What

is
Nursin
g?
Practice & Advocacy

 Nursing Excellence

 Nurse Staffing

 Work Environment

 Health Policy

 Advocacy

 Innovation in Nursing

 Workforce

 What is Nursing?

 How to Become a Nurse

 The Nursing Process

 Tools you Need

 Find a Nursing Job

 Advanced Practice Nurses

 Career Center

 Public Health Nursing

 Clinical Practice Material

 Improving Your Practice

 Minority Fellowship Program

 Finance and Reimbursement

 Five Opportunities and Challenges for Workforce

Advocacy Program

 Nursing Shortage Outlook

 Questions to Ask About Safe Staffing Before Accepting

Employment

 Questions to Ask About Shared Governance Models in

Nursing

 Questions to Ask in Making the Decision to Accept a

Staffing Assignment for Nurses

 Three Developmental Phases of Shared Governance in

Nursing

 Things to Know About Whistle Blowing

 Workforce Ecosystem Model

 Healthy Nurse

 APRN

 Scope of Practice

 Community Paramedics

 State Law and Regulation

 Barriers to RN Scope of Practice Panel

 Medication Aides, Assistants, Technicians

 IOM Future of Nursing Report

 NAQC

 Project Firstline

21st Centur

y nursing is

the glue

that holds a

patient’s

health care

journey

together.

Across the

entire

patient

experience,

and

wherever

there is

someone in

need of
care, nurses

work

tirelessly to

identify

and protect

the needs

of the

individual.

Beyond the

time-

honored

reputation

for

compassion

and

dedication

lies a

highly

specialized

profession,

which is
constantly

evolving to

address the

needs of

society.

From

ensuring

the most

accurate

diagnoses

to the

ongoing

education

of the

public

about

critical

health

issues;

nurses are

indispensab

le in
safeguardin

g public

health.
Nursing

can be
described

as both an

art and a

science; a

heart and a

mind. At its

heart, lies a

fundamenta

l respect for

human

dignity and

an intuition

for a

patient’s

needs. This

is

supported

by the

mind, in

the form of

rigorous

core
learning.

Due to the

vast range

of

specialisms

and

complex

skills in the

nursing

profession,

each nurse

will have

specific

strengths,

passions,

and

expertise.

However,

nursing has

a unifying

ethos:  In
assessing a

patient,

nurses do

not just

consider

test results.

Through

the critical

thinking

exemplified

in the

nursing

process

(see

below),

nurses use

their

judgment

to integrate

objective

data with

subjective
experience

of a

patient’s

biological,

physical

and

behavioral

needs. This

ensures that

every

patient,

from city

hospital to

community

health

center;

state prison

to summer

camp,

receives the

best

possible
care

regardless

of who they

are, or

where they

may be.

What
exactly do
nurses do?

In a field as

varied as

nursing,

there is no

typical

answer.

Responsibil

ities can

range from

making

acute

treatment

decisions to
providing

inoculation

s in

schools.

The key

unifying

characterist

ic in every

role is the

skill and

drive that it

takes to be

a nurse.

Through

long-term

monitoring

of patients’

behavior

and

knowledge-

based

expertise,
nurses are

best placed

to take an

all-

encompassi

ng view of

a patient’s

wellbeing.

What types
of nurses
are there?

All nurses

complete a

rigorous

program of

extensive

education

and study,

and work

directly

with

patients,
families,

and

communitie

s using the

core values

of the

nursing

process. In

the United

States

today,

nursing

roles can be

divided

into three

categories

by the

specific

responsibili

ties they

undertake.
Registered
Nurses

Registered

nurses

(RN) form

the

backbone

of health

care

provision

in the

United

States. RNs

provide

critical

health care

to the

public

wherever it

is needed.

Key
Responsibiliti
es
 Perfo

rm

physi

cal

exam

s and

healt

histor

ies

befor

maki

ng

critic

al

decisi

ons

 Provi

de

healt

h
 prom

otion,

couns

eling

and

educa

tion

 Admi

nister

medi

catio

ns

and

other

perso

nalize

interv

entio

ns

 Coor

dinat
 e

care,

in

colla

borati

on

with

wide

array

of

healt

care

profe

ssion

als

Advanced
Practice
Registered
Nurses

Advance

Practice
Registered

Nurses

(APRN)

hold at

least a

Master’s

degree, in

addition to

the initial

nursing

education

and

licensing

required for

all RNs.

The respon

sibilities of

an APRN

include, but

are not

limited to,

providing
invaluable

primary

and

preventativ

e health

care to the

public.

APRNs

treat and

diagnose

illnesses,

advise the

public on

health

issues,

manage

chronic

disease and

engage in

continuous

education

to remain at
the very

forefront of

any

technologic

al,

methodolog

ical, or

other

developme

nts in the

field.

APRNs
Practice
Specialist
Roles

 Nurse

Practi

tioner

presc

ribe

medi

catio
 n,

diagn

ose

and

treat

minor

illnes

ses

and

injuri

es

 Certif

ied

Nurse

Midw

ives

provi

de

gynec

ologi

cal
 and

low-

risk

obstet

rical

care

 Clini

cal

Nurse

Speci

alists

handl

ea

wide

range

of

physi

cal

and

ment

al

healt
 h

probl

ems

 Certif

ied

Regis

tered

Nurse

Anest

hetist

admi

nister

more

than

65

perce

nt of

all

anest

hetics
Licensed
Practical
Nurses

Licensed

Practical

Nurses

(LPN), also

known as

Licensed

Vocational

Nurses

(LVNs),

support the

core health

care team

and work

under the

supervision

of an RN,

APRN or

MD. By

providing

basic and
routine

care, they

ensure the

wellbeing

of patients

throughout

the whole

of the

health care

journey

Key
Responsibiliti
es

 Chec

vital

signs

and

look

for

signs

that
 healt

h is

deteri

oratin

g or

impro

ving

 Perfo

rm

basic

nursi

ng

functi

ons

such

as

chang

ing

banda

ges

and

woun
 d

dressi

ngs

 Ensur

patie

nts

are

comf

ortabl

e,

well-

fed

and

hydra

ted

 May

admi

nister

medi

catio

ns in
 some

settin

gs

What is the
nursing
process?

No matter

what their

field or

specialty,

all nurses

utilize the

same

nursing

process; a

scientific

method

designed to

deliver the

very best in

patient

care,
through

five simple

steps.

 Asses

smen

– Nur

ses

asses

patie

nts

on an

in-

depth

physi

ologi

cal,

econo

mic,

social
 and

lifest

yle

basis.

 Diag

nosis

– Thr

ough

caref

ul

consi

derati

on of

both

physi

cal

symp

toms

and

patie

nt

behav
 ior,

the

nurse

forms

diagn

osis.

 Outc

omes

Plan

ning

– The

nurse

uses

their

exper

tise

to set

realis

tic

goals
 for

the

patie

nt’s

recov

ery.

These

objec

tives

are

then

closel

monit

ored.

 Impl

emen

tatio

– By

accur

ately
imple

menti

ng

the

care

plan,

nurse

guara

ntee

consi

stenc

y of

care

for

the

patie

nt

whils

metic

ulous
 ly

docu

menti

ng

their

progr

ess.

 Eval

uatio

– By

closel

analy

zing

the

effect

ivene

ss of

the

care

plan
and

study

ing

patie

nt

respo

nse,

the

nurse

hones

the

plan

to

achie

ve

the

very

best

patie

nt

outco

mes. 
Nurses are
Key to the
Health of
the Nation

 There

are

over

millio

regist

ered

nurse

s in

the

Unite

States

today

 That

mean

s that
 one

in

every

100

peopl

e is a

regist

ered

nurse

 Nurse

s are

in

every

com

munit

y–

large

and

small

provi
 ding

exper

t care

from

birth

to the

end

of

life.

 Acco

rding

to the

Janua

ry

2012

“Unit

ed

States

Regis

tered

Nurse

Work
force

Repo

rt

Card

and

Short

age

Forec

ast”

in the

Amer

ican

Journ

al of

Medi

cal

Quali

ty, a

short

age

of

regist
ered

nurse

s is

proje

cted

to

sprea

acros

s the

count

ry

betwe

en

2009

and

2030.

In

this

state-

by-

state
 analy

sis,

the

autho

rs

forec

ast

the

RN

short

age

to be

most

intens

e in

the

South

and

the

West

 Nurse

s'
roles

range

from

direct

patie

nt

care

and

case

mana

geme

nt to

establ

ishin

nursi

ng

practi

ce

stand

ards,

devel
oping

qualit

assur

ance

proce

dures

, and

direct

ing

comp

lex

nursi

ng

care

syste

ms.