What are some resources for a paper on “why anatomy and physiology is important for nursing?”?

Beth: What are some resources for a paper on “why anatomy and physiology is important for nursing?”?
I am writing a paper on how being a nurse includes needing to take anatomy and physiology and i need some online resources to back me up.

Answers and Views:

Answer by midget01
You’ve got to be kidding???? If you were having someone work on a car would you not want them to understand what an engine is made of and how it works??? Look up anatomy and physiology and see what their functions are and explain how they work in your body. That should give you more info than you need. I trust that your teacher can tell when it is in your own words and when it is copied from a book or on line.

Answer by blondiegirl706
Well they tend to go for that “evidence based practice” BS, so I would look up Credited online journals like ANS, Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, Nursing Management, RN, etc. They are all good and look them up online and you will be able to type in a phrase like anatomy and physiology, you might have to be more specific, like say anatomy and physiology of the heart or something to get something good to come up. Idk if you are in college and need that detailed/accredited source but that would be good… Hope this helps.

Answer by rb43081
This is actually quite a common type of question asked on “Yahoo! Answers” – – why is it important to study XYZ for a career in ABC?

These questions are almost always asked by students in the earliest stages of their studies to enter a career in ABC.

Providing a condescending and insulting answer is no way to inspire a beginning level student to want to do MORE and LEARN more in their studies of “XYZ”…

Anyway, the question is clearly not “ZERO” knowledge of anatomy anf physiology versus “SOME” knowledge of anatomy and physiology.

In every field of study. a student might be expected to learn “a little” or “a lot” – – subjective terms which might mean the differences between taking one 3 credit-hour course versus pursuing an entire PhD in a subject. It is not practical nor even possible for every nurse (or pharmacist or physician) to learn EVERYTHING about the underlying basic sciences which translate into clinical practice.

So, a solid example would be helpful. Is there any evidence that knowing MORE anatomy and physiology means that a nurse will DELIVER nursing care that is BETTER or SAFER or more pleasant for the patient?

Here is a short overview – – available online – – of a simple procedure which is fuindamental in many areas of nursing practive… the insertion of a nasogastric tube.

https://enw.org/Research-NGT.htm

A simple truth about inserting a nasogastric tube is this: a person COULD teach – – with enough perseverance – – a six year-old to do it correctly.

In other words, a child who has NO grasp of the anatomy of the esophagus or the other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, or the airway or the respiratory system… no familiarity with the physiology of gastric sectretion, or the pH of gastric contents… no understanding of why a patient might need a nasogastric tube… or what might happen if it were done wrong.

Such a child COULD be taught to do it right.

But an EDUCATED clinician – – whether a nurse, or an aide, or a medical student, or even a physician RE-LEARNING a basic skill once learned, but not used in decades (for example, a psychiatrist)… will be more effective at understanding… HOW the proper length of the NG tube should be determined, WHAT are the signs that the tube is in the right place, WHY is it important to make sure that the tube has not accidentally entered the trachea, nor perforated the stomach.

All these foundations for learning a CLINICAL skill come from a proper education in ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY.

Knowing a “little” might be (barely) adequate; knowing “more” would be better… knowing A LOT is what we all hope OUR nurse, caring for US, was motivated to learn in her pursuit of a nursing education.

I hope this example helps you.

Rex, a physician, in the midwest

Answer by DW
Knowing the name of a structure and the function is basically what anatomy and physiology is. In the medical profession there is terminology that you have to learn and most of it deals with body structures. You need to know where the structure is located, what the function is, what happens when the structure is not working properly but most important you need to know what your responsibility is in taking care of patients with whatever infirmary is present. How can you expect to become a nurse when you don’t know what the structure is and how it works? I have been a nurse for over 25 years and I can say that anatomy and physiology was the most important subject that was needed and utilized.