nursing

nursing

nurs·ing [nursing]   [ˈnɜːsɪŋ]    [ˈnɜːrsɪŋ]  noun uncountable

the job or skill of caring for people who are sick or injured

• a career in nursing

• nursing care

• the nursing profession

 

Example Bank:

• He is planning to follow a career in nursing.

• My grandmother lives in a nursing home.

• Representatives from the nursing profession will give a talk on their work.

nurse

nurse [nurse nurses nursed nursing] noun, verb   [nɜːs]    [nɜːrs]

noun

 

1. a person whose job is to take care of sick or injured people, usually in a hospital

• a qualified/registered nurse

• student nurses

• a male nurse

• a dental nurse (= one who helps a dentist)

• a psychiatric nurse (= one who works in a hospital for people with mental illnesses)

• Nurse Bennett

• Nurse, come quickly!

see also  charge nurse, district nurse, practical nurse, registered nurse, staff nurse

2. (also nurse·maid) (old-fashioned) (in the past) a woman or girl whose job was to take care of babies or small children in their own homes

see also  nursery nurse, wet nurse 

 

Word Origin:

late Middle English: contraction of earlier nourice, from Old French, from late Latin nutricia, feminine of Latin nutricius ‘(person) that nourishes’, from nutrix, nutric- ‘nurse’, from nutrire ‘nourish’. The verb was originally a contraction of nourish, altered under the influence of the noun.

 

More About:

gender

Ways of talking about men and women

When you are writing or speaking English it is important to use language that includes both men and women equally. Some people may be very offended if you do not.The human race

Man and mankind have traditionally been used to mean ‘all men and women’. Many people now prefer to use humanity, the human race, human beings or people.Jobs

The suffix -ess in names of occupations such as actress, hostess and waitress shows that the person doing the job is a woman. Many people now avoid these. Instead you can use actor or host, (although actress and hostess are still very common) or a neutral word, such as server for waiter and waitress.

Neutral words like assistant, worker, person or officer are now often used instead of -man or -woman in the names of jobs. For example, you can use police officer instead of policeman or policewoman, and spokesperson instead of spokesman or spokeswoman. Neutral words are very common in newspapers, on television and radio and in official writing, in both BrE and NAmE.

When talking about jobs that are traditionally done by the other sex, some people say: a male secretary/nurse/model (NOT man) or a woman/female doctor/barrister/driver. However this is now not usually used unless you need to emphasize which sex the person is, or it is still unusual for the job to be done by a man/woman: ▪ My daughter prefers to see a woman doctor. ◊ ▪ They have a male nanny for their kids. ◊ ▪ a female racing driver Pronouns

He used to be considered to cover both men and women: ▪ Everyone needs to feel he is loved. This is not now acceptable. Instead, after everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone, somebody, someone, etc. one of the plural pronouns they, them, and their is often used: ▪ Does everybody know what they want? ◊ ▪ Somebody’s left their coat here. ◊ ▪ I hope nobody’s forgotten to bring their passport with them.

Some people prefer to use he or she, his or her, or him or her in speech and writing: ▪ Everyone knows what’s best for him or herself. He/she or (s)he can also be used in writing: ▪ If in doubt, ask your doctor. He/she can give you more information. (You may find that some writers just use ‘she’.) These uses can seem awkward when they are used a lot. It is better to try to change the sentence, using a plural noun. Instead of saying: ▪ A baby cries when he or she is tired you can say ▪ Babies cry when they are tired.

 

Example Bank:

• the children's staff nurse

• a dental nurse

• a psychiatric nurse

• a qualified/registered nurse

 

verb

 

1. transitive ~ sb to care for sb who is ill/sick or injured

• He worked in a hospital for ten years nursing cancer patients.

• She nursed her daughter back to health.

• She nursed her husband devotedly through his last illness.

2. transitive ~ sth to take care of an injury or illness

• Several weeks after the match, he was still nursing a shoulder injury.

• You'd better go to bed and nurse that cold.

• (figurative) She was nursing her hurt pride.

3. transitive ~ sth (formal) to have a strong feeling or idea in your mind for a long time

Syn:  harbour

• to nurse an ambition/a grievance/a grudge

• She had been nursing a secret desire to see him again.

4. transitive ~ sth to give special care or attention to sb/sth

• to nurse tender young plants

• He nursed the car up the steep hill.

5. transitive ~ sb/sth to hold sb/sth carefully in your arms or close to your body

• He sat nursing his cup of coffee.

6. intransitive, transitive (of a woman or female animal) to feed a baby with milk from the breast

Syn:  suckle

• a nursing mother

• ~ sb/sth The lioness is still nursing her cubs.

compare  breastfeed

7. intransitive (of a baby) to suck milk from its mother's breast

Syn:  suckle

 

Word Origin:

late Middle English: contraction of earlier nourice, from Old French, from late Latin nutricia, feminine of Latin nutricius ‘(person) that nourishes’, from nutrix, nutric- ‘nurse’, from nutrire ‘nourish’. The verb was originally a contraction of nourish, altered under the influence of the noun.

 

Collocations:

Illnesses

Becoming ill

catch a cold/an infectious disease/the flu/(BrE) flu/pneumonia/a virus/(informal) a bug

get (BrE) ill/(NAmE) sick/a disease/AIDS/breast cancer/a cold/the flu/(BrE) flu/a migraine

come down with a cold/the flu/(BrE) flu

contract a deadly disease/a serious illness/HIV/AIDS

be infected with a virus/a parasite/HIV

develop cancer/diabetes/a rash/an ulcer/symptoms of hepatitis

have a heart attack/a stroke

provoke/trigger/produce an allergic reaction

block/burst/rupture a blood vessel

damage/sever a nerve/an artery/a tendon

Being ill

feel (BrE) ill/sick/nauseous/queasy

be running (BrE) a temperature/(NAmE) a fever

have a head cold/diabetes/heart disease/lung cancer/a headache/(BrE) a high temperature/(NAmE) a fever

suffer from asthma/malnutrition/frequent headaches/bouts of depression/a mental disorder

be laid up with/ (BrE) be in bed with a cold/the flu/(BrE) flu/a migraine

nurse a cold/a headache/a hangover

battle/fight cancer/depression/addiction/alcoholism

Treatments

examine a patient

diagnose a condition/disease/disorder

be diagnosed with cancer/diabetes/schizophrenia

prescribe/be given/be on/take drugs/medicine/medication/pills/painkillers/antibiotics

treat sb for cancer/depression/shock

have/undergo an examination/an operation/surgery/a kidney transplant/therapy/chemotherapy/treatment for cancer

have/be given an injection/(BrE) a flu jab/(NAmE) a flu shot/a blood transfusion/a scan/an X-ray

cure a disease/an ailment/cancer/a headache/a patient

prevent the spread of disease/further outbreaks/damage to the lungs

be vaccinated against the flu/(BrE) flu/the measles/(BrE) measles/polio/smallpox

enhance/boost/confer/build immunity to a disease

 

Example Bank:

• He was nursed back to health by his devoted servant.

• He worked in a hospital for ten years, nursing cancer patients.

See also: nursemaid

nursing home

ˈnursing home [nursing home]       noun

a small private hospital, especially one where old people live and are cared for

• Eventually she had to give up her house and go into a nursing home.