Art And Science Of Nursing Essay

What makes someone a nurse? Is it the science of performing tasks such as catheter insertion or medication administration? Or is it the art of providing unwavering support and care to patients and their families? Or could it be both? The aim of this paper is to define the art and science of nursing, discuss the influences of art and science in current nursing practice, examine how the art and the science of nursing influences the student’s personal practice, provide major factors perceived to be changing the healthcare environment, indicate the observation in the student’s personal practice that has changed over the last five years, employ strategies to apply the art and science of nursing in professional role development, and create goals

The science of nursing is not just about performing tasks such as catheter insertion or medication administration. It encompasses the ability of the nurse to think critically and to provide evidence-based interventions (Palos, 2014). It also includes the capability of the nurse to apply nursing theories and frameworks into practice (Parse, 2015). On the other hand, Florence Nightingale described nursing as the “finest of Fine Arts” (as cited in Criss, 2011, para. 1). The art of nursing is the nurse’s skill to listen actively and address the needs of the patients, and to provide compassionate care that is individualized (Palos, 2014). Robinson (2014) defined the art of nursing as getting in touch with the true presence of self to better understand how patients feel, which enhances the healing capabilities of nurses. Nursing is the art of providing unwavering support and care to patients and their families. Both Palos (2014) and Robinson (2014) recognized that a balance between the practice in the art and in the science of nursing must be achieved in order to provide competent nursing care, especially in the constantly evolving world of

One influence of science in the nursing profession is the improvement in nursing education. Training in the 19th century ranged from six months to three years (Cresia & Friberg, 2011), while 21st century training encourages attainment of a four-year degree with a projected 80% increase of BSN holders by 2020 as stated by the Institute of Medicine (2010) (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). Along these lines include the creation of professional nursing organizations that generated licensing systems to ensure nurses who practice have standardized knowledge and are properly trained to provide care (Cresia & Friberg, 2011). Donahue (1996) wrote that changes in the world of nursing started from the revolutionary efforts of Florence Nightingale, who saw a decrease in death rates of wounded British soldiers from 42.7 to 2.2% by producing a sanitary environment (as cited in Koffi & Fawcett, 2016, p. 248). Current nursing practice involves the incorporation of evidence-based interventions in order to close knowledge gaps to accommodate the complexities of the healthcare environment. Researches are conducted and applied to establish standards of practice in order to improve health outcomes for the general population (The Lancet, 2012). Aside from that, the California Board of Registered Nursing (n.d.) requires 30 hours of continuing