"Caring" what does it mean to you?

Nurses General Nursing

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:welcome: HI! I'm a new nursing student who is putting together a blog for her Nursing Resource's Center at School. In it I like to have myth busters and real nurses experiences,humor,inspiration,verse .., whatever it would take to cajole and inspire nursing students onward and forever upward towards their goals of becoming RN's. Only thing is I can't seem to get it really going. I could sure use all the help I can get from the all nurses community. Any contributions will be totally appreciated. Thanks for the support. ;)

Specializes in ED.

I think caring is just very much part of the job.

Caring to me is rejoicing with a patient who is being discharged finally after a long stay, and them thanking you for your caring for them.

Caring is praying that some patient of yours makes it throught the night as you drive home from a 12 hr shift.

Caring is remembering that the little lady with Alzheimer's really doesn't like applesauce with her pills, so you put it on the MAR to give her pills in strawberry icecream instead.

Caring is going home every night wondering what you could do better next time while recognising the good stuff you accomplished that day.

soozeeq246

9 Posts

Thanks twinmommy+1 Your quotes are very inspiring and neat to read I will inculde them in my blog. As for that last quote I can certainly go along with that. Especially In this field where you have to be so sure of everything that you do that its mind boggling sometimes. Its also very rewarding!

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, Home Health, Oncology.

Caring is.........being assigned a patient who is obviously dying and is completely alone with no family or friends with him and, his or her nurse taking the time to stay with him, holding his hand and just generally being with him while he dies.

I absolutely hate when patient's have to die alone!!

jill48, ASN, RN

612 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.

I think caring is putting others' needs above your own.;)

Gromit

821 Posts

Specializes in ICU-Stepdown.
Caring is.........being assigned a patient who is obviously dying and is completely alone with no family or friends with him and, his or her nurse taking the time to stay with him, holding his hand and just generally being with him while he dies.

I absolutely hate when patient's have to die alone!!

Ditto THAT completely! If I cannot be there when they die, I try to make sure SOMEONE is -be it a tech or whatever) -nobody should have to die alone. As ours are all hardwired monitored, you generally have a good notice when they are starting to CTD (circle the drain).

Also, caring is leaving them in better shape than you got them -make sure they are all clean, dry, and as comfortable as possible.

Caring is trying to minimize any disturbance to them (I work nights, and our unit is a VS q4H) as much as possible.

Caring means grabbing a box of kleenex for the family of the one who is going through the celestial discharge process -before they ask for it. It can really make a difference.

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hmm. caring can ALSO be not giving in to strangling someone who severely deserves it! (sorry, HAD to! )

ZASHAGALKA, RN

3,322 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care.

The only "care theory" that nursing needs is, "Do unto others as you would have done to you", or as the case may be, as you would have done to your family.

There. All the "care" theorists in the Ivory Tower can retire. The most comprehensive nursing 'care theory' was written 2,000 yrs ago.

What nursing REALLY needs is to stop forwarding innate human characteristics, such as 'caring', and instead front our extensive science training, decision making ability (and capacity to independently act), our skills, and experience. Care or not, I EARN my keep by being a high tech, high trained, highly experienced autonomous bedside monitor, manager, and interventioner.

Our value is NOT best summed up as the equivalent of a mother's love. It is, rather, best expressed by the hard work and effort that goes into arming a nurse with the knowledge, skills, and experience to do a hectic and complex job, and to do it well.

(If you follow this reasoning, where it will lead you is to the conclusion that nursing needs nurses 'in it for the money' as much or MORE than we need nurses 'called' to the job.)

But let me point out that I'm not putting down caring. THIS definition above doesn't detract one bit from any of the answers already put forward. I'm not against the caring nature of nursing. I just wish it was sometimes put more into perspective with everything else that makes nursing not just a valuable, but a 'neat' job. A more rounded perspective of nursing would lead to more respect, salary, and recruitment.

A good part of my job consists of caring, but it is by no means the only, or even major part of my job. I'm not an angel, nor do I pretend to be. That's a good thing, because that would be an impossible standard by which to measure myself personally, or my profession.

~faith,

Timothy.

Gromit

821 Posts

Specializes in ICU-Stepdown.

Cant argue with that.

soozeeq246

9 Posts

Thanks to all who have responded. I can see that caring means different things to different nurses, but basically it all comes down to being there for the patient and making sure the patient is clean, secure,dry,comfortable,safe and not feeling left alone without anyone by his or her side if they need them for anything.

I_am_Julia

226 Posts

for me, caring is showing empathy (not sympathy) and doing the best job you can do.

:welcome: hi! i'm a new nursing student who is putting together a blog for her nursing resource's center at school. in it i like to have myth busters and real nurses experiences,humor,inspiration,verse .., whatever it would take to cajole and inspire nursing students onward and forever upward towards their goals of becoming rn's. only thing is i can't seem to get it really going. i could sure use all the help i can get from the all nurses community. any contributions will be totally appreciated. thanks for the support. ;)

PANurseRN1

1,288 Posts

Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.

I dislike that caring gets equated with some sort of simpering, Johnson and Johnson commercial type feeling. I agree with Timothy (for a change ;) ), "Do unto others..."

God knows we've had enough of the angel stereotype to last a lifetime. (Yeah, I did mean to make that pun.)

muffie, RN

1,411 Posts

Specializes in cardiac med-surg.

sincerely being interested in the welfare of other human beings and acting on that interest

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