Nursing Profession

Although nursing practice varies both through its various specialities 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 judgement 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 UK

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

And,according to Florence Nightingale,the founder of modern nursing,"Nursing is the care which puts a person in the best possible condition for nature to restore or preserve health,to prevent or to care disease or injury."

The word "nurse" comes from the Latin word,"Nuticius",which means nourish,foster and protect.Thus, nursing means nourishing and protecting and fostering the health of people.The nursing role refers to all behaviors that are considered appropriate for a nurse.Traditionally,the nurse received more practical knowledge in taking care of the sick,disabled and dying.The role modelling of the nurse today is the consequence of how the roles of nurses were modelled in the past.Similarly,the role modelling of the present day nurses will influence the development of future nursing roles.
In 1973,the International Council of Nurses stated that "nursing is a unique function which assists the sick or well person in performing the activities contributing to health, the recovery of health or the achievement of peaceful death that these persons would perform independently if possessed of sufficient strength,will or knowledge"(Fundamentals of Nursing,Mery C.Sendbery)
Nursing today means different things to different people.Most people still think of nursing as only caring for the sick,assisting the doctors in care or treatment of patients but nursing is more than this.Nursing began as an art when a member of the family cared for sick relatives,friends and neighbours in co-operation with or assisting doctors in their work at home.Nursing service aims to meet the health needs of the entire community and society,prevent illness as well as care for the sick and finally, carry out the research activities to gain more knowledge and improving nursing.
History shows that nursing developed more rapidly in society where women were given more freedom.
According to Henderson,"The unique function of nursing 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 s/he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength,will or knowledge.And to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible."