The Evolution and Impact of Nursing in Contemporary Society

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the nursing profession within contemporary society, emphasizing its significance in healthcare. It begins with an introduction to the profession, highlighting the diverse roles and responsibilities nurses undertake, from primary care to specialized services. The essay then delves into the historical context, particularly the influence of Florence Nightingale, and the evolution of nursing education and practices. It explores the importance of interpersonal skills such as communication and teamwork, as well as the significance of compassionate care and ethical accountability in nursing practice. Furthermore, the essay examines government policies and regulations that govern nursing, including professional registration and ethical standards. Key aspects of compassionate care, such as empathy, active listening, and patient interaction, are discussed. The conclusion reiterates the vital role of nursing in society and the importance of integrity and adherence to ethical standards. References to relevant literature are also included.

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Nursing in Contemporary society
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Introduction
Nursing is an important profession in any society in regards to health care system. In
America, almost 3.1 million people are professional nurses who work in a diverse setup in
assisting people with various health issues. Although most nurses work in health care centers
like hospitals, professional nurses are needed everywhere to help in helping people ranging
from delivery to a number of health problems. More broadly, these nurses promote the health
of individuals and the community as well (Choo, Hutchinson and Bucknall, 2010). These
professionals are helpful in the provision of primary healthcare services, health education,
and counseling services. Therefore, nurses remain to be very important people in society.
Many people think that the work of nurses is only to provide nursing services to sick people,
however, they also work collaboratively with other health care professionals to ensure that
health programs are maintained and health issues are taken care of at all times. Nurses also
provide services in nursing homes for those individuals who may wish to have a constant
check on their health (LaRocco, 2018). It is obvious that many people would visit the health
care provider as the main caregiver. For instance, expecting women will occasionally visit
hospitals and specifically nurses to check on their progress with maternity. In this connection,
nursing is seen as playing a critical role in ensuring their health is checked regularly before
their delivery.
The work of Florence Nightingale is crucial in understanding the concept of nursing. Her
action to take a group of nurses to Crimea to help the British soldiers to get nursing services
makes other people believe that nursing is fundamental in the lives of people. When Florence
Nightingale returned to England, she started programs that were related to nursing education
within hospitals around England (Lee and Low, 2010). These education centers and programs

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were helpful in teaching and enlightening the public on the benefits of professional nursing.
The programs aimed at educating the nurses on the best practices, values, and ethics in
relation to health care and nursing. During this time, many nurses got the additional
appropriate professional skills and broad knowledge that they could apply to in their nursing
work. The work of Florence was simply a groundbreaking achievement, thereafter, many
organizations came along to continue and improve her ideas on developing educational
programs to help more professional nurses understand nursing concepts and gain experience
and new ideas to deal with the emerging problems in the nursing world.
As have been explained above, nursing plays a critical role in our lives. The principle of
professional nursing practice reminds us what everyone would certainly expect out of nursing
practice. Nursing can be provided by many people within the health care facility. They
include people working in hospital wards, community health workers, and health care
assistants, among others. The principles of effective nursing exercise are available in every
country and they help the health care providers and the public understand the concepts
underpinning nursing. Interpersonal skills are therefore important in ensuring that the
nursing process becomes successful and the clients are satisfied at the end of the exercise.
The quality of nursing provided depends on certain interpersonal skills. They include:
Communication which is fundamental in ensuring the process is fruitful and successful.
Communication plays an important role in putting all the facts straight. Without effective
communication, the nurses and clients may not have an inclusive relationship especially
when the process involves reaching an agreement (Ellis, Gates and Kenworthy, 2003).
Communication becomes effective when both parties involved in communication agree on
issues under discussion. It is a skill that one may learn in school or sometimes a natural one.
As a health care provider, communication is crucial in determining who you are. In essence,

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it builds and dictates the relationship between the care provider and the customer. Poor
communication usually creates a barrier between the client and the care provider. In this
connection, the participants find it difficult to understand each other hence making the
process inconclusive and inadequately done.
Teamwork is another important skill when group nursing is concerned, for instance, in the
context of providing health care services to people in hospitals where many health
professionals are present, there is need to develop a strong team. This team should be one
which is bonded and focussed on the objectives of the organization (White, 2008). A team
player will always ensure that members of the team collaborate in all endeavors to achieve
the goals and objectives of an organization.
Interpersonal skills are helpful in enlightening the participants in the health sector and the
public through health promotional services to help in the prevention of communicable
diseases and other problems in the health care fraternity.
Compassionate care delivery is a concern for every government. Proper care services are
fundamental to ensuring a healthy nation. Most governments have given priority to the
provision of holistic, adequate, and effective care services to her people. In this connection,
many policies have been enacted and implemented in line with effective health care.
Government policies give directions and guidelines for a proper health care provider that
includes all those things that lie within the nursing procedures (Gundry, 2013). One of the
notable policies that are inclusive of nursing fundamentals is laying out the recommended
nursing procedures. More specifically, the policies explain the ethical requirements and
professional standards required of any nursing officer. They include the accepted values and
standards required to be followed when practicing as a health care provider. Care providers
are required to be aware of the consequences of bad or unethical behaviors when they are

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handling their clients. An example of such policy that one implemented in the UK requiring
all the nurses in the country to register with a professional body such as the nursing
professional body (Krautscheid, 2014). This is a body that is mandated and given authority to
review the academics and skills of an individual and approve him or her as capable of
providing care services as a nurse. Additionally, this professional body is further mandated to
recall and cancel the registration of a member who has violated the rules of practice (Clarke,
2012). This important policy has been adopted in many countries in the world and it has
helped in raising the standards nursing services and ensuring that the nursing practitioners
understand their work and at the same time deliver quality services to the public. This policy,
therefore, does not exempt those nurses working in the private sector. All nurses must,
therefore, be certified by this regulatory body.
Compassion is a crucial practice in healthcare. It is something that every nurse is expected to
adopt in his or her practice of providing health care services. Practical nurses provide care for
people with health problems such as illnesses (Scharton, 2013). They provide patients with
feeding, clothing, and bathing. However, there are certain ways that a professional nurse can
show compassion to his or her patients. These include;
Empathy
It is important to be able to understand and be in the shoes of your patients if you are a
practical nurse. It is again important to know how they are really feeling in the situation they
are. This acknowledgment of their feeling of a caregiver raises their hope and they become
stronger even though they may be sick.
Listening to the patients
Listening is a crucial practice when it comes to nursing. It is important that a nurse listens to
her or his patients in a good way so as to really understand their problems and give

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appropriate assistance. Good listening will enable the nurse to identify symptoms which
require an urgent response and those that can be managed later (Traynor, 2017). The situation
of the patient can, therefore, be greatly improved by proper listening to the patient.
Interact and socialize with patients
An interaction between patient and nurse should be very positive so that a good relationship
can be built. In this manner, both parties will enjoy having each other. A good relationship is
fundamental in creating a good atmosphere where every individual understands one another
and this greatly improves the service provided.
Accountability in nursing is a key factor that determines the level of professionalism in the
nursing arena. It is one of the most important requirements based on the ethical requirement.
In good practice, midwives are required to be ethically accountable to the work they do.
However, accountability cannot work in isolation; it must be practiced alongside other things
like responsibility and commitment (Davis, 2017). Accountability means one understands his
or her roles and become responsible for them (Traynor, 2013). In the context of
professionalism, there have been certain policies and regulations that require all practical
nurses to practice accountability while doing their job. There are policies that guide the
nurses on good behavior and practices. Majority of these policies lie with the nursing
professional bodies like those for registration and licensing.
Conclusion
Nursing plays a vital role in our society and our lives are impacted directly with nursing. We
are aware that life is delicate and anybody discharged with the responsibility of providing
health care services must do so within the confines of some laws. Therefore, they must be
guided by the appropriate laws so that they can refer to and make an informed decision which
must be relevant and conformity to the laid down guidelines. Finally, it is important to note

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that nursing requires one to possess high level of integrity besides being aware of standards
of good practice.

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References
Choo, J., Hutchinson, A., and Bucknall, T. (2010). Nurses' role in medication safety. Journal
of Nursing Management, 18(7), pp.853-861.
Clarke, J. (2012). Health, illness, and medicine in Canada. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford
University Press.
Davis, C. (2017). The importance of professional accountability. Nursing Made Incredibly
Easy!, 15(6), p.4.
Ellis, R., Gates, B., and Kenworthy, N. (2003). Interpersonal communication in nursing.
Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Gundry, S. (2013). Excellence in Compassionate Nursing Care – Leading the
ChangeExcellence in Compassionate Nursing Care – Leading the Change. Nursing Standard,
27(26), pp.28-28.
Krautscheid, L. (2014). Defining Professional Nursing Accountability: A Literature Review.
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LaRocco, S. (2018). Nursing History for Contemporary Role Development. Nursing History
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Lee, I. and Low, L. (2010). Nurses’ role in the early defibrillation of cardiac patients:
Implications for nursing in Hong Kong. Contemporary Nurse, 35(1), pp.88-94.
Scharton, K. (2013). Reforming Nurses: Historicizing the Carnegie Foundation’s Report on
Educating Nurses. Nursing History Review, 21(1), pp.97-108.
Traynor, M. (2013). Nursing in context. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Traynor, M. (2017). Critical Resilience for Nurses. London: Taylor and Francis.
White, B. (2008). Drugs, ethics, and quality of life. New York: Informa Healthcare.