anatomy nursing assignment help

anatomy nursing assignment help

Importance of Anatomy in Nursing

1. Introduction

Anatomy is a fundamental science that studies the structure of the human body from ancient times. The knowledge of anatomy can help the nurses understand the working mechanism of the body and the changes of the body that may affect the human health; from a tiny cell to the entire and complex human body; and it is closely related to the study of physiology, histology, biochemistry, and other related sciences. Using the knowledge of anatomy, a nurse can understand how this patient feels, why this symptom occurs, and what kind of health changes may cause this symptom. The nurse can give a better health assessment to the patients. Also, with the understanding of the function of different systems in the human body, for instance, exploration of the normal physiology of the human cardiovascular, one of the most important and complicated systems in the body in anatomy and physiology learning can help the nurses to integrate their body knowledge to the critical thinking for providing effective and efficient patient care. When I am teaching the students the induction of different body systems in the module “Principles of Human Anatomy” in the first year, believe it or not, halfway through the lecture when students say, “why is this so important to the nurses?” As a nurse and a lecturer, it inspires me to write this article to show how important the anatomy is going to open the mind of the students in a fun, interactive, realistic, and systematic way of learning. Therefore, this paper will discuss the significance of the anatomy in helping the nurses to provide the patient a holistic care which is in short, not only curing the patient’s disease but also his mind, spirit, and body; how the anatomy is being taught in nursing education and in facilitating the autonomous professional development in the nurses and the inter-professional working among different healthcare sectors and professionals; and also how the anatomy helps the medical imaging diagnosis and treatment planning in modern day.

2. The Role of Anatomy in Nursing Education

Anatomy is a tough subject to be taught because, first of all, it is not easy to understand the human body and how it works because it is an invisible matter. Second, the difference between the human body and animals presents a very big challenge in learning the subject. Next, for many students, the amount of new words can be significant. Last but not least, for many nursing students, there should be no mistake, they may need to start learning Latin because there are a lot of Latin words in science. Most of the anatomy terminologies have Latin roots. And it could become even harder because in the future, students are going to meet terms that are combined with Greek and Latin words. Actually, the students need to be prepared to study at a deeper level of the subject by exploring many parts of the human body. Students need to study the specific interrelationship among the different parts of the body and the body as a whole because, in most cases, this sort of understanding is vital for the diagnosis process. In parallel, anatomy can provide knowledge that no matter what the unknown major disease is in a certain organ, students can do certain dissection to find out the truth. Professors have to make sure that they convey such important information to the students. So, apart from the textbook, it is necessary for the student to enjoy a good lesson of visual aids and, most notably, the anatomical models. By giving a view of the inside structure of the human body, visual aids could help the student to get a better and quicker understanding of the subject. This would significantly help us to apply the knowledge when we enter the clinical setting.

Nowadays, nursing programs are shorter in length, and they focus solely on the clinical elements of the profession. Due to this, nursing students need to make the most of the time they have in order to absorb the information. Nursing students study anatomy and physiology in these programs, usually focusing on the clinical implications and applications of anatomy. However, the students are going through the basic researches amazingly. Every break, they are discussing what factors or what they have learned.

The field of nursing makes use of anatomy for different reasons. Thanks to constant developments and technological progress, it is specifically important for the area of elderly care. The older generation lives longer and data has to be up to date. It will avoid misdiagnosis and incorrect medication because healthcare professionals, mainly nurses, will have immense knowledge in anatomy to serve the elderly better.

Anatomy is a fundamental component in the field of nursing. Nursing, at its core, is the process of providing care to patients. However, in order to understand how to take care of people when they are sick, it is first necessary to understand how the body works when it is in a healthy state. This is where the role of anatomy in nursing education comes into play. Anatomy is the study of the structure and shape of the body and body parts, and physiology is the study of how those body parts work and function. Anatomy is the science that studies the structure of the body. On the other hand, physiology can be defined as the study of how living organisms or the body work and what factors or conditions are required to sustain life. It is also the study of the functions and activities of the body, its organs, and all the integrated systems.

3. Understanding the Human Body Systems

It is important for nurses to have a good understanding of the human body. It is where anatomy plays an important role in the overall nursing curriculum. “Anatomy and physiology are the basic sciences that nursing students need to be able to understand in order to commence a nursing programme” (Butt, 2016). Nursing is the study of the human body in health, and if nurses are to progress through education and career, an understanding of this science is essential. Not only nursing students but also nursing teachers appear to not always be in full agreement about the level of knowledge about anatomy and physiology needed before nurses can start to learn nursing and other modules. Many problems are encountered when teachers are trying to decide the standards nurses would meet after the completion of their course. That knowledge has disadvantages for those nurses who do not seek to acquire knowledge of the basic sciences and they do not become autonomous, but do so in a prescriptive way only following routine and instruction from others (Dale, 1996). The human body is the structure itself, but some doctors also study the human body in a “comparative way” to understand the relation between the body and the human with its environment. In the food process, we know that teeth and gums break down the food and give it to the “Alimentary Canal” which is responsible for turning the food and water into the nutrients and energy that the body needs. Every part of this process is a system. As we see, the “digestive system” is a group of organs in our body which work together to change and process the food and water that we eat and drink into the nutrients and energy that our body needs. Organs of the “digestive system” and their work are known as “anatomy”.

4. Clinical Applications of Anatomy in Nursing Practice

Throughout nursing history, observational medical science, physician and doctors’ orders have served as the foundation for nursing intervention. However, the role of nurses is basic human anatomy. It is not just what nurses do, but what they are that changes in the area of human health. At the heart of nursing is the therapeutic humanity of the nurse culminating in professional knowledge and skill. Nurses with a solid understanding of anatomy have unique skills to help their patients take care of their health. Knowledge in human anatomy places the nurse at a decisive advantage, both for preparation and response, in the area of patient care. Anatomy has a great deal to do with forming prevention, understanding the normal human body, in order to understand the abnormal. Anatomy is critical to understanding health and delivering patient care. For illness and treatments affect each part of your life, and the way you understand a problem changes how you deal with it and how healthcare professionals look at treatments. In this way, anatomical knowledge changes the way you think and treat patients. But we should not just be aimed at illnesses, neglecting the healthy body, which is very possible in our healthcare system and nursing practices. When healthy, there is a certain level of anatomy given for normal body function. Every movement we make involves our ‘understanding’ from anatomical senses. Such sensitivity and vigilance over the body changes sometimes, will eliminate certain illnesses as patients are well informed about their conditions. Also, anatomical knowledge facilitates communication and mutual understanding among healthcare professionals. In the age of unprecedented telecommunication, sequences, results, and case transfers are taking place. With knowledge of anatomy, professional nurses can understand the technological advances in diagnostics and can provide the patient’s informational linkage in respect to the root of their sickness. As, especially in critical times, a sudden and severe pain might be only expressible by patients under proper expressions. Although many people have fear of surgeons, it is the nurses that are getting ready and cleaning the patients before surgery. And when the surgeon says, “Scalpel,” it is the nurses that need to know the organs and tissues very well in order to respond properly to their demand. Also, by understanding the places of organs and tissues, nurses are able to read diseases very early and not just care for providing care but preventing sickness. As a nurse, would you not want to know exactly the cause of a headache or a back pain of your patient? Would you not want to have the description to talk to the doctor about the patient and to understand the symptoms about the possible sickness? And would you not want to get ready for the future by whatever reality comes along? The journey of advanced anatomy in being a nurse is an ongoing affair; and nurses in each level of his or her profession will find that constant learning will always come with new meanings and in-depth experiences. It has been documented that from beginning in the educational area to the stage of professionalism, nurses need to understand that anatomy will reside in every stage of their success, knowledge, and experiences throughout their wonderful career. Carry out consistent and continuous learning in every specialized area of nursing, it will not only make nurses good in their career but also make them feel proud as successful learners in the application of anatomy. The underlying learning process will be something that is good in serving our society. Last but not least, nursing is about explanation as well. Patients usually feel more comfortable when they know the reasons for their sufferings and nurses with current knowledge of anatomy will not only ease the patients’ frustration in the face of sickness but bring peace and comfort.

5. Conclusion

In essence, anatomy is a branch of science that looks at the structure of the body. Nursing, in its own right, is a science focused on the process of caring for people to help them recover from illness, maintain health, and achieve a good quality of life. However, it is not possible to make full sense of a patient’s health without a good understanding of their inner anatomy and physiology. In nursing, learning anatomy is important for many reasons. From the beginning, when taking a patient’s health history, knowing what questions to ask, conducting a physical examination, reading the signs and symptoms of a disease, interpreting a patient’s report, and carrying out treatment, one must have a deep knowledge of anatomy. Anatomy is important in the nursing field because it is the foundation or basis of nursing science. It will help a nurse to understand, for example, why they need to look in the peripheral areas of the lung when searching for a tumor, and also what a tumor feels and looks like. But without knowledge of the basic structure of the lung, all the queries can be in vain. In nursing practice, anatomy is still important, but the way in which nurses will find it useful varies according to the area in which they work. For example, a mental health nurse might use anatomy to study the impact of certain neurological conditions on behavior, and a care home nurse might use anatomical knowledge in the context of carrying out a health assessment for an elderly new resident. Modern-day nursing has increasingly used evidence-based practice as the knowledge is more reliable and credible for making clinical judgments. The knowledge of anatomy among nurses in the team will help facilitate effective communication and also productivity. Furthermore, accurate information can be exchanged; lesson plans and patient learning can be better tailored to accomplish the patient-specific goals. From valid consents for treatment and research to providing supportive dietary and lifestyle change advice to patients, knowing anatomy is essential. A nurse can use the knowledge of the body infrastructure to provide insight into the patient’s feelings, thoughts, and even behavior. As opposed to general care practitioners, advanced care, for example, nurses who work collaboratively with surgeons and physicians in an operating room, need to have a complete and thorough understanding of human body anatomy. Such knowledge is key to success in fields like patient pre-operation preparation, making incisions during the operation, and patient post-operation recovery. However, not everyone can be a good nurse simply by studying, memorizing, and regurgitating human anatomy. Nursing does require memorization and application in many cases, but one must also understand the meaning of what they are doing. Anatomy should be used to explain real concepts such as the oxygenation of blood and the body’s defense mechanism. Anatomy and physiology can benefit students in many ways in the nursing field. As mentioned in previous paragraphs, the course itself is a great foundation for nursing students, and most importantly, studying anatomy and physiology helps students build a better understanding of the body systems and their own bodies. Combined with the relevant study of medical conditions, diseases, and trauma, students can be well-prepared for hospital or outpatient care placements. Students tend to find that learning the systems provides an excellent framework in which to learn about various medical specialties in the future. Such specialties within nursing would include cardiothoracic, neurology, orthopedic, pathology, pharmacology, and psychology. It is always important to understand how these systems are interconnected and when there is a threat to one system, what impact it can have on other body systems as well. In this way, knowledge in anatomy and physiology can aid in the production of nursing diagnoses and patient-centered goals, as well as the evaluation of treatment and patient recovery.