Nurses play a major role in modern healthcare. A central and important role. Sometimes an under-appreciated and misunderstood role. But we need nurses. Let us look at a few aspects of nurses and nursing care…

  • In modern healthcare a nurse is a person who is a trained professional involved in the delivery of healthcare and the support of patients generally.
  • Nurses are often the frontline of healthcare and the most involved in direct “hands-on” patient care. This is especially true in hospital settings.
  • Nurse training ranges from basic (a year or so of on-the job “apprentice-like”) to intermediate (usually a 2-3 year diploma) to advanced (often involves university degrees and many years of formal training). Almost all forms of nurse training include forms of “working training” where nurses train with actual patients, under supervision.
  • Many nurses are generalists while some are specialised (e.g. in operating theatre work, in childbirth, in psychiatry, etc.). Modern-day specialist nurses have extensive technical knowledge and competence.
  • Many nurses work in clinics and in hospitals while others work in private-healthcare setting such as private medical practices.
  • Some nurses specialise in the management of clinics and hospitals, taking roles as practice- managers, hospital matrons, unit managers and hospital managers.
  • Some nurses have training, qualifications, and certifications that allow them to make actual diagnoses and treatment-decisions (roles that were historically restricted to doctors mostly), sometimes as part of teams that include doctors and sometimes entirely independently.
  • Historically, nursing has been a female-dominated field, but this has been changing over several decades now, in line with broader society shifts towards much less rigid gender-driven roles in many areas.
  • In most parts of the world, nurses are well paid but there remains a view that nurses are still underpaid for the vital work they perform.

Nursing is a classical vocation or “calling”. The work is important, demanding and varied. The roles involved are quite varied as is the training required. Modern healthcare would come to a grinding halt without nurses. We should all appreciate and recognise the value that nurses add to our world.

Written by Dr Colin Burns