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The 'introduction to healthcare' provides a foundational overview that sets the stage for learning about specific roles, such as nursing, within the healthcare system.

Introduction to Nursing

fundamentals professional_practice nursing_process patient_safety communication ethics_and_law evidence_based_practice informatics quality_improvement health_promotion assessment skills leadership_and_management community_health documentation cultural_competence patient_education scope_of_practice
Nursing is a patient-centered, evidence-informed healthcare profession focused on promoting health, preventing illness, and providing holistic care across the lifespan. Nurses use clinical judgment, the nursing process, and collaborative teamwork to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care in diverse settings. Professional practice is grounded in ethics, safety, communication, cultural responsiveness, and lifelong learning.

What Is Nursing?

Nursing is a science and an art that focuses on promoting health, preventing illness, alleviating suffering, and advocating for individuals, families, communities, and populations. Nurses deliver holistic, person-centered care by integrating clinical knowledge, therapeutic communication, cultural responsiveness, and ethical decision-making.

Roles and Care Settings

Nurses practice in many roles and environments, collaborating across the healthcare team:

  • Roles: Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN), Registered Nurse (RN), Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN: NP, CNS, CRNA, CNM), nurse educator, nurse leader/manager, public health nurse, informatics nurse.
  • Settings: Hospitals, clinics, long-term care, home health, hospice, schools, public health, occupational health, mental health, rehabilitation, community organizations, and telehealth.

Core Competencies

  • Clinical judgment and critical thinking: Interpreting data and making sound, timely decisions.
  • Therapeutic communication: Building trust, using active listening, and providing clear, compassionate information.
  • Culturally responsive care: Respecting beliefs, values, and health practices; addressing social determinants of health.
  • Patient safety: Preventing harm through risk recognition, standard precautions, and safe systems.
  • Teamwork and collaboration: Coordinating care with interprofessional teams.
  • Informatics and technology: Using electronic health records, decision support, and telehealth effectively and securely.
  • Evidence-based practice: Integrating best evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences.
  • Teaching and health promotion: Educating patients and communities to support self-management and wellness.
  • Quality improvement: Using data to improve processes and outcomes.
  • Professionalism and ethics: Upholding standards, accountability, and advocacy.

The Nursing Process

The nursing process provides a systematic, patient-centered framework for care:

  • Assessment: Collect comprehensive data (history, physical exam, diagnostics, psychosocial and cultural factors).
  • Diagnosis/Analysis: Interpret data to identify actual or potential health problems and responses.
  • Planning: Set measurable goals/outcomes and select evidence-based interventions in partnership with the patient.
  • Implementation: Deliver interventions safely and efficiently; coordinate care and provide education.
  • Evaluation: Assess outcomes, modify the plan as needed, and document results.

Patient-Centered and Culturally Responsive Care

Care is guided by what matters to the patient. Nurses support shared decision-making, respect cultural beliefs and language needs, use teach-back to confirm understanding, and tailor interventions to literacy levels, preferences, and social context.

Safety and Quality

  • Apply standard and transmission-based precautions; practice hand hygiene consistently.
  • Use medication safety strategies (e.g., two identifiers, rights of medication administration, high-alert safeguards).
  • Prevent falls, pressure injuries, and catheter-associated infections through risk assessment and bundles.
  • Report and learn from errors and near-misses within a Just Culture; use checklists and protocols to reduce variability.

Interprofessional Collaboration and Delegation

Effective teams use clear communication (e.g., SBAR), mutual respect, and role clarity. Delegation requires matching tasks to the right person and situation while maintaining accountability.

  • Five rights of delegation: right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction/communication, right supervision/evaluation.

Evidence-Based Practice and Informatics

  • Formulate answerable clinical questions (e.g., PICO), appraise evidence, and integrate with expertise and patient values.
  • Document promptly, accurately, objectively, and securely; protect confidentiality and follow regulations.
  • Leverage EHRs, clinical decision support, and telehealth to enhance coordination, safety, and access.

Legal, Ethical, and Professional Standards

  • Ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, fidelity, veracity.
  • Obtain informed consent, honor advance directives, and practice within scope and standards.
  • Maintain licensure, competency, and accountability; follow policies and laws, including mandatory reporting requirements.

Lifelong Learning and Well-Being

Nursing requires continual growth through education, certification, reflection, and feedback. Personal well-being—sleep, nutrition, stress management, and resilience—supports safe, compassionate practice and helps prevent burnout.

Career Pathways

Nurses can specialize (e.g., medical-surgical, critical care, pediatrics, maternal-newborn, mental health, community health, oncology, perioperative), advance into leadership, education, or advanced practice, and contribute to research and policy to improve health outcomes.

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Pop Quiz
Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level:
True or False:

Nurses are responsible for providing compassionate, patient-centered care in a variety of healthcare settings.

Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level:
True or False:

Nurses play a critical role in assessing patient health and administering treatments.

Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level:
Multiple Choice:

Which core principle of nursing focuses on the patient's unique needs and preferences?

Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level: 3
True or False:

The five rights of delegation are the right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction/communication, and right supervision/evaluation.

Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level: 2
Fill in the Blank:

The SBAR communication framework stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and _____

Topic: introduction_to_nursing
Level: 3
Multiple Choice:

Which of the following is NOT one of the Five Rights of Delegation in nursing practice?

Next Topic
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Patient Assessment
Patient assessment is a fundamental skill that follows from understanding the basics of nursing, as it is essential for providing effective care.
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Introduction To Healthcare
Nursing is a fundamental component of the broader healthcare system, providing essential care and services.
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Therapeutic Communication
Therapeutic communication is a fundamental skill taught in nursing education that follows the introduction to nursing, as it is essential for effective patient care and interaction.
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Health Promotion
Understanding the fundamental aspects of nursing naturally leads to a focus on health promotion, as nurses play a key role in educating and encouraging patients to maintain or improve their health.