Why is the nursing profession defined as the caring profession? This is a very easy question to answer if you or anyone you know has ever had to spend time in hospital, or been to a health clinic, or taken ill while onboard a plane. Nurses are the ones who are always on hand to help. Sylvia Anne Lombard, the nursing service manager of Clinix Selby Park Hospital in Johannesburg, who is a leading expert on the nursing profession defined nursing as ‘…a service to mankind in preventing illness, supporting those in need and giving care to others. It involves the giving of intimate personal care at times of stress - at the edges of life and death - to the hurt, the maimed and the vulnerable…’.
Nursing can often mean dedicating huge amounts of your life to caring for others wherever a nurse may be. One of the most famous ‘nurses’ of all time was Florence Nightingale, who brought credibility to the nursing profession. She gave up the wealth and privilege she was born into in order to care for people who were needy and ill. This image of nursing has been carried down throughout the generations. There have been times when nursing has faced a lack of support (particularly in the 1970s) but it didn’t last long and the nursing profession defined itself as the caring profession once again in the 1980s.
Whether nursing in hospitals, care centers, doctor’s surgeries, or as a clinical nurse, a pharmaceutical nurse or a field nurse all nurses fulfill a duty to care for the sick or to prevent illness.
We are a large resource on the nursing profession defined as the caring profession, however if we don’t have what you are looking for then take a look at our Nursing Profession Defined Resources section where there are links to numerous sites with further valuable information.