What Is Proactive Nursing?

by Marilyn Lindblad
Proactive nursing may include home visits.

Proactive nursing may include home visits.

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Nursing is one of the world's oldest and most respected professions. With a focus on care, the field of nursing attracts compassionate individuals. Traditional nursing involves caring for patients who are recovering from or being treated for an accidental injury, illness or disease. Proactive nursing involves helping patients avoid and prevent those conditions.

Discharge Planning

After a hospitalization, many patients receive discharge orders -- instructions on what a patient should do at home to avoid coming back to the hospital. A proactive nurse reviews a patient's discharge instructions with the patient and his family members or caregivers to make sure the patient understands such details as how to take care of a surgical wound, how to take his medication and how he can perform everyday activities such as dressing and grooming himself. A proactive nurse may also help arrange home care for a patient who lives alone.

Home Health Care

In a patient's home, proactive nursing can help prevent hospital visits and reduce a patient's need for additional medical care. Visiting a patient in his home provides unique opportunities for assessment. A home health care nurse can analyze a patient's prescription drug containers to ensure that the patient is taking his medications. The nurse can assess the food in a patient's kitchen to see whether he has access to proper nutrition and can address other environmental concerns -- such as tripping hazards created by throw rugs -- before they cause injuries.

Skin Care Evaluation

Proactive nursing includes evaluation of a patient's skin, the body's largest organ. In patients who spend most of their time in a bed or a wheelchair, nurses monitor the skin for signs of pressure ulcers which are, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, a significant but preventable cause of prolonged hospitalization and death. Preventive skin care also includes examinations for precancerous lesions. In addition, the presence of bruises on a patient's skin can be a sign of an unreported injury or physical abuse.


In an obstetrics practice, a proactive nurse-midwife can identify and address problems during pregnancy, resulting in healthier babies and fewer complicated births. A study of midwives in the 1930s found that mothers who received proactive care were 10 times less likely to die during childbirth than the average American. Similarly, modern proactive nurses reduce health risks associated with childbirth. Nurses who work with low-income expectant mothers in Washington, D.C., today help reduce the incidence of premature births and underweight babies.

About the Author

Marilyn Lindblad practices law on the west coast of the United States. She has been a freelance writer since 2007. Her work has appeared on various websites. Lindblad received her Juris Doctor from Lewis and Clark Law School.

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