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Describe the importance of caring in nursing
Describe the importance of caring in nursing
Describe the importance of caring in nursing
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Leo Buscaglia once said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” In the field of nursing, this concept could not be illustrated more profoundly. The trait of caring within nursing is arguably the most important trait that a nurse could possess. It can be defined in various ways, but to me, caring is the act of being moved or compelled to action by feelings of compassion, empathy, sympathy, anger, intention, sadness, fear, happiness, protection, enlightenment, or love in light of another human being. There are many aspects to the term “caring”. It is an ever-present shape shifter, swiftly …show more content…
It reflects trust, intimacy, and responsibility, which are elements essential to any nursing relationship. It is the core of nursing. In the article, “Dimensions of Caring: A Qualitative Analysis of Nurses’ Stories”, an analysis was done on over two hundred stories submitted by nurses around the world, illustrating the point that the practice of nursing encompasses much more than just technical skills. In one of the stories, a nurse stood by the side of a young mother grieving the loss of her baby with nobody else to turn to. This nurse accompanied the 19 year old mother to the cemetery the day after the baby’s death, New Year’s Eve, to bury her baby that had been born at just 22 weeks gestation. She bought her a book on grieving and loss and supported the woman during that difficult time. This nurse did not have to do that—she did not have to go above and beyond for this stranger. But she did. She felt empathy and compassion for this woman and she acted on that. That is what nursing is about, going above and beyond, making emotional investments into the lives of other people. The significance of the actions of this nurse cannot be overstated. We will never know the full impact that this nurse made on that young woman’s life; perhaps she saved her life, or changed the direction of it for the …show more content…
I pray that the busyness of life, the tasks that need to be done, the science of healthcare, sleep deprivation, or monotony will never cloud the love and compassion that I have for people. Personally, I love making connections with people. I love giving people a chance to tell their stories. During my nursing practice, I foresee that I will do my best to be the most caring nurse possible. The responsibility lays within each individual nurse as to the level of caring and compassion that they bring to carrying out their nursing duties. I will continually choose to focus on the needs of my patients above my own. Displaying empathy, I will strive to put myself in each one of their shoes and make self-reflection a priority. I foresee that I will do whatever is within my power to enhance trust, comfort, happiness, and wellness for my patients. This may look like spending extra time with a patient, visiting a patient when I’m off-duty, providing emotional or spiritual resources to a patient, respecting a patient’s beliefs and values, providing for any physical needs or extra comfort measures, or just lending a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. My patients will always know that they are not
Caring is the “central theme and core of nursing caring tapestry” (Otterbein University, 2009, p. 2). When developing caring characteristics as a nurse and caring interventions, this in return helps
Caring is the biggest aspect in the nursing field. Aspiring nurses choose to become nurses because they want to care for people in ways that most professions cannot do. Without caring nursing would not be the field it is today. The culture of caring involves intervening programs that help to build caring behaviors among nurses. As nurses become stressed and become down on their life it has shown that caring for oneself before others is key in caring for patients. Lastly, throughout the years many theorists have proven that caring has come from many concepts and ideas that relate directly to ICU nursing.
In conclusion, Jean Watson’s theory of caring, a middle-range theory, provides essential framework and guidelines in nursing shortage problem. Nurses who exposed to caring theory have moral and ethical obligations to care for others during challenging situations. Patients, families and other professionals depend on nursing profession, their expertise and knowledge for best patient
3rd ed. of the book. St. Louis: Mosby & Co. McCance, T.V., McKenna, H. P., & Boore, J. R. P. (1999). Caring: Theoretical perspectives of relevance to nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30, 1388 – 1395.
Many nursing theories have progressed over time. Nursing theories provide us with a frame of reference, the capability to select concepts to study, and the philosophies that are within one’s practice (Cherry & Jacob, 2014, p. 77). Nursing theories are important because they provide nursing principles and it contributes to nursing knowledge to guide health care practices and research. The purpose of this paper is to choose a nursing theory or theorist and explain why it was chosen. The nursing theory that was chosen and will be discussed is the Philosophy and Science of Caring by Jean Watson. The focus of this theory will be discussed throughout this paper. The theory of caring focuses on the human being, their health, the environment, and the
When I became a nurse, in my heart, I knew that I was a caring person; however, I did not have a caring theory driving my practice. After studying Watson’s Human Caring Science Theory, the theory is consistent with my values, which emphasizes a holistic approach with mind, body, and spirit through a caring nurse patient relationship in an environment that promotes healing, comfort, and dignity. Human Caring Science gives the privilege of viewing human life with wonder, respect, and appreciates small and large miracles, which allows the inner world of the patient and nurse to come together in a unique human relationship, in the here and now moment (Watson, 2012, p. 24).
These characteristics can help make the professional nurse: caring practices, teamwork, and being a good collaborator. Caring practices are associated with being there not only for oneself but also for others and accepting compassion from others. In the following study data were interpreted with Watson’s Theory of Human Caring in mind. The study revealed that compassion and a nonjudgmental respect towards ones own self contributes to others as well. The major goal of teamwork is to achieve maximum use with minimum redundancy. Teamwork leads to better coordination of care and services and increased communication among providers (Sayah et. Al 2014). With this in consideration, nurses being the caregivers they are, collaboration is enhanced (Gustin & Wagner
Besides, it is one of the work ethics in nursing. The nursing experts say that compassion is at the heart of nursing and they advise that nursing students will develop this skill through their study periods. Compassion exceeds the concept of simply sympathising with someone, but also involves a transfer of emotion likely to lead to helpful action’’ (.Baughan, Jacqui,Smith,Ann2013).I believe that in my future profession, my compassion skills will surely reduce patient anxiety and alleviate their pain as well as improve their progress through reassurance.
Two concepts at the heart of nursing are comfort and caring. The Meriam Webster dictionary defines comfort as easing grief or trouble, as well as giving hope or strength. The definition of caring is showing or feeling concern for others. Theorists Jean Watson and Katharine Kolcaba seek to enhance nurses understanding of caring and comforting patients through their respective theories. This paper will discuss their theories using a stepwise approach.
Jean Watson is a well respected American nurse theorist that created the Theory on Human Caring. From my perspective her concept on caring for a human being simple, yet has much depth and meaning. I do believe that I became a nurse because I have the ability to care for another human being in an organic way that comes straight from my heart. As I study Jean Watson’s theory further, I can see that parts of her theory can enhance my nursing practice. I strive to continue to learn and grow on a personal and professional level daily. I am also finding that I have brought a portion of her theory into the care of my patients that I have had in the past. There are a countless number of nurses, but not all nurses truly represent the importance of being able to care for another human being, as it is an honor. The Theory of Caring by Jean Watson holds strong for nurses to work with compassion, wisdom, love, and caring. Watson’s theory is built on a foundation of giving care, the core components are: values, faith-hope, sensitivity, trust, feelings, decision-making, teaching-learning, environment, and human needs. If one is able to bring this theory into their live, one might find that it has the power to enhance themselves professionally and personally.
This theory “Focuses on the human component of caring and the moment-to-moment encounters between the one who is caring and the one who is being cared for, especially the caring activities by nurses as they interact with others” (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016, p. 49). Healthcare systems have been focusing more on curing than caring. The costs of non-caring are quality, safety and medical errors. Inadequate staffing further distances the relationship between nursing and patients. When the patient feels like an object, they become dissatisfied (Pajnkihar et al., 2017). If management can apply a caring approach to administration, they will see the benefits of nurses spending more time with patients. This restores nursing to promote wholeness and healing. Focusing on a caring approach promotes adequate staffing to facilitate the nurse patient
Nursing is a field that brings joy and fulfillment in caring for others, but it’s not only about giving care for others; for me, it is about touching the lives of others or having a life touch mine. My experiences around nurses in hospitals and doctor’s offices is what helped form my personal interest in the nursing field. I’ve had rough experiences with my health due to my allergies and asthma. My allergic reactions would often trigger asthma attacks, leaving me in a doctor’s office or on a hospital bed. In each of those experiences, I’ve had very loving and caring nurses that reassured me that I was okay. They were the ones who made each of those experiences pleasant and is what inspired me to follow in their paths and become a nurse myself.
What is caring? In any healthcare profession caring is an important concept, but what does it really mean to care? Opinions on the meaning of caring vary depending on the person and the situation. It seems that most people think of caring differently than nurses do, and nurses think of caring differently than other healthcare workers. Which arises another question, is caring in nursing different than other healthcare disciplines?
According to Kristen Swanson’s theory of caring, caring consists of Knowing, Being with, Doing for, Enabling, and maintaining belief. She believes that the environment and what is in the environment can affect people, either positively or negatively. As a nursing student, I possess the qualities of enabling, doing for, and being with. These qualities are implanted in me via my upbringing, culture, religious belief, and life experience/encounters(my environment). “Enabling” is the nurses’ responsibility to help the make a transition into the unknown.
A nurse, who is knowledgeable and confident, respectful and trustworthy, who has a personal approach for each of the patients and advocate for them, who can put herself or himself in the patients’ place, is a caring nurse. Of course, it is not very easy and there are many challenges, but if the nurses can work hard and always try to provide the best caring experience, they can succeed and be professionally satisfied. There is also another question that I couldn’t find the answer yet: how do we measure the caring? Is there any way we can know that we provide enough care? This can be the topic of my future