Background: In a patriarchal society like Pakistan, where women are oppressed, women dominating professions like nursing is mostly seen as disempowered and requires considerable struggle to achieve its due recognition and respect. Aim: This study aims to explore the experiences of empowerment among the nursing leaders of Pakistan.Methods: This study uses a qualitative descriptive design. Total of twelve Pakistani Nursing leaders were interviewed using semi-structured interview guideline to explore their experiences of empowerment.Results: The study findings revealed five major categories which include: status of a nurse, nursing profession, power relationships, value-belief system, and leadership and management.Conclusions: Nurses’ empowerment is essential for enhancing the image and status of nursing profession in Pakistan. The study identified various personal and professional factors affecting nurses’ empowerment in the country and suggests various strategies, such as access to higher nursing education, development of enhanced nursing leadership competencies and understanding of power and politics of the organization, through which nurses can achieve empowerment.

Nursing is considered both science and art. Artful nursing has been essential for holistic nursing practice since the time of Nightingale, but it is getting neglected and has been lately limited to nursing literature (Gramling, 2004). This qualitative study seeks to gain an understanding of the perceptions of active nurses in Pakistan about nursing art and yields four major themes: artful nursing is embedded in humane responsiveness, artful nursing has healing power, artful nursing is a satisfying experience, and artful nursing is invisible in nursing practice. Study participants valued nursing art, and their perceptions illuminate Watson's Theory of Human Caring (1988).

Background: The intensive and critical care units are high-dependency areas, with patients requiring complex care. The intubated status of the intensive and critical care patients makes them dependent on healthcare providers not only for acute care, but also for intimate care, imposing a threat to their dignity. Nurses, being the central care providers, become the stakeholders for dignity promotion. The incorporation of dignity in patient care improves the quality of care, and promotes the health and well-being of intubated patients. Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore nurses’ perceptions about the dignity of intubated patients in the intensive and critical care units. Research design: A qualitative descriptive exploratory study design was used to explore the nurses’ perceptions about the dignity of intubated patients. Participants and research context: The intensive and critical care nurses of a tertiary care hospital were recruited using the purposive sampling technique. The data were collected through in-depth individual interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide. The findings were manually analyzed into themes and categories through content analysis. Ethical consideration: The study was conducted after the approval from the Ethical Review Committee of the Aga Khan University. Findings: Four major themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) two sides of the contemporary nursing practice; (2) benefits of dignified nursing care; (3) challenges to the dignity of intubated patients; and (4) strategies for promoting the dignity of intubated patients. Discussion: Dignity incorporates both the science and the art of nursing. The provision of dignified care is the core component of the quality nursing care and patient well-being in the high-dependency units. Conclusion: This is the first exploratory and descriptive study conducted in Pakistan that explored the nurses’ perceptions about the dignity of intubated patients, and also generated contextual understanding about the phenomenon.

community of practice. It is a dynamic, developmental process to assume the new identity, values, and knowledge base of the new role" (p.203). Like any other profession or work setting, work role transition also frequently takes place in nursing profession.

Nursing is considered both science and art. Artful nursing has been essential for holistic nursing practice since the time of Nightingale, but it is getting neglected and has been lately limited to nursing literature (Gramling, 2004). This qualitative study seeks to gain an understanding of the perceptions of active nurses in Pakistan about nursing art and yields four major themes: artful nursing is embedded in humane responsiveness, artful nursing has healing power, artful nursing is a satisfying experience, and artful nursing is invisible in nursing practice. Study participants valued nursing art, and their perceptions illuminate Watson's Theory of Human Caring (1988).