The very first thing a nursing student must understand is the exact definition of nursing. Students must learn about the role and scope of practice of nurses. Usually, schools help bring context to the role of a nurse by discussing the history of nursing and how it has evolved into its current state. At this point, students become familiar with how nurses are now clinicians who do not need physician supervision to give care.
Once students understand the work of a nurse, they move on to how to perform it. The nursing process entails the order in which nurses examine, evaluate and determine treatment for a patient. It also focuses students on ensuring a patient's life and safety are in tact before becoming concerned with issues of comfort and emotional well-being -- although nurses are responsible for those too.
Nurses have high standards to uphold and many responsibilities. Both law and professional codes of ethics govern how they perform their duties. For example, the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses states that a nurse's primary duty is to her patients -- meaning that a nurse has a responsibility to do what's right for the patient over what's right for her employer or what a physician might improperly request. Similarly, both law and ethics require nurses to adhere patients' wishes about their care. A nurse cannot perform an intervention that a patient declines -- even if it is in the patient's best interest.
Fundamentals of nursing courses also begin a nursing student's rudimentary clinical training. The basics of germ theory, asepsis, elimination, oxygenation, nutrition and body positioning are covered in the classroom and laboratory sections. Students also become familiar with the complete list of physiological and psychosocial needs and learn how to distinguish between them.