NR 500 Week 2: Caring Concepts in Nursing

NR 500 Week 2: Caring Concepts in Nursing

The concept of caring in contemporary nursing practice has evolved greatly in this postmodern era of nursing. Caring can be viewed in grammar as a noun, adjective, or verb. I prefer the verb because the action form of caring is the form that will produce results. Caring in nursing are the actions taken whether verbally or nonverbally by the nurse as caregiver that encourages the healing of a patient by conveying the value in the individual person and enhancing their whole well-being. Caring is exemplified in often the intangible, unseen, and unpaid works of nurses and advanced practice nurses (Hines, M., & Gaughan, J. 2017).  Nursing by nature is a nurturing profession. The overwhelming majority of nurses entered into nursing school with an innate desire to care for others and in return contribute to something greater than themselves.

The act of caring by nurses involves establishing trust in often a short amount of time. Being present, incorporating family centered care with patient centered care, establishing a sense of normalcy in an abnormal environment are just some of the ways that nurses are able to display caring towards their patients and are what often sets apart this profession from others in the healthcare community (Hines, M., & Gaughan, J. 2017).  Attention to basic needs and approach to patients and families in a non-judgmental, sincere way helps initiate the healing process both physically and mentally. Caring can at times be interrupted by the advancement of science, technology, work load, and a demanding environment often displayed in health care institutions of today. When a nurse is rushed to complete the assigned tasks of extensive documentation, rapid discharges so that the room can open for the next admission, heavy assignments in a department with staffing shortages, the nurse’s own ability to draw from his/her inner resources that allow the compassion to be authentically displayed to the individual in need becomes deterred. Enhancing the caring environment should be a forerunner in nurse education and leadership goals for the workplace for nurses and their patients.

My specialty track in this Master’s of Science in Nursing program is that of Nurse Educator.  I chose this specialty after much consideration because I believe that by educating our ‘young’ whether it be those new to nursing or those new to a different specialty will benefit and maintain the future of the nursing profession for generations to come. As I have grown in my experiences as an RN from BSN graduation in 1998, NICU nursing for 10 years, followed by pediatric perioperative nursing for the last decade to present day, I have been blessed to have encountered mentors who have encouraged me so much along the way to achieve more than I ever dreamed of achieving in this profession. At the heart of my practice is caring and compassion. It is the empathy displayed for the scared child being taken into surgery and the separation from their parents. It is the gentle touch and reassurance to the post-partum mother who is told her baby will need specialized NICU care.

My goal as a nurse educator is to pass on the necessity of providing authentic, person-centered care to my fellow nurses entering the pediatric perioperative nursing specialty. As a perioperative nurse, our interactions carry great weight in a short amount of time as pre-operative interviews and introductions are often efficient due to the nature of the surgical environment. It is those first few crucial moments where the establishment of trust from the patient and parent is crucial. As a nurse educator, I believe in supporting the team by offering in-services or continued education on the effectiveness of caring, keeping the concept front and center as a reminder of a core component to their nursing practice. Nurse educators are in a good position to partner with nurses in their caring endeavors (McClendon, P. 2017). Caring language and support in nursing workplaces should be modeled by nursing leadership. Nursing staff, feeling the support of their leadership, will be happier and more willing to share their caring consciousness with others.

References:

Hines, M., & Gaughan, J. (2017). Advanced holistic nursing practice narratives: A view

of caring praxis. Journal of Holistic Nursing. (35)4, 1-20.

doi:10.1177/0898010117715849