What it means
پرستاری پزشکی (parastâri-ye pezeshki) refers to medical nursing, the professional practice of caring for patients in clinical settings under medical supervision. Parastâri is derived from the Persian verb parastidan (to tend, to care for, to worship), giving it a root that carries connotations of devoted service. Pezeshki is the adjectival form of pezeshk (physician), itself a pure Persian word attested in classical literature. The phrase can also be rendered as مراقبت پزشکی (morâqebat-e pezeshki), where morâqebat is of Arabic origin, a synonym meaning care or supervision. Parastâri-ye pezeshki tends to refer to the professional discipline, while morâqebat is broader and more colloquial.
How to use it
- اون تو رشته پرستاری پزشکی درس میخونه. (un tu reshte-ye parastâri-ye pezeshki dars mikhune.) “She is studying medical nursing.”
- پرستاری پزشکی یه مهارت تخصصیه. (parastâri-ye pezeshki ye mahârat-e takhassosie.) “Medical nursing is a specialised skill.”
- بیمارستان به پرستاری پزشکی باکیفیت نیاز داره. (bimârestân be parastâri-ye pezeshki bâkeyfiyat niâz dâre.) “The hospital needs quality medical nursing.”
- پرستاری پزشکی تو بخش ICU خیلی سخته. (parastâri-ye pezeshki tu bakhsh-e ICU kheyli sakhte.) “Medical nursing in the ICU is very demanding.”
Cultural note
Nursing (parastâri) is a university-level degree programme in Iran, offered at both bachelor and graduate levels by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The profession has historically been undervalued relative to medicine, a situation that sparked nationwide strikes and protests by nurses in 2020 and 2021 over pay and working conditions. The word parastâr (nurse) is gender-neutral in Persian, though the profession is predominantly female in Iran.