It is a fundamental part of the health system. These personnel fulfill important functions in the process of supporting and treating patients, as well as in health promotion and prevention activities for different diseases. All these activities are known as nursing care.
The nursing staff has specializations, like the medical team, that allow them to direct efforts to specific groups of patients. The career is not the same everywhere and also does not imply the same study times everywhere. In some places it is done in tertiary institutes and in others it is taken at the university.
Main nursing care
Nursing care encompasses several types of actions, including:
Monitor vital signs. The nursing staff is the first care-type contact with the health system, being the one who collects the data related to the reason for consultation, as well as the determination of fundamental parameters such as vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate , respiratory rate and temperature).
Carry out some procedures. Nurses perform procedures such as peripheral line catheterization, placement of some types of tubes, and various types of dressings and drains.
Apply medications. The administration of the medications indicated by the doctor in the patient's history is the responsibility of this professional area.
Assist the doctor in various procedures. Many procedures require the support of the nursing staff to be carried out. This is the case of scrub nurses who support surgeons during surgical acts, the auxiliary personnel who accompany the specialist when carrying out studies such as endoscopies, gynecological exams, biopsies, removing skin lesions, placing immobilizations or healing wounds.
Health promotion activities. Nurses are very supportive when implementing programs to promote health such as prenatal check-ups, well-child check-ups, and healthy adult check-ups.
Preventive activities. Preventive activities are of great importance for public health, one of the most important is the vaccination of the population.
A field that goes beyond the hospital
Although the vast majority of these activities are carried out within the hospital environment, many of them are carried out both in the patient's home and in transport and life support units such as ambulances, in their workplace or even in public settings .
In all the health actions carried out by the doctors, it was the consultation era and the hospital environment is usually supported by the corresponding nursing care.
