Introduction
The term nursing has its usage borrowed from medieval periods. The term is very common in many countries in the world today. Its first time use is identified in the Biblical story of St. Paul Church. It is said that Paul would send men to preach and they would be accompanied by a nurse. Its most notable use in the recent times is in America and Canada (White & Truax 2007).
Meaning of nursing
In the mentioned Countries the term nursing means a person who helps people who are either sickly or injured to recover. The nursing could be exercised in hospitals or at war zones whereby the injured are attended to. The term is very popular in many countries nowadays. In some instances the term refers to the act of taking care without necessarily having an existence of a profession (White & Truax 2007).
In the most applicable definition nursing refers to a profession which is concerned with health care. It therefore means that nursing has its focus on the safeguarding the health of sick individuals in the family or elsewhere. The greatest distinction which can be drawn between nurses and other care providers is based on the fact that their training on patient care is very different (Henderson & Vesperi 1995).
Nursing Values
Nursing just like any other profession has numerous values that ought to be observed. In assessing the different values it is worth noting that nursing has many values considered to be core. To start with a nurse is required to exercise compassion in dealing with patients. The feeling entails a great concern on the lives of the people he or she is handling. This personal value is based on the fact that patients are not in the health care out of their free will (White & Truax 2007).
Secondly a nurse is supposed to be empathetic. This entails the ability to share the feelings that the patients are experiencing. The rationale for being emphatic is that patients feel understood and that helps in improving their state of mind in regards to the sickness. A nurse by being empathetic respects the values and feelings of the patient (Mcsherry Mcsherry & Watson 2012).
Thirdly a nurse is supposed to be selfless. This means a sense of devotion whereby the wellbeing other people become more important than the nurse. This value makes a nurse view a patients life to be of a grave importance (White & Truax 2007).
Fourth a nurse is supposed to portray a sense of self awareness. Its otherwise known as emotional intelligence. A nurse ought to understand the way he or she thinks and acts since it assists in making sure that situations are dealt with basing on that understanding. Situations whereby the nurse may get affected need to be understood so that they can be handled by a nurse who is not adversely affected (Henderson & Vesperi 1995).
Some of the values that I have brought in the profession are selfless emphatic and self awareness. I believe that the three are very essential in strengthening the nursing profession.
Conclusion
There are many descriptions to the word nursing. Its wide usage has been through existence many meanings attached to it. The values attached to the profession are very many and they ought to be cultivated for the thriving of the profession.