Overview

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Nurses develop a plan of care, sometimes working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, the patient, the patient's family and other team members. In the U.S. (and increasingly the United Kingdom), advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies. Nurses may help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a health care team such as therapists, medical practitioners, dietitians, etc. Nurses provide care both interdependently, for example, with physicians, and independently as nursing professionals.

According to the US Department of Labor's revised Occupational Outlook Handbook (2000), "Registered nurses (R.N.s) work to promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. They are advocates and health educators for patients, families, and communities. When providing direct patient care, they observe, assess, and record symptoms, responses, and progress; assist physicians during treatments and examinations; administer medications; and assist in convalescence and rehabilitation. R.N.s also develop and manage nursing care plans; instruct patients and their families in proper care; and help individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their health."

The nursing career structure varies considerably throughout the world. Typically there are several distinct levels of nursing practitioner, distinguished by increasing education, responsibility and skills. The major distinction is between task-based nursing and professional nursing.

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NPR Topics: Arts & Entertainment

Checking On The New Head Of The Smithsonian
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:27:00 -0400
It's not easy trying to modernize a massive institution known more for historic artifacts than for cutting-edge technology. Wayne Clough, head of the Smithsonian Institution, talks about his first 100 days in charge. Clough hopes in 500 years, visitors to the museums will say those people in 2008 had their act together.
Liz Phair Revisits 'Exile'
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:16:00 -0400
Fifteen years after she released her groundbreaking album Exile in Guyville, the femme rocker is on tour, performing the album live in front of audiences. She discusses Exile's influence on herself as well as the music industry.
Poking Fun At Stereotypes In 'Allah Made Me Funny'
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:25:00 -0400
A new film, Allah Made Me Funny, follows three Muslim men as they perform at comedy clubs around the U.S., chronicling how they make comedy out of sometimes painful experiences in a post-Sept. 11 America. Comedians Azhar Usman, Mo Amer and Preacher Moss discuss what informs their humor.

NYT > Arts

Dance Review | 'Breaking Ground': On the Fly: Five Easy Pieces, Among the Douglases and Lockheeds
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:13:08 -0000
“Breaking Ground: A Dance Charrette” is an annual initiative that gives five choreographers the task of creating a five-minute work at a site revealed only five days before performances.
A Clothing Shop Moves Up, and a Dance Company Must Move Out
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:46:03 -0000
After 20 years, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is being evicted from its home in SoHo to make way for a new Banana Republic.
Books of The Times: Terrorists and Spies, Weaving Their Webs
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:58:08 -0000
John le Carré’s latest novel is set in Hamburg, Germany, the city where Mohamed Atta and other members of Al Qaeda prepared for their assault on the United States.

Arts & Culture

Thomas Mallon: Abraham Lincoln and the politics of memory.
Thomas Mallon Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
At the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., on May 30, 1922, remarks by Robert Moton, the principal of the Tuskegee Institute, received special attention from the “colored” section of the audience. The federal commission responsible for the memorial’s construction were loath to have Moton participate at all . . .
Sasha Frere-Jones: The Brazilian Girls at Terminal 5.
Sasha Frere-Jones Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Sabina Sciubba has lived in Italy, Germany, France, and New York, and is currently the lead singer of a band called Brazilian Girls, which contains no Brazilians and only one girl. The group’s third album, “New York City,” is sung in five languages, though not all simultaneously. Perhaps the most . . .
Richard Brody: Max Ophüls at Film Forum.
Richard Brody Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The exacting and sumptuous Cinémathèque Française restoration of “Lola Montès,” Max Ophüls’s last film, from 1955 (opening at Film Forum on Oct. 10), recovers not just the movie’s look but also its meaning. The romantic costume drama presents a great nineteenth-century femme fatale, a faux-Spanish danseuse and gold . . .

Christian Science Monitor | Arts & Entertainment

Review: 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Michael Cera stars in this teen love story that alternates between sweet and touching and goofball gross-out.
Review: 'Blindness'
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Set in a city where people are suddenly stricken with sightlessness, allegory never rises to level of believability.
Review: 'Rachel Getting Married'
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Wrenching family drama puts Anne Hathaway center stage as an emotional wreck who creates havoc at her sister's nuptials.

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