Nursing clinical practice: A unique way of thinking and acting in the field of health care

Clinical practice, generally identified as a medical activity, is also a feature of other professions. Anecdotal evidence generally shows that nurses, but also the people they work with and the recipients of care, do not identify their “bedside” activity as “clinical practice.” However, from the initial training stage onward, teaching and learning center on providing people with care. Professional practices focus essentially on clinical activity with the acquisition and mobilization of knowledge produced by various disciplines, including nursing.
Clinical practice can be approached in various ways depending on the field of study and/or the objectives pursued. To better understand nursing clinical practice, considered as a whole, we focus in particular on its purpose, language, phases, and the substance of each stage.
Clarification of nursing clinical practice is of value both epistemologically and in relation to social utility: this latter by making it possible to standardize the modalities of exposure to nursing care situations, making visible the activities of care conception and practice by nurses.
This article aims to lay the foundations for reflecting on a vast and complex field. Clarifying nursing clinical practice and considering it in its entirety constitutes a change of perspective. It allows us to see it as a whole and in its constituent parts, to situate each element according to its purpose and function, to carry out critical analyses, and to contribute to the development of knowledge. Understanding of nursing clinical practice and its related issues, notably in terms of structure and language, has begun to emerge, but also poses a challenge for nursing.