maintenance
Under care all supportive measures and actions that serve to maintain, restore or adaptation of physical, psychological and social functions and activities of life fall. Long-term care is an indispensable element of health care and social security. Over time, it has become an independent area in the health care system and includes a number of specific job profiles. Various organizations have developed definitions to define care and to enable a distinction between professional and non-professional care.
Emergence of professional care
Nursing originally arose out of the need to care for sick and weaker members of one's family or community. From this a non-professional care developed, which in the sense of charity also looked after people in need outside of one's own circle of relatives. The further development to a medical assistant occupation and finally to a professional service occupation is a very recent phenomenon by historical standards. Specialized care professions emerged from the middle of the 20th century, e. As for pediatric care , educational method care , psychiatric care and care for the elderly (see also Health Professional Occupation )
From the 1950s onwards, the first nursing theories emerged , which formed the basis of the nursing scientific development, the professionalization of nursing professions and nursing increasingly specialized and academic. For example, the academic disciplines of nursing research , nursing informatics and nursing education were created. The members of the nursing professions are represented in professional associations, the most important of which is the International Council of Nurses (ICN), which represents around 20 million nurses from all professional groups from 130 countries and works closely with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Definitions
There are a number of different definitions that describe what professional nursing should be. Further definitions for the tasks of caregivers can be found, for example, in the care laws of the individual nations and federal states, in the definitions and codes of individual national care associations and their sub-associations and, to a lesser extent, in the care models of individual care companies.
WHO definition
World Health Organization definition:
“The social mandate of care is to help individuals, families and entire groups to determine and realize their physical, psychological and social potential, in the context of their living and working environment, which is demanding for work. The carers have to develop and fulfill functions that promote and maintain health and avoid illness. Care also includes planning and support in the event of illness and during rehabilitation, and it also includes the physical, psychological and social aspects of life with their effects on health, illness, disability and death. Caregivers ensure that the individual and family, friends, social reference group and community are included in all aspects of health care as appropriate, thereby promoting self-confidence and self-determination. Nursing staff also work in partnership with relatives of other groups involved in the provision of other health or similar services. "
ICN definition
Definition of the International Council of Nurses:
“Care includes the independent care and support - alone or in cooperation with other professional members - of people of all age groups, families or partnerships, as well as groups and social communities, whether sick or healthy, in all life situations ( settings ). Long-term care includes the promotion of health, the prevention of diseases and the care and support of sick, disabled and dying people. Other key tasks of care are the perception of interests and needs, the promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in the shaping of health policy, as well as in the management of the health system and in education. "
Professional care
The following framework conditions for professional care result from the various definitions used by the German Nursing Council, among others :
- Nursing is an independent profession in the health sector that requires training and is practiced for a fee.
- Nursing looks at the whole person and is oriented towards both sick and healthy parts; this includes prevention , rehabilitation and palliative care .
- The practice of nursing includes knowledge of nursing science and other related sciences such as medicine, sociology and psychology .
- Nursing staff assess the need for care, plan care, carry it out and evaluate it. You advise and guide people.
- Nursing staff should expand their knowledge and skills through further training.
- Nursing works with other health care professions.
These points can be used to distinguish professional care from non-professional care.
Non-professional care
The practice of supporting people who need help because of their age, illness, injuries or social grievances is widespread in all societies and religions. Above all, children and the elderly were cared for, poor people supported and attempts to alleviate pain were given. Care is usually compensatory, for example, broken bones are splinted, pain-relieving positions are used, basic needs such as nutrition are satisfied by feeding, babies are swaddled and old people are supported with movement. This form of caring for and looking after others is not based on a specific vocational training or a nursing theoretical concept and is referred to as non-professional, informal or lay care.
As a rule, the caregivers are family members or people with a close personal relationship with the person being cared for, predominantly women. The importance of lay care for society is enormous; of the around 3.4 million people in need of care in Germany in 2017, 1.76 million were cared for by informal carers. With regard to the individual in need of care, lay caregivers are specialists, their knowledge and knowledge of the person being cared for is of great value to professional caregivers who take care of the person in need of care.
literature
- Annette Lauber (Ed.): Volume 1: Basics of occupational care , Thieme, 2017 ISBN 978-3132406490
- I care Pflege , Thieme Verlag 2020, ISBN 9783132418288
Individual evidence
- ↑ International Council of Nurses: ICN website (English) accessed on June 25, 2020
- ↑ a b I care Pflege, Thieme Verlag 2020, ISBN 9783132418288 p. 23
- ↑ Annette Lauber (Ed.): Volume 1: Basics of occupational care , Thieme, 2017 ISBN 978-3132406490 p. 5ff
- ^ I care Pflege, Thieme Verlag 2020, ISBN 9783132418288 p. 26