Nursing Care for Femural Fracture
Introduction
As Donahue (1996) writes, the origin of the words "nurse" and "nursing" are varied, and shift in meaning as reflected in the perception of nursing's role in health care and in society. From nursing's earliest Latin derivative from nutrire, "to nourish," and nurse, nutrix, meaning "nursing mother," Donahue (1996) continues, " the meaning of the word [nurse] has progressed from a term indicating a woman who performed the basic unlearned human activity of suckling an infant to one describing a person who is part of a highly learned, sophisticated profession."
Integral to the progression of nursing from perceived "mother-care" to professional was the contribution of Florence Nightingale (Kenworthy, Snowley & Gilling, 2002). As far back as 1860, Florence Nightingale recognized the importance of theory and process in health care, and her message has gotten stronger as the years have progressed (Kenworthy, Sonwley & Gilling, 2002). Nurses in the United Kingdom today are trained in clinical practice and, as established by Nightingale, demonstrates the importance of following defined methods, theories and practices (Aggleton & Chalmers, 2000).
Nursing theories arouse out of the need to define the role of nursing as a profession and to begin thinking theoretically about nursing (Tierney, 1998) whilst moving away from medical orientation (Wimpenny, 2002). Utilising nursing theory allows for the empowerment and autonomy of the nurse (Holland, 2003), providing the nurse with a clear sense of purpose and their role within the multidisciplinary team (Colley, 2003). It is vital however not to be too caught up in the idea of theory for theory's sake, but to remember that theory has arisen out of a need to improve the care that nurses provide (Fraser, 1996). Regardless of the specific practice model or theory nurses follow, first and foremost nurses must adhere to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2004) code of professional conduct. The code
As Donahue (1996) writes, the origin of the words "nurse" and "nursing" are varied, and shift in meaning as reflected in the perception of nursing's role in health care and in society. From nursing's earliest Latin derivative from nutrire, "to nourish," and nurse, nutrix, meaning "nursing mother," Donahue (1996) continues, " the meaning of the word [nurse] has progressed from a term indicating a woman who performed the basic unlearned human activity of suckling an infant to one describing a person who is part of a highly learned, sophisticated profession."
Integral to the progression of nursing from perceived "mother-care" to professional was the contribution of Florence Nightingale (Kenworthy, Snowley & Gilling, 2002). As far back as 1860, Florence Nightingale recognized the importance of theory and process in health care, and her message has gotten stronger as the years have progressed (Kenworthy, Sonwley & Gilling, 2002). Nurses in the United Kingdom today are trained in clinical practice and, as established by Nightingale, demonstrates the importance of following defined methods, theories and practices (Aggleton & Chalmers, 2000).
Nursing theories arouse out of the need to define the role of nursing as a profession and to begin thinking theoretically about nursing (Tierney, 1998) whilst moving away from medical orientation (Wimpenny, 2002). Utilising nursing theory allows for the empowerment and autonomy of the nurse (Holland, 2003), providing the nurse with a clear sense of purpose and their role within the multidisciplinary team (Colley, 2003). It is vital however not to be too caught up in the idea of theory for theory's sake, but to remember that theory has arisen out of a need to improve the care that nurses provide (Fraser, 1996). Regardless of the specific practice model or theory nurses follow, first and foremost nurses must adhere to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2004) code of professional conduct. The code