1. Monica Contreras James Madison University Fall 2016
NURSING
Monica Contreras
James Madison University
Fall 2016

2. What is Nursing?
“Nursing, as an integral part of the health care system, encompasses the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and care of physically ill, mentally ill, and disabled people of all ages, in all health care and other community settings” (International Council of Nurses, 2016).

3. Myths About Nursing
In % of nurses were males (United States Census Bureau, 2013).
Nurses are within the first 5 occupations that suffer musculoskeletal injuries (United States Department of Labor, 2013).
“Nurses are the limbs and doctors are the eyes and brains” (Nursing Degree Guide, n.d.).
“Nurses practice in over 200 different specialties” (Cipriano, 2016).
“Nurses choose the profession for a variety of reasons, but the close interaction and bonding with patients allows them to make a difference in patients' lives” (Kaplan University, 2016).
Only women can be nurses.
Nursing is a simple job.
Nurses are just the doctor’s helper.
All nurses are the same.
Nurses are people who couldn’t get into med school.

4. Characteristics of a Nurse
Nurses are:
Advocates – “Nurses have a responsibility to advocate for the rights, values, wellbeing and best interests of patients” (Choi, 2015, p.57).
Compassionate – “Compassionate care is a key product of healthcare providers and is expected by the public” (Davison & Williams, 2009, para. 1).
Critical Thinkers – “defined as information gathering, focusing, remembering, organizing, analyzing, generating, integrating and evaluating” (The Critical Thinking Community, 2008, para 8).
Managers - “The nurse first identifies the most important activities that often are related to patient care and safety issue”. (Blevins, 2016).
Leaders - “Qualities include flexibility, clinical expertise, and administrative capability” (Dyess, Sherman, Pratt & Chiang-Hanisko, 2016, para 10).
Educators – “patient and family education being one of the most important elements, to ensure there is continuity of care across the continuum for all care settings” (Marshall, Dall’Oglio, Davis, Verret, & Jones, 2016, para 2).

5. Where do Nurses Work Hospitals Schools Universities Clinics Homes
Long-Term Care Institutions
Non-Profit Organizations
War Zones and Military Bases
Correctional facilities

6. How I chose Nursing Guatemalan Medical Mission trips
Opportunities to Serve
Love for Medical Field
Pediatric Nursing

7. Pediatric Nursing
Pediatric Nurses provide Care to infants, children and adolescents until the age of 18.
Roles of a pediatric nurse:
-Patient Advocate
Recognize abnormal findings in assessment
Administer medications based on age-appropriate guidelines
Determine patient’s needs

8. How can nurses grow in their profession?
Continuing Education: RN-BSN, BSN-MSN, Online Courses.
Certifications: Med-Surge, Pediatrics, Advacned Oncology Certified Nurse…
Advanced Degrees: MSN, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Anesthesist.
Advance Clinical Ladders: Clinician I, II, III Etc..
Nurse Educators: Clinical Instructors, Professors, Staff Educators.
Community leadership: ANA, VNA… etc.

9. References
Blevins, S. (2016). Nurses as Educators. Foundation for New Graduate Nurse Success. MEDSURG Nursing, 25(3),
Choi, P. (2015). Patient advocacy: the role of the nurse. Nursing standard. 29(41). Retrieved from:
Cipriano. P. (2016). Four myths about nurses. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from:
Davison, N., Williams, K. (2009). Compassion in nursing: defining, identifying and measuring this essential quality. Nursing Times. 105(36). Retrieved from: nursing-1-defining-identifying-and-measuring-this-essential-quality-/ article
Dyess, S., Sherman, R., Chiang-Hanisko, L. (2016). Growing nurse leaders: their perspectives on nursing leadership and today’s practice environment. The online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 21(1). Retrieved from: /No1-Jan-2016/Articles-Previous-Topics/Growing-Nurse-Leaders.html
International council of Nurses. (n.d.). Definition of nursing. Retrieved from: definition-of-nursing/

10. References
Kaplan University. (2016). Nine major misconceptions about nursing. Retrieved from:
Marshall, L., Dall’Oglio, I., Davis, D., Verret, G., & Jones, T. (2016). Nurses as educators within health systems. Reflections of Nursing leadership. Retrieved from: on.aspx
Nursing Degree Guide. (n.d.). The differences between a nurse and a doctor. Retrieved from: doctor/
The Critical Thinking Community. (2008). Critical thinking and nursing. Retrieved from:
United States Department of Labor. (2013). Economics news release. Retrieved from:
United States Census Bureau. (2013). Men in nursing occupations. Retrieved from: