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PERSONAL DEFINITION
The Science and Art of Nursing
Nursing carries the unique requirement that one must be both scientist and artist combined. I define the science of nursing as any use of the mind and the art as any use of heart. Science can be taught through conventional means, such as training. There are guidelines and standards as well as tools and procedures in science. Whereas the art of nursing is intangible, and can only learned through experience. Art involves instinct, and improvisation.
Due to the demands of the job of a nurse, and the gravity their actions carry, there is the foremost need to be decisive and informed. Nurses cannot provide quality care unless they are knowledgeable. Preparedness through continuing education and the way skills are demonstrated in life equate the science of nursing. A nurse’s conduct is largely based on training, especially in emergencies. In order to control chaos and save lives, the science they rely on is crucial.
Unfortunately for many scientists, the challenge to learn and practice at the level expected of them can take a toll on their general outlook. A scrupulous eye is of little use to a nurse if it overlooks the patient for the data. Therefore, a nurse must disregard the stringent demeanor of most scientists to remain open-minded and attentive to the person behind the facts. Therefore, nurses should be empathetic and compassionate. To the people nurses care for, so often frightened and confused, the importance of these qualities is paramount. There is a delicate art in understanding emotions and offering consolation. It is possibly where nurses do the most healing.
FILM SUMMARY
Pearl Harbor and Scrubs
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In the motion picture presentation Pearl Harbor there is a vivid war scene depiction of the Japanese attack on the U.S in 1942. The devastation of the surprise attack was massive, especially due to the lack of warning or preparedness in part of the military and local hospitals. As emergency alarms sounded the nurses out of their beds to the call of duty they were faced with an insurmountable crowd of the injured and dying. Throughout the utter chaos the nurses had to employ any strategy they could to save the lives around them.
Although the television series Scrubs is a comedic depiction of the working environment of a hospital, the characters also faced challenging situations. The first episode, My Day Off, follows an intern as she gives a series of physicals and learns how to put herself in the patients’ shoes after finding out that they consider her hostile. The second episode, My Nickname, is about a young nurse named Carla struggling to remain professional after being embarrassed by a coworker.
EXAMPLES OF THE ART OF NURSING
Comparison and Contrast from Selected Films
The best demonstrations of art in the shows were in the ways the nurses overcame their challenges by adapting their behavior to the situation. Nurses must do this everyday, and it is a difficult thing to do without instructions. The nurses at Pearl Harbor were the last faces many of the soldiers there ever saw. Knowing this, the nurses understood that they had to remain levelheaded to keep order. They dealt with the dilemmas of an overcrowded hospital and insufficient supplies by devising an organization system to process the wounded upon arrival. They used lipstick to mark the foreheads of the injured to sort out those most likely to survive.
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Later, they filled coca-cola bottles with the donated blood. When bandages and tourniquet’s ran out, nurse Evelyn even resorted to the use of her own pantyhose.
The intern in Scrubs differed in that her situation was not as harrowing as the nurses’ of Pearl Harbor. Her problem was that she was all scientist and no artist. Her patients respected her ability and considered her fully capable. But they made fun of her for her cold hands and cold attitude. Dismayed by this, she makes a series of failed attempts to connect with her patients. She finds that for all the learning she does she lacks the art of people skills. In the end, she has to find a balance between what is comfortable for her and her patients.
Although the shows and examples of art they present seem opposite, in each case the nurses could not fall back upon what they had been taught alone, but had to look within themselves as well to overcome the difficulty. In this way I found that both shows reinforced my definition of the art of nursing, which is to use your heart to rise to the occasion, just as they did.
EXAMPLES OF THE SCIENCE OF NURSING
Comparison and Contrast of Selected Films
In the second episode of Scrubs a nurse is tested by a fellow coworker who makes her feel inferior. She decides to retain her dignity by maintaining a cordial relationship with that person afterwards, despite the hard feelings. In doing so she demonstrated a great deal of professionalism. In a health care system there is a hierarchy that must be respected, ego and petty fights have no place there. Carla used her head and handled a situation that could have easily escalated.
The nurses of Pearl Harbor were also responsible for controlling a snowballing catastrophe. Many of them were young and inexperienced when the attack occurred. They had
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no time to cry or do anything other than act. Then, under the most stressful of circumstances they had to perform. They witnessed terrible injuries and had to utilize every available tool, including their own hands. One nurse had no choice but to insert her fingers into an open gash in man’s neck to hold in the blood that was spraying her in the face.
In both shows the nurses proved their competence to perform by remembering the lessons they had been taught and thinking critically. This is an atypical view of what science is, and perhaps may more closely resemble art. Science usually brings to mind lab coats and microscopes. However, it would be too simple to say that science is the ability to memorize or analyze. That is useless unless accompanied by comprehension and the ability to use the mind to enact what has been learned. Therefore, these examples cooberate my original definition.
CONCLUSION
Nursing can be a complicated career. Decisions are difficult, and the answer is rarely black or white. A nurse must remain enough of an artist, despite all the death and detachment in their job, to relate with patients. Yet, they cannot afford to become so emotionally involved that it burns them out. They must remain enough of a scientist to have unclouded judgment. There is a fine line between too much and too little of either quality, or often an overlap between scientist and artist. Although the balance between the two differs individually, all nurses should use their minds and hearts simultaneously to be the most efficient. Therefore, perhaps the true art and true science of nursing is actually finding that balance that works best between them.
Reflective Journal
Kiri Conneely
NURS 501: Introduction to Nursing
University of New Hampshire
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REFERENCES
Bakken, Janae. (Writer), & Keene, Blodie. (Director). (2005). My Day Off. [Television series
episode]. In Winston, Randal (Producer), Scrubs. Burbank, CA: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Lawrence, Bill. (Writer), & Diamond, Matthew. (Director). (2005). My Nickname. [Television
series episode]. In Winston, Randal (Producer), Scrubs. Burbank, CA: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Sandston, Pat. (Producer), & Hodenfield, K.C. (Director). (2004). Pearl Harbor [Motion
Picture]. United States: Touchstone Entertainment.
