Explore Nursing
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Nursing Courses
Nursing is the backbone of the healthcare industry, and students looking to go to nursing school can look to Study.com to confirm their interests.
Explore our full library of nursing courses:
What is Nursing?
Nursing is defined as the compassionate medical care of all people in any and all sets of circumstances, and includes the alleviation of suffering and the treatment and prevention of disease through diagnosis and the application of evidence-based practices. Nurses also care for the disabled, the chronically ill, and those who are dying, and advocate for appropriate care in communities, health policies, and organizations.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) provides standards of professional nursing practice and standards of professional performance for nurses working in the United States. Under these standards, the care provided by a nurse must be ethical, based in cultural inclusion and diversity, involve appropriate communication and collaboration with the patient and other healthcare providers, based in a comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of nursing practice and medical knowledge, involve evidence-based research and practices, and utilize the appropriate, available resources. The nurse practitioner must also exhibit leadership skills and provide the highest quality care possible, evaluate their own practice and those of their peers, and keep in mind environmental safety and health. Nurses are accountable and autonomous caregivers, patient advocates, health educators, effective communicators, and may also be nursing or healthcare managers.
The ANA's Standards of Professional Nursing Practice for registered nurses (RNs) are as follows:
- Assessment — RNs collect pertinent information regarding the patient's health situation.
- Diagnosis — RNs use this collected data along with an inspection of the patient to determine the initial diagnosis for their health condition.
- Outcomes Identification — RNs identify the possible outcomes of a treatment plan for the patient's diagnosed condition.
- Planning — RNs decide on a treatment plan that implements strategies that will provide the best, measurable outcome for their patient.
- Implementation — RNs implement the treatment plan previously decided-upon. This involves (a) Coordination of Care, in which RNs oversee and coordinate treatment, and (b) Health Teaching and Promotion, which involves the RNs explaining and employing strategies for promoting patient health.
- Evaluation — Finally, RNs evaluate the patient's progress toward those measurable outcomes of health.
Unique Nursing Jobs
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While many of us are familiar with the nurses that we see in doctors' offices for regular check-ups, there are many types of nurses in different specialties throughout the medical field. All nurses are extremely important and necessary to the health of our communities, making nursing both an essential and fulfilling career. If you're an aspiring nurse or looking to switch to a different nursing field, there are some interesting and out-of-the-box options you can consider, including being a camp nurse, ER trauma nurse, or flight nurse. Take a look at our resources below for more information on what kinds of specialties exist, what those roles entail, and how to start a career in those areas.
Interesting Nursing Jobs
Nurses play a vital role in the health and safety of our communities around the world, so they are not limited to working primarily in doctor's offices and hospitals. There will always be a need for someone to provide some type of medical attention at any given moment, regardless of the time or location, and nurses are often the ones who give that medical care. Amongst the variety of ways to practice nursing, there are some very interesting paths to take in your nursing career that you may not have thought of - here are some examples:
- Amusement Park Nurse: While walking around an amusement park, you might wonder how people quickly get help if they get an injury or are faced with another health issue. This is where amusement park nurses come in. Because theme parks are so large and are like communities within themselves, many amusement parks hire on-site nurses to ensure the safety of their guests and to provide and assess necessary and initial medical attention.
- Travel Nurse: A key part of working as a travel nurse is - you guessed it - traveling! If a hospital or medical facility is in need of temporary assistance, travel nurses are there to help fill in. This career path can take people across the country, depending on where they are needed, so this nursing job may seem especially interesting to those who love to always be on the move in their career.
- Forensic Nurse: In order to properly care for victims of crime, it not only takes great knowledge of medicine, but also a strong understanding of forensics and law to help with court proceedings, as well as the ability to be empathetic toward sensitive or traumatic patient situations. Forensic nurses take on these important tasks in order to ensure that victims are respected and cared for, and so justice is given in the eyes of the law.
- Cruise Ship Nurse: If you're intrigued by traveling and experiencing the open sea, then being a cruise ship nurse might be the right choice for you. Because cruise ships board hundreds or thousands of passengers and can be very far from land, it is very important that they staff medical professionals to ensure that the ship's passengers and crew receive proper medical care.
- Military Nurse: Joining the military is not restricted to just offensive forces, there are also protective roles to provide medical aid to the branch's members, whether in active combat areas or in military clinics and hospitals. For nurses who want to serve in the United States Armed Forces, you have the option of working in the Navy, Army, or Air Force, with each branch having its own requirements to be a nurse.
- Toxicology Nurse: Poisons come in many forms, and toxicology nurses are specialized to understand how to care for patients who have been exposed to some kind of poison, whether it is through insect/animal contact, breathing in chemicals/poisons in the air, accidental ingestion of a harmful substance, or any other situation in which some external substance has negatively affected a human. Toxicology nurses can work in many settings, including hospitals, call centers, and poison control centers.
- Correctional Nurse: These nurses are extremely important because they provide medical care to inmates in correctional facilities, ensuring that inmates with existing medical conditions receive proper care, as well as caring for any new injuries or health concerns that occur during their time at the correctional facility. As this may be an especially challenging setting to work in because of the inherent trauma that many inmates have, it is important that those interested in correctional nursing are properly prepared and understand the services available to them.
- Infection Control Nurse: Hospitals and medical facilities are the perfect candidates for the spread of disease, and infection control nurses are there to make sure that the workers and patients are safe. They are trained in understanding how infectious diseases and outbreaks work, how to treat them, and how to make sure their medical facility can best take precautions and safety measures to prevent further spreading.