(nŭrs'ing )

1. The care and nurturing of healthy and ill people, individually or in groups and communities. The American Nurses Association identifies four essential features of contemporary nursing practice: attention to the full range of human experiences and responses to health and illness without restriction to a problem-focused orientation; integration of objective data with knowledge gained from an understand ing of the patient or group's subjective experience; application of scientific knowledge to the processes of diagnosis and treatment; and provision of a caring relationship that facilitates health and healing.

   SEE: nurse.

2. Breast-feeding.

advanced practice n.Primary medical care provided by nurses prepared at the master's or doctoral level, including nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse anesthetists. These nurses may practice independently or with a supervising or collaborating physician.

barrier n.A form of infection control in which gloves, gowns, and masks are used to prevent the spread of contagious illnesses in health care settings. Situations calling for these precautions include care of patients with gas gangrene, fulminant sepsis, burns, tuberculosis, and other highly contagious conditions.SYN: bedside isolation.

disaster n.Nursing that meets specific disaster nursing competencies and is provided to victims of disaster.

forensic n.A subspecialty of nursing requiring formal preparation (a master's or other postgraduate degree) in which nurses conduct sexual assault examinations and participate in a wide variety of other legal matters affecting health care.

geriatric n.The branch of nursing concerned with the care of the older population, including promotion of healthy aging as well as prevention, assessment, and management of physiological, pathological, psychological, economic, and sociological problems. SYN: gerontological nursing.

gerontological n.Geriatric nursing.

holistic n.The art and science of caring for the whole person.

SEE: holism.

preventive n.The branch of nursing concerned with preventing the occurrence of both mental and physical illness and disease. The nurse is an essential part of the health care team and has the opportunity to emphasize and implement health care services to promote health and prevent disease. Nursing expertise and general professional competence can also be used in supporting community action at all levels in order to promote public health measures. There are three levels of preventive nursing:

Primary. Nursing care aimed at general health promotion. This includes intervention necessary to provide a health-promoting environment at home, in the schools, in public places, and in the workplace by ensuring good nutrition, adequate clothing and shelter, rest and recreation, and health education (including sex education and , for the aging group, plans for retirement). Areas of emphasis are specific protective measures such as immunizations, environmental sanitation, accident prevention, and protection from occupational hazards. Changes in lifestyle through behavior therapy, although difficult, must be attempted in those areas known to represent major health risk factors, i.e., smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, improper diet, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and unsafe sex, and falls. Major efforts must be made to prevent automobile accidents.

Secondary. Nursing care aimed at early recognition and treatment of disease. It includes general nursing interventions and teaching of early signs of disease. Infectious diseases, glaucoma, obesity, and cancer fall into this category.

Tertiary. Nursing care for patients with incurable diseases, e.g., Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, or cancer, and patient instruction on how to manage them. The goal is to prevent further deterioration of physical and mental function and to have the patient use residual function for maximum enjoyment of and participation in life. Rehabilitation is an essential part of tertiary prevention.

SEE: preventive medicine; public health.

primary n.A nursing system in which all nursing care for a patient is managed by one nurse for a 24-hr period. Primary nursing includes scheduling of activities, tests, and procedures.