Nursing care

Patient care is part of a nurse's role in implementing a care plan. Usually, nurses will perform patient assessment and evaluation of care while doing their patient care.

Nurses must observe the principles of cleanliness at all times to prevent the spread of sickness. They wash their hands thoroughly with soap and warm running water before and after caring for patients, after handling any waste, before and after eating and drinking, after smoking, coughing, or touching clothes, and after wearing gloves. For hands that aren't visibly soiled, alcohol gel has come into common use to sanitize the hands in place of washing; although, per infection control regulations, washing hands with soap and water must be done after the third instance of using hand sanitizer. Gloves are worn when exposure to body fluids may occur, as well as any time other than "casual" patient contact.

Nurses keep accurate records of all care and observations for many purposes. In a hospital, the patient's record (often referred to as a "chart") is the main means by which different members of the health care team communicate with each other. The chart is usually a legal document that serves as evidence of care provided. Since the maintenance of records is a legal responsibility, the charts often have to meet certain standards, e.g. records must be permanent, accurate, complete, and kept for years after the care was given.

Nurses may take a person's vital signs several times a day. Vital signs encompass taking and recording a patient's temperature, blood pressure, respirations, and their overall response to medical treatment.

In some countries, Advanced practice nurses can prescribe medication, however most nurses administer medication that is prescribed by a physician. Some clinical settings have certain drugs that can be administered by the nurse without a physicians orders. These policies (often referred to as medical directives) allow the nurse to administer common, safe medications without having to refer to a physician. In some countries a nurse is only responsible to administer the medication as prescribed by the doctor. In other countries nurses are legally responsible to ensure that the medication is appropriate for the patient and have the authority to interpret the order.

Diet is important to help sick people get well and well people to stay healthy. A dietitian, or other health care professional may place the patient on a regular, light, soft, or liquid diet. A person on a regular diet can eat all the foods eaten normally; on a light diet the patient may have such foods as ground meat, chicken, fish, potatoes, rice, strained vegetables, custards, and puddings. Neither raw fruit and vegetables nor rich, spicy or fried foods are allowed. A soft diet includes such foods as bread, cereal, eggs, potatoes, custards, and ice cream. A liquid diet may consist only of clear liquids, such as soup, tea, and juices. People with certain illnesses may have other diet restrictions such as people with diabetes or on dialysis.