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T he purpose of this descriptive study was to assess how trauma patients with multiple injuries requiring hospitalization perceive caring behaviors in their nurses.Florence Nightingale wrote that caring is the foundation of nursing practice. 1 Boykin and S choenhoffer developed the theory of Nursing as Caring, in which caring is seen as a dynamic process that exists within shared experiences between the nurse and the patient. 2 The 2008 Essentials of Baccalaureate Education from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing states that nurses practice from a "holistic, caring framework." 3 There is very little research, however, on how caring is perceived by patients, especially those in critical care areas of the health care arena. Research conducted on caring with injured patients has included patients who have fairly minor injuries. Less research has examined how the most critically injured patients perceive caring behaviors in their ABSTRACTApplying the theory of Nursing as Caring can help the nurse provide care that is perceived as caring by moderately to severely injured trauma patients. The Caring Behaviors Inventory was administered in a 1-to-1 interview format to hospitalized trauma patients in a level 2 trauma center. Nurses were positively perceived in their caring behaviors with some variation based on gender and ethnicity. The modifi ed Caring Behaviors Inventory is quick to use and is reliable and valid.

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A descriptive study of moderately to severely injured patients' perceptions of nurses' caring behaviors was conducted at a level I trauma center. Seventy patients older than 18 years admitted through the trauma resuscitation unit were included. The participants were interviewed in their rooms/cubicles by the research team to complete the Caring Behaviors Inventory. The average rating for the sample was 4.8. Patients receiving care through trauma services expressed an overall positive perception of caring from the nursing staff while there was room for improvement in some areas.