Health care is a service people use to maintain wellness or seek when they cannot manage their health and related needs. The health service industry provides systems for addressing these needs. Nurses are a major component of society's health care system and are essential providers of health care. Nursing is a profession that exists in response to societal health needs. These needs mandate nursing's unique and collaborative contributions in the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of the optimal health of individuals, groups, and communities.
Nursing is both an art and a science.
The art of nursing is founded upon the values of radical humanism. The science of nursing is founded upon the generation, synthesis, and application of knowledge. It is the integration of nursing art and nursing science that provides the basis for holistic professional nursing. Professional nursing practice provides holistic, theory-based care to humans in complex healthcare systems. As an autonomous professional, the nurse is accountable to humans for care outcomes.