剑桥医学英语 Lesson 7-Supplementary Text (Nurses As a Profession)

Nurses As a Profession

Nurses care for individuals of all ages and cultural backgrounds who are healthy and ill in a holistic manner based on the individual's physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs. The profession combines physical science, social science, nursing theory, and technology in caring for those individuals.

Nurses comprise the largest component of most healthcare environments.Nurses practice in a wide range of settings including hospitals, private homes, schools, and pharmaceutical companies,long-term care facilitiesand in the military service.

Many nurses follow the traditional role of working in a hospital setting, but there are many other options nurses can explore depending on the type of degree and education acquired. In the U.S., Nurse practitioners (NPs) are allowed to provide a broad range of health care services,  which may include: taking the person’s history, performing a physical exam, and ordering laboratory tests and procedures, diagnosing, treating, and managing diseases, writing prescriptions and coordinating referrals, providing education on disease prevention and healthy lifestyles.

Nurses are not doctors’ assistants. This is possible in certain situations, but nurses more often are independently caring for their patients or assisting other nurses. Nurses will assist doctors in the emergency room or in trauma care when help is needed.