The American Nurses Association (2016) defines nursing in this way:
“Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individu- als, families, groups, communities, and populations” (para. 1). Thus the focus of nursing is on human responses to actual or potential health problems and advo- cacy for various clients. These human responses are varied and may change over
8 CHAPteR 1 Nursing Science and the Foundation of Knowledge
time in a single case. Nurses must possess the technical skills to manage equip- ment and perform procedures, the interpersonal skills to interact appropriately with people, and the cognitive skills to observe, recognize, and collect data; ana- lyze and interpret data; and reach a reasonable conclusion that forms the basis of a decision. At the heart of all of these skills lies the management of data and information. This definition of nursing science focuses on the ethical application of knowledge acquired through education, research, and practice to provide ser- vices and interventions to patients to maintain, enhance, or restore their health and to acquire, process, generate, and disseminate nursing knowledge to advance the nursing profession.