This article focuses on the history and practice of nursing. See the article Nurses for more information on the education and regulation of nurses. For nursing in the sense of breastfeeding, see Breastfeeding.

Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families and communities in attaining, re-attaining and maintaining optimal health and functioning. Modern definitions of nursing define it as a science and an art that focuses on promoting quality of life as defined by persons and families, throughout their life experiences from birth to care at the end of life.

History of nursing

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Nursing / Midwifery News From Medical News Today

Rising Gas Prices Affecting Home Health Care Workers; Industry Considers Replacing Rural Visits With Remote Monitoring
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0700
Rising fuel prices are causing financial strain for some home health care workers and the industry is considering replacing some services in rural areas with remote monitoring systems, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.
Frontline Health Staff See Individual Tragedies Of Alcohol Misuse Problems In England
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0700
According to government figures published today, 811,000 people were admitted to hospital with alcohol misuse problems in 2006 in England. The figures hide the individual tragedies that hospital frontline staff see everyday, says the British Medical Association (BMA).
Association Of Academic Health Centers Calls For National Plan To Recruit, Retain Health Care Workers
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0700
The Association of Academic Health Centers on Thursday during a briefing said that the federal government needs to help develop a national plan to recruit and retain health care workers to meet increased demand as the U.S. population ages,

Journal of Research in Nursing current issue

Nursing research and the cults of phenomenology
Porter, S. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0000

Commentary
le May, A. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0000

On the constitution and status of 'evidence' in the health sciences
Murray, S. J, Holmes, D., Rail, G. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0000
AbstractDrawing on the philosophy of Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, this paper interrogates the constitution of ‘evidence' that defines the evidence-based movement in the health sciences. What are the current social and political conditions under which scientific knowledge appears to be ‘true'? Foucault describes these conditions as state ‘science', a regime that privileges economic modes of governance and efficiency. Today, the Cochrane taxonomy and research database is increasingly endorsed by government and public health policy makers. Although this ‘evidence-based' paradigm ostensibly promotes the noble ideal of ‘true knowledge' free from political bias, in reality, this apparent neutrality is dangerous because it masks the methods by which power silently operates to inscribe rigid norms and to ensure political dominance. Through the practice of critique, this paper begins to expose and to politicise the workings of this power, ultimately suggesting that scholars are in a privileged position to oppose such regimes and foremost have the duty to politicise what hides behind the distortion and misrepresentation of ‘evidence'.

Evidence-Based Nursing current issue

[Purpose and procedure] Purpose and procedure
Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0000

[EBN notebook] Economic evaluation of healthcare technologies using primary research
Soares, M., Dumville, J. C Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0000

[Treatment] Review: venepuncture is less painful than heel lance for blood sampling in neonates
Mainous, R. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0000


Research in Nursing & Health

Conceptualizing and measuring illness self-concept: A comparison with self-esteem and optimism in predicting fibromyalgia adjustment
Jessica M. Morea, Ronald Friend, Robert M. Bennett Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:26:00 -0000
Illness self-concept (ISC), or the extent to which individuals are consumed by their illness, was theoretically described and evaluated with the Illness Self-Concept Scale (ISCS), a new 23-item scale, to predict adjustment in fibromyalgia. To establish convergent and discriminant validity, illness self-concept was compared to self-esteem and optimism in predicting health status, illness intrusiveness, depression, and life satisfaction. The ISCS demonstrated good reliability ([alpha] = .94; test-retest r = .80) and was a strong predictor of outcomes, even after controlling for optimism or self-esteem. The ISCS predicted unique variance in health-related outcomes; optimism and self-esteem did not, providing construct validation. Illness self-concept may play a significant role in coping with fibromyalgia and may prove useful in the evaluation of other chronic illnesses. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health
Hitting the bull's eye rather than shooting yourself between the eyes
Robin D. Froman Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:45:00 -0000
No Abstract.
Measuring satisfaction with nursing care among hospitalized patients: Refinement of a Spanish version
Jean W. Lange, Elaine Yellen Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:20:00 -0000
This study was designed to improve the psychometrics of English and Spanish measures of hospitalized patients' satisfaction with nursing care. One hundred Spanish-speaking participants in the northeastern and southwestern United States completed a new 20-item Spanish version; 64 of the same participants also completed the English version. Correlations between item pairs (p < .001, r = .56-.96) and total scores of both versions (r = .92, p < .01), and similar factor structures support equivalence of the two versions. Evidence for construct validity is also presented. Results surpass standards for new instruments and support the utility of this much needed, bilingual measure of inpatient satisfaction with nursing care. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health

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