To future nurses everywhere: May you thrive and grow, and learn from your patients every day.
To our students who helped shape this text: Thank you for your insights, wisdom, and future thinking.
Chapter One: Influences on Contemporary Nursing Practice
Chapter Two: Professional Identity and Nurse Self-Care
Chapter Three: Legal and Ethical Considerations
Chapter Four: Evidence-Based Practice, Safety, and Quality Improvement
Chapter Five: Cultural Considerations and the Art and Science of Patient-Centered Caring
Chapter Six: Healthcare Systems, Organizations, and Informatics
Chapter Seven: Collaboration and Teamwork
Chapter Eight: Educational Preparation, Licensure and Certification Requirements, and Professional Organizations
Nursing is considered both a science and an art. As a result, it requires a specialized body of knowledge and specific technical skills to provide care for individuals in various states of wellness and illness. Nursing care takes place in many settings: Hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care, health departments, community clinics, schools, and corrections facilities – just to name a few. Nurses are constantly on the frontlines of healthcare, caring for people every day.
Nursing has been voted the most trusted profession for the past 17 years (Brenan, 2018). The public is most aware of the caring component; however, another side is often overlooked – the science. Healthcare is based on a strong foundation in the natural and social sciences. Nurses blend scientific principles from biology, psychology, and sociology with practice standards and “an insightful and compassionate approach to patient care” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, and Hall, p. 1, 2017). A competent nurse also masters the art of nursing which encompasses emotional intelligence, empathy, and critical thinking.
This open textbook will help students:
Content areas include:
Subject matter is supported by evidence-based nursing research, professional standards, Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN, 2019) competencies, online resources, and nursing textbooks. The authors hope this open textbook will help students be more confident in mastery of this introductory material.
Debbie Amason, DNP, MS, RN (Professor)
Paula Stover, DNP, RN, CNS (Associate Professor)