As a professional discipline, nursing contributes to society through health promotion, disease prevention, supportive and restorative care for individuals, families, groups and communities in a variety of settings. The hallmark of advanced nursing practice is the ability to evaluate and apply theories and cumulative research findings toward the improvement of nursing care, thus reducing the gap between theory and practice. Nursing shares responsibilities for health care delivery with other professional disciplines through collaboration, consultation, coordination, leadership and research. As citizens, nurses assume leadership roles in monitoring and influencing health care policy. Education is a process which provides opportunities to expand and extend knowledge for continued growth and competence of the individual and the profession.
Nursing education draws from a multitude of disciplines.
It is a flexible process which fosters creativity, promotes continual learning, creates opportunities and provides challenges for the learner. Nursing education seeks to assist the learner to formulate, assimilate and apply nursing knowledge. As curricula progress from undergraduate to graduate, a selective focus affords students the opportunity to study in depth more complex knowledge structures in selected clinical areas, to refine clinical competencies in specialized nursing and to conduct clinical research. The effectiveness of nursing education is documented through evaluation and research. Educators and learners engage in an interactive process enhancing mutual acceptance, awareness and respect.