The essentiality of nursing in modern health systems

From Firenze University Press Journal: Infermieristica journal

Loredana Sasso, Full Professor, RN, Università di Genova

Since Florence Nightingale, the essentiality of the nursing profession has seen a constant expansion; particularly, the variation and contextualization of this profession over time and across societies has laid the foundations of the nursing discipline. Nowadays, the essentiality of nursing is constantly being supported by the concept of need and the ability of the nurses to respond to it (i.e., in terms of education, care, rehabilitation, and end-of-life support). The concept of need was dominant in the early stages of nursing care theorization.

The essential nature of nursing can be drawn from the three fundamental questions that de!ne nursing as a scientific discipline and contextualize it over time: What do nurses do? How? With what results?

In order to answer these three questions today, an analysis of the recent progress of the healthcare systems is pivotal. Specifically, the last decade has been characterized by a significant epidemiological transition that includes longer life expectancy, socioeconomic improvement in many countries, and the introduction of new technology, which in turn, have improved the caring process.The National Health plans and the World Health Organization (WHO) place the nursing profession at the center of future healthcare, particularly at the center of a proactive healthcare system in the community. In The State of the World’s Nursing 2020 report presented for the World Health Day, the WHO made “a stark reminder of the unique role that nurses play and a wakeup call to ensure they get the support they need to keep the world healthy”. However, the problem of excessive workload and staffing continues to be the “two elephants in the room” (i.e., those problems that everyone knows but prefers to ignore) that can only be solved by investments, scienti!c evidence, and nursing leadership.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/if-1907

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