Nursing is a collaborative form between concrete, scientific ideas and executing them in empathetic and compassionate ways, that it makes it an art form. Many people talk about how nursing is a work of heart and a work of art – as not everyone possesses the quality of compassion and empathy enough to practice as a nurse. In the painting titled, “Caring A Tradition in Nursing” by Marylyn Boyd (attached below), there is a depiction of caring and compassion that nurses embody with every patient. I think this painting emphasizes the idea that nursing is not only just administering medications, charting patient medical information, or following medical procedures. It is also being empathetic with the patient that just heard life altering news about their medical diagnosis. Or holding a patient’s hand when they need support, or being the face of encouragement when their health status starts improving. Nursing is not just learning about diseases and how to treat them, but also being able to comfort, or support their patient while they go through that. Nursing is a form of art and science – as nursing is the bridge that connects the two, and nurses are the individuals who apply the science to their skills in order to provide the best patient care.

Caring A Tradition of Nursing, Marlyn Boyd