Question

How does nursing literature differ from the medical literature? Is there a role for both bodies of literature in nursing practice?

Answer 1

Medical literature: It is the medical scientific literature and it was most predominantly observed in research articles in journals and texts in the books.

Types of Medical Literature:

Primary Literature (primary sources are original materials)

Secondary Literature (Refer to the primary source literature)

Tertiary Literature (Collection of primary and secondary sources such as articles, encyclopedia textbooks etc…)

Nursing literature: It refers to articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of nursing.

Nursing literature categories:

Evidence Based Articles and Evidence Based Care Sheets

Empirical research articles

Clinical articles

Review articles

Nursing and medical literature main difference:

The medical literature includes the texts available in books and scientific journals in the field of medicine. The medical literature includes the texts related to general medicine (including all the systems), dentistry, veterinary systems, pharmacy and nursing. The literature covers the historic views of diagnosis, prevention, treatment and cure procedures documented from thousands of years. In the first known medical treatise of Edwin Smith papyrus, the inflictions related to the warfare are described.

Nursing became an individual stream of heal care system after the influence of Florence Nightingale. The first nursing journal is, “The Nightingale,” it was published in 1886, 6th March. Other new journals such as American Journal of Nursing, Nursing Research began to publish the nursing information later. Journals are the main media through which the health care professionals of the nursing filed share the information. It generally includes the research findings, findings in nursing practice, influence of new strategic interventions, observational studies, randomized controlled trails, etc.

The medical journals include the vast information including the etiology, prevention, treatment, side effects, diagnosis and the nursing literature was mainly focused on the therapeutic interventions and observational studies.

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