Nurses use many different types of tools for their jobs. A nurse's tools will depend on his duties, which are usually lighter compared to those of the doctor.
Some tools have changed as technology has advanced, while other tools such as scissors and gauze have stayed much the same as they were during the Civil War era. Other tools such as thermometers serve the same purpose, but thermometers during the Civil War era were much different than thermometers used by medical professionals today.
History
Nurses have been around for as long as anyone can remember. They have cared for soldiers wounded in the Civil War, helped sick children in the emergency room, nursed surgery patients back to health, helped deliver babies and performed numerous other medically related activities throughout the years.
Through technology, nurses' jobs have become much easier over the years. Back in the Civil War days, nurses did not have anesthesia available for their patients, so they used whiskey to try and sedate the patient before the doctor had to perform an amputation. Today, tasks such as amputation are much easier through the use of anesthesia and pain medication.
Types
Today, there are many different types of nurses in the medical field. Some nurses help with neonatal duties, meaning they help care for sick infants. Some nurses are surgical nurses, meaning they help doctors during surgery. Some nurses work in the emergency room, which means they take vital signs and help prepare basic paperwork on the patient before the doctor arrives to examine the patient. Others are OB/GYN nurses. These types of nurses help gynecologists during their visits with patients. These nurses will help prepare the room for the patient and help the doctor during the examination. The obstetric nurse helps the doctor during the actual delivery of the baby by handing him any necessary tools in the delivery room. There are also trauma nurses who deal with emergency situations in which the patient is in dire need of medical care. Hospice nurses help patients with their end-of-life care. Nurses also work in nursing homes, helping the elderly with day-to-day tasks, such as feeding and bathing, in addition to taking their vital signs and performing other routine nursing duties. These are just some examples of how many different types of nurses exist.
Significance
If not for the nursing field, doctors would be overwhelmed with work. Nurses not only help doctors during surgery, they also help prepare patients to be examined by the doctor. Oftentimes, the nurse is the second person a patient will see. They must first visit with the registrar, then they will be seen by a nurse who will usually take their vital signs and weight and seat them in a room to await the doctor. In an effort to assess the situation, the nurse will ask the patient basic questions about what is ailing them, all the while recording the information on the intake paperwork so that the doctor can quickly review it before visiting with the patient.
Function
Nurses use many different tools, depending on what type of role they play in their work environment. Some of the common tools a nurse uses include tongue depressors and thermometers for taking a patient's temperature; stethoscopes for listening to a patient's heart; masks and gloves to protect the nurse from communicable diseases while examining a patient; bandages to cover wounds; cotton balls to apply alcohol to affected areas; gauze to wrap sprained ankles or wrists and scissors to cut the gauze; a scale to weigh a patient; a watch to record the time on a patient's intake record; prescription pads to write prescriptions, if authorized; clipboards to keep patients' medical paperwork in order; medication to give to the patient, if authorized; surgical drains to insert into the patient if the nurse is a surgical nurse; identification bracelets for patients who have been admitted to the hospital; nursing shoes, scrubs and caps are also used universally by nurses as their work attire.
Benefits
As with other technological benefits medicine has seen, tools that nurses use have also benefited from technology. As recently as 30 years ago, thermometers contained harmful mercury. Today, thermometers are not necessarily used under the tongue. Thermometers have been designed to be inserted into the ear and are able to read a temperature that way. Other thermometers are even more advanced and simply have to be "rolled" across the forehead to get a temperature reading. Even gauze has benefited from technology. Today, there are antibacterial and antimicrobial types of gauze available to hospitals to cut the risk of infection. Needles are no longer huge, thick, six-inch monstrosities that they once were. They are now thinner, smaller and much less painful.
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