What Is Your Definition Of Caring?

[IIIseeyaa]

we were discussing this in my rn-bsn class and we got alot of different answers.

rules are: no dictionaries involve, answer must be what you think caring means. you must define it in your own words, no one else.

hopefully everyone can participate.

iiiseeyaa!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

For me, this is something that I can't necessarily define. I just know it when I see it, if that makes sense.

[IIIseeyaa]

My definition is an act or intention, that provides well being to the mind, body, and spirit of the provider or the recipient or both.

IIIseeyaa

[IIIseeyaa]

QUOTE=EricEnfermero;2605447]For me, this is something that I can't necessarily define. I just know it when I see it, if that makes sense.

No that does not make sense to me, Caring is not only something you witness, it's a feeling, an emotion.

Put the words together that you feel encompasses caring and from there you can define caring. SEE MY DEFINITION ABOVE

COME ON....COME ON....COME ON....PUT YOUR THINKING CAP ON!

IIISEEYAA

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

Being a patient advocate even if the patients wishes are not within my personal beliefs. Taking the time to listen so I do understand the patients wishes.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

"Caring" A feeling of one or many of the following: compassion, empathy, sympathy, anger, vehemency, advocation, intention, sadness, fear, happiness, protection, enlightenment, love, or passion in direct correlation with the plight/triumph of another human being/entity/idea/culture/population.

Caring is an internal reaction to the above and is often coupled with a sense of need to help physically or emotionally, in an attempt to offer support in a visible way.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Our hospital uses Jean Watson's Caring theory in our nursing philosophy. We have developed our hospital's misson and values around that theory and have defined behaviors that SHOW we care. Among those are introducing yourself to the patient, using appropriate touch and sitting down to be on eye level when conversing (when possible). Values are stewardship, mutual respect, quality, excellence, commitment, integrity, sound judgment and compassion. If you SHOW those values the caring will be understood. Actions speak louder than words, of course.

[James Huffman]

In the context of nursing as a professional field...

caring: the provision of skilled, professional nursing services to clients.

That's all. "Caring" is not -- within a nursing context -- having heart-felt emotions toward a client. We may or may not have those, but it's not our job. Our job is to provide professional services to the client. If we're not providing those, we're not caring. If we provide them, we are.

[PMHNP10]

James Huffman,

For what it's worth, strictly speaking, your definition of caring could be attached to the nurse who is most likely to be sued/referred to BON (from a statistical POV). That is, nurses who have exemplary skills, but are perceived as being less friendly by the patient are sued more often than nurses who might have less refined skills, but who have an emotional level attached to caring, which could indicate a less robotic, and more human component to nursing. For clarification, I'm not saying a person cannot have excellent technical skills and be perceived as having emotional parts of caring.

Let me provide a scenario:

You have a dying patient and he/she asks that you hold their hand. IMO this is an emotional component of caring and not a "skilled, professional nursing service". It's clearly caring for the patient's wholistic needs by providing an emotional service, so to speak.

[IIIseeyaa]

James Huffman,

I did not intent for this to be about your profession only,

I intended this to bring out the warm side of everyone.

To think about how would you personally classify someone as a caring person.

What have you experienced in your life that made you put a lable on someone as a caring person.

Everyone, views and belief are different, I just wanted to address something positive

that we all aspire to provide in our profession and personality

I did not want a response from the book, I wanted a response from the heart!

IIIseeyaa

[anonymurse]

I did not want a response from the book, I wanted a response from the heart!

I think honesty counts for more than anything in this kind of forum. I mean, is this the kind of question you want to say has "wrong" answers? And sometimes honesty brings important truth.

Now as to the head's part in the effectual workings of the heart, I quit playing in church bands because the Bible says "play skilfully and with a loud noise." Well way too many church musicians ignore the first part and pay attention only to the second. Now if you are going to do something for someone you CARE about, whether God or a patient, aren't you going to do right by them, not just feel for them? And if not, isn't it just lip service?

Some further thoughts: all relationships are about caring enough to do the hard work not only to make the relationship happen, that is, pay off emotionally for the lover, but they are about the other, that is, caring enough to see what preparation is needed to ensure the wellbeing of the other, and to plan and do the hard work.

Going back to church bands, I have seen many who claimed wild love of God, yet couldn't be bothered to even glance over the sheet music once, let alone show up for practice, let alone practice at home.

In the nurse-patient relationship, some display similar shortcomings. Do they care enough to do no harm? This includes everything from routine handwashing to continuing study to making oneself a responsive part of the care team to forcing oneself to take a fresh look at the patient with every new piece of data.

What is caring? We can look at the opposite. We have all seen patients come in who were neglected. You might say that's passive abuse, not active. But your gut tells you abuse is abuse, doesn't it, when you see what shape patients are in on admission?

Now I understand an automatic aversion to bringing such apparently non-emotional things as nursing process into a discussion of caring. We all know those to whom being right all the time, or promoting their career, or something else and professionalism are one and the same. However even if they confuse these, surely we can see the difference.

I know an orthopedist who's getting on in years. He has a pact with others. If the group sees one of the others starting to slip in medical judgment or surgical skill, they are obligated to honestly confront the one who is slipping, and the other is obligated to retire. Now that's caring.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

James Huffman,

For what it's worth, strictly speaking, your definition of caring could be attached to the nurse who is most likely to be sued/referred to BON (from a statistical POV). That is, nurses who have exemplary skills, but are perceived as being less friendly by the patient are sued more often than nurses who might have less refined skills, but who have an emotional level attached to caring, which could indicate a less robotic, and more human component to nursing. For clarification, I'm not saying a person cannot have excellent technical skills and be perceived as having emotional parts of caring.

Let me provide a scenario:

You have a dying patient and he/she asks that you hold their hand. IMO this is an emotional component of caring and not a "skilled, professional nursing service". It's clearly caring for the patient's wholistic needs by providing an emotional service, so to speak.

If therapeutic listening is a skill, then hand-holding is indeed a skill. There've been many, many times when I wasn't "into it" emotionally, but agreed to it because the patient had a need--an emotional need for a physical touch.

Touching is indeed a nursing skill, far more than a medicinal one. (Unless your doc is a chiropractor.)

My version of "care" is an emotional feeling that translates into beneficial physical acts on behalf of another.