertaking various examinations that would facilitate his or her licensing and certification in his or her intended region of practice. These academic goals and plans should consolidate classroom learning with practical skills acquired in practicum sites, where students serve patients and assist with various tasks in the healthcare environment.

Conclusion

This paper explored the concept of nursing by definition as an important and unique profession in healthcare. Nursing is unique to the American healthcare system. It is a pillar that unites different stakeholders to achieve a common goal of ensuring person-centered care for better health outcomes. It has special defining criteria, including a concept of caring, which guides the actions, thinking, and commitment of individual professionals in achieving the desired health outcomes for patients and populations. Different professionals may have varying definitions of nursing, based on their perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences within the healthcare environment. However, there are nursing theories or models that shape these definitions. These enable a clear insight into the role of nurses and the structure of the nursing environment, facilitating better recovery. This discussion, therefore, featured a comprehensive analysis of the concept of nursing, as defined in research and experience, reflected in the tasks performed by nurses in various healthcare settings.