Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from birth to death.

Florence Nightingale a celebrated English nurse,

writer came to prominence for her pioneering work in

nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the

Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night.

She laid the foundation of professional nursing with

the establishment, in 1860, of her nursing school at St

Thomas' Hospital in London, the first nursing

school in the world.

The various courses

that are focused at

preparing a qualified

nurse are :

• General Nursing and

Midwifery.• Basic B.Sc. Nursing.

• Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing.

• Masters in Nursing.

• P.G. Diploma or

Certificate courses in

Nursing.• Ph.D. in Nursing.

Nursing profession is great to be considered as you will :

• Directly influence the health and well-being of other people.

• Never stop learning: about health, about illness, about people and the world we live in.

• You will have a range of careers rolled into one: as you develop you can diversify and specialize.

• Excellent career opportunities.

Nurses work in a large variety of specialties where they work

independently and as part of a team to assess, plan, implement and

evaluate care.

Nursing duties are manifold and cover a wide range of functions and

responsibilities, that depends with the level of qualification and the

working environment.

They can work in settings like :

• Hospital• Nursing homes.• Clinics and Heath Department• Orphanages and old age

homes• Military (Army, Navy, Air Force

and Marines)• Community settings i.e.

school nurse, health visitor.• Industrial houses and factories• Railways and public sector

medical departments

• Training Institutes as educators

• Home care , Palliative care, hospice

• Public health agencies • Ambulatory care

centers ,extended care centers

• 0ffices ,corporations ,health-related industries , occupational settings

• Mental health services• Private health care

providers e.g. Practitioners• Prison nurse/ Correctional ,

de-addiction.• Researcher – promoting

advances in health care and health promotion practice

They can diversify into different areas of nursing

practice: operating room, critical care and

emergency departments, women's health and

mental health. And there

are many sub-specialty areas such as sports injury nursing, cancer nursing, cardiac care,

newborn intensive care.

Nurses may choose to work in one permanent setting, or may take short-term assignments as a travel nurse to fulfill temporary projects

for nursing staff internationally. They can even serve in key government and elected

positions become a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator, researcher,

or a nurse manager. AS A NURSE THE SKY IS THE LIMIT.