Nurses'conceptualizations of caring attitudes and behaviours

Abstract

This paper outlines a study, which provided a pilot for part of a larger research project, to investigate nurses' conceptualizations of caring. The report gives an overview of previous work related to defining the concept of care before outlining the study undertaken. A sample of nine qualified nurses was used and Kelly's repertory grid technique employed to elicit constructs within the concepts of caring attitudes and caring behaviours. Grid data were analysed using cluster analysis and nine common themes were identified. These themes were largely supportive of previous research studies. It is proposed that in developing a theory of care, a synthesis should occur between nurses' conceptualizations of the concept and their professional practice.

Clinical nurses' expressions of the emotions related to caring and coping with cancer patients in Pakistan: a qualitative study

“…Psychological support was deemed to be an important aspect of the holistic approach to care that patients received and was under pinned by nurses' sensitivity, consideration and personal interactions with patients. This was acknowledged by numerous nurses in this study as a feature of care that permeated through all interactions with patients and concurred with Dyson's findings and perceptions that nurses should to have time for patients (Dyson 1996). Caring for patients involves a nurses' persona, intuitive knowledge, personal qualities such as humility, compassion, empathy, subtlety and being able to provide care without prejudice (Coulson et al .…”

“…The issue of the professionalism of nurses is a well‐developed concept and one that permeates through nurse education, training, practice and the delivery of competent clinical care of patients irrespective of disease (Dyson 1996). Professionalism is regarded as a tacit expectation of excellence in nursing care and the optimum achievement of the nurse.…”

Oncology patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of caring

“…Since that time, it is generally acknowledged worldwide that the concept of caring is central to the practice of nursing. There is, however, no single definition of what it means to care (Beck, 1999;Dyson, 1996). To borrow from McCaffery's (1972) widely accepted definition of pain, caring is whatever the person experiencing it says it is (p. 8).…”

“…Henderson et al (2007) found, through both observation and direct questions, that patients felt cared for when nurses responded to specific requests. Studies of nurses have shown that nurses consistently emphasize the humanistic side of the caring relationship rather than the technical aspects (Bassett, 2002;Bertero, C., 1999;Dyson, 1996;Wilkin & Slevin, 2004;Yam & Rossiter, 2000).…”

Against meaning

“…I checked them all, and here are some of the words I found: trust, attentiveness, solicitude, heed, watchfulness, painstaking, loving, concern, willing sacrifice, responsibility, empower, cuddlesome, value, respect. That, I think, covers many, and perhaps most, of the ‘findings’ in several studies of this ‘phenomenon’, or at least those that focus on ‘being supportive’ and ‘communication’ (examples are: Kitson, 1987; Forrest, 1989; Swanson, 1991; Clarke & Wheeler, 1992; Smith, 1995; Dyson, 1996; Nelms, 1996; see also Kyle, 1995, for a review). There is, it is fair to say, something odd about empirical research that reproduces what anyone can look up in a thesaurus.…”