nurse
Nurses are an integral part of the medical workforce. They make up the bulk of employees in NHS and private hospitals, and provide an invaluable patient care service.
Nursing is generally divided into four distinct areas - adult nursing, child nursing, learning disability nursing and mental health care nursing.
Adult nursing is the largest of the four branches of nursing, and involves care of adults in hospitals or out in the community. Within this branch there are many further areas of specialism. For instance, a nurse may choose to concentrate in specific hospital functions, such as theatre or running a day ward. Alternatively, they may choose to specialise in a certain type of illness, such as providing care for HIV patients.
Child nursing is the care of sick and injured children, generally in a hospital setting. This could involve care for newborn babies in intensive care units right through to teenagers who have broken a bone or are suffering from a terminal illness.
Learning disability nursing is all about caring for people of all ages with learning disabilities and encouraging them to become as independent as possible, whilst mental health nursing involves care of the mentally ill.
Regardless of which discipline a nurse concentrates their energy in, patient care and the care of a patient's immediate family is always their number-one priority.
For more information on nurses and nursing please review the resources on our site.