It has now come to be believed that nursing is a unique health profession in being both a science and an art. It signifies caring for patients by professional practitioners and focusing on helping communities, groups, families, and individuals. Nurses also cater to wellness programs in optimizing their levels of functioning. The nursing profession promotes good health, provides options for self-care, adopts preventive measures against disability and diseases, helps in coping with different illnesses, and above all, in the case of terminally ill patients to achieve a peaceful death.
Essentially nursing is a practice that, in using its unique body of knowledge affirms health practices, competency, high levels of care, and commitment in fulfilling duties which are indeed unique in keeping with the specialized nature of knowledge that is expected from the profession. Nursing encompasses a unique body of knowledge that is based on theories of nursing, nursing knowledge, and specialist skills, and knowledge pertaining to humanities, social sciences, and biological sciences (Jacqueline Fawcett, 2004).
All work-related to nursing has to be carried out in an environment that ensures respect for patients, cooperation, safety, and gender and racial equality. Nurses have the specialist traits in attaching immense value and worth to the cultural diversity and dignity of people. The nursing practice incorporates dynamic practices in having a unique consultative association with patients to cater to their requirements. They are also trained to share cordial, collaborative, and collegial relationships with different functionaries in the area of health care (Ellen K. Murphy 2004).
In using different models and theories of nursing, academic nurses do not merely indulge in armchair activities in research and teaching centers. The theories and models are more in the nature of exposing them to look critically at different nursing practices in improving nursing care (Leininger M, 2007). Nursing models help nurses to imbibe the descriptions and details of the training and teaching course contents.
Theories and models aim at specifying goals pertaining to different actions and descriptive rules and terminology for the service recipients. Roles of nurses in specific situations are defined and practiced and the likely sources of difficulties in the execution of duties are identified. Nurses are made well acquainted in terms of the description of the technical aspects of their role and made to focus on relevant interventions in keeping with the applicable models and theories in different situations of the nursing profession. The theory and models provide adequate theoretical knowledge in terms of the intended consequences as applied in practice.
Examination of the data available in regard to nursing models indicates that essentially there are three different models that are differentiated by their respective characteristics in the nursing profession as practiced in hospitals. They are medico-legal, moral retribution, and educational (Bulfin, S., & Mitchell, 2005). Such models are very useful as also necessary in providing a curriculum of coherent teaching practices and in enabling an effective framework for the successful execution of the nursing functions as required in the profession.
The specialist nature of the profession and the requirements of present-day climate in regard to the expectations from the profession require the consideration and selection of specific models in keeping with the demands of the given circumstances. The key advantage in regard to educational models and theories of nursing accrues in allowing for the growth and development of nurses in making them well equipped in the profession, which further results in benefits of improved customer services (Kolcaba K, et al, 2006).
Nursing science plays a vital role in enhancing nursing knowledge which comes largely from customary and conventional sources. Nurses that are highly experienced and experts in their field pass on the science to new entrants in the profession. Research in nursing is increasing by the day and nursing practice too plays an important role in enhancing knowledge in the profession. With the constant development of medical techniques and health care management, knowledge is increasing as experience is gained in the newly established practices.
Although research findings in medicine and health care are implemented after considerable delays, they vastly increase the knowledge resource once they are put into practice (Benner, P., & Leonard, 2005). This way effective nursing response can be established to particular customer complications and problems. Information systems in nursing directly reflect on the usage and nature of knowledge in the profession in offering standard care plans and the decision structure for individual caring so that requirements can be exclusively established by the nurse. Nursing practices and the knowledge base that goes into the profession can be greatly enhanced with the use of expert systems enabled with the use of scientific principles of nursing.
Additionally, the knowledge base is greatly enhanced with the use of interventions, objectives, diagnosis and taxonomies of data, which enable the convenient and effective comparison of patients as also to ascertain the relative success of interventions in nursing. This also makes possible the use of an evaluation component to facilitate correction and feedback on the services. In essence, everyday practices of nursing do become fields of research and the resultant gain in knowledge is simultaneously ploughed back in being used in the practices. Hence the given system helps in further building upon nursing science which in turn enhances knowledge resulting in a multiplier effect (King I M, 2007).
References
Benner, P., & Leonard, V.W. (2005). Patient concerns and choices and clinical judgment in EBP. In B. Melnyk & E. Fineout-Overholt (Eds.), Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practices. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Bulfin, S., & Mitchell, G. J. (2005). Nursing as caring theory: Living care in practice. Nursing Science Quarterly, 18(4), 313-319.
Ellen K. Murphy, Judicial recognition of nursing as a unique profession, 2004, AORN Journal. Web.
Jacqueline Fawcett, Contemporary Nursing Knowledge, 2004, F. A. Davis Company King, I. M. (2007). King’s conceptual system, theory of goal attainment and transaction process in the 21st Century. Nursing Science Quarterly, 20(2), 109-111.
Kolcaba, K., Tilton, C, & Drouin, C. (2006). Comfort theory: A unifying framework to enhance the practice environment. Journal of Nursing Administration, 36(11), 538-544.
Leininger, M. (2007). Theoretical questions and concerns: Response from the theory of culture and care diversity and universality perspective. Nursing Science Quarterly, 20(1), 9-13.
William K. Cody, Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives for Advanced Nursing Practice, 2006, Paperback.