LAUSR

Health is an inevitable requirement for the development of all human populations, as it underlies and impacts even themost basic conditions related to economic and social factors. Health is an important symbol of national prosperity and represents a personal concern of every member among a nation’s overall populous, from young to old and rich to poor. A key component of any health care system is the nursing community, which plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining and promoting the people's health. In the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the goal of promoting the construction of a healthy China was put forward. This goal was detailed as objective efforts to provide fair, continuous and systematic health services for the people based on two focus points: the whole population and the whole life cycle. Professional nursing services play important roles in thewhole process of human life, with contributions in prevention of disease, assistance in diagnosis and treatment, reducing pain and suffering, and promoting rehabilitation. Therefore, to achieve the goal of a healthy China, development of the nursing profession itself must be accelerated, with care to progress the connotation and extension of nursing so that it effectively addresses and meets the people's health needs while being readily adaptable to further reform that will support continual improvement of health care.