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The Act of Caring in Nursing

Watson 1988, defines caring as “The moral ideal of nursing whereby the end is protection, enhancement, and the preservation of human dignity.” Based on Watson’s definition, the act of caring in nursing involves values, will as well as the commitment to care, caring actions, knowledge, and consequences of care. All of human caring is related to the intersubjective response of humans to health conditions, nursing knowledge in the caring process, environmental-personal interactions, and personal knowledge. Nursing and caring are intertwined as one in that nursing as a profession would not be termed as nursing if the act of caring was missing the process of care. In nursing, the act of caring can be defined as the feeling and the exhibition of concern and empathy to others while at the same time, having compassion. The act of caring requires action to the needy in response to their needs as they require deferent caring plans.

Despite the advancement in technology, especially in medicine, the act of caring remains the utmost concern for nurses as the provision of care is more than a cure (Bastable). The act of caring is more than a patient-centered approach in nursing as care requires the recognition of every individual as a human being and to whose experiences affect health and the entire wellbeing either directly or indirectly. To effectively provide nursing care, nurse or the care providers are required to develop the head, hand and the heart approach in nursing that incorporates the practical know-how, with the emphatic understanding and the technical knowledge in the provision of sensitive and humane care. To act professionally, the nurses require to be trained in regards to caring and the kind of attitudes they are required to exhibit so that they are able to achieve the act of caring safely and with dignity for the people involved.

The act of caring in nurses is based on the attitudes, beliefs, and values that set the rules for caring (Potter et al.). The attitudes, beliefs, and values are stipulated in the 5 C’s of caring that include commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. The 5 C’s are highly applicable in the nursing profession. One of the 5 C’s is commitment, which is more demanding to the nurses. The life of nursing can be challenging at times, but taking care of patients requires a commitment that does not waiver, that is it requires a lot of sacrifices. Therefore, the nurses are required to continuously dedicate themselves to caring for the patients as the main priority. Besides, to show commitment, the nursing personnel are required to continually improve their skills and knowledge to provide effective care.

A strong conscience is required to deliver the best possible care to patients as it calls for a strong sense of moral responsibility. The conscience helps in guiding the nurse’s actions even when stress and other personal matters can hinder the consistent application of the best practices of care. Adhering to personal conscience always helps a person be on the right course. Competence, on the other hand, is important, and nurses can demonstrate competence by arriving at their place of work on time and presenting themselves in a professional manner. Nurses are also required to continually improve their skills in order to develop competence in their profession.

Compassion involves empathizing with others, and for the nurses, it involves empathy to the patients (Lee and GyeongAe). Compassion helps the care providers with a kind and considerate treatment at all times, and in return, the nurses may receive an inspirational sense of human connection and confirmation of the meaning of their profession. Confidence, on the other hand, involves a strong sense of strong self-will to provide care to the patients. Confidence ties all the other four C’s and helps the nurse assist others in dealing with the most challenging situations. The act of caring in nursing, therefore, requires a lot of dedication and professionalism to achieve quality care.

Works Cited

Bastable, Susan B. Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017.

Lee, Youngjin, and GyeongAe Seomun. “Compassion competence in nurses.” Advances in Nursing Science 39.2 (2016): E54-E66.

Potter, Patricia A., et al. Fundamentals of Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2016.

Watson, Jean. Nursing: A Theory of Nursing. National League for Nursing, 1988.