Understanding the essence of care in nurses' lived stories: A phenomenological study

Abstract

Background Caring contains understanding and connecting with the individual and the process of providing the healing effect. Nurses' awareness of the science of care can be improved by analyzing and sharing their care experiences, including their healing power, with members of the profession. Aim The aim of this study was to understand the meaning of care from nurses' experiences and the real‐life stories told by nurses. Method A descriptive phenomenological design was used. A total of 124 stories told by 23 nurses participating in the training of Human Caring Theory constituted the sample of the study. The content analysis of the stories was carried out in four stages with Giorgi's phenomenological method analysis. Results Three themes and six subthemes were derived from the 124 stories. Three main themes: (1) care holds mysteries, (2) care as praxis and (3) obstacles to caring relationship. The first main theme consisted of three subthemes; “Hearing the call for help”, “Metaphysical presence” and “Discovery of the healing effect”. The second main theme consisted of three subthemes; “Criticism of the objective approach”, “Unforgettable experiences of carecaring experiences” and “Awareness of expertise”. Conclusion The use of stories in the training of Human Caring Theory that centers care, besides facilitating learning, has created awareness among nurses about the ‘Concept of Care’ and has been an important step towards developing awareness of care among nurses.

The relationship between secondary traumatic stress level and perceived caring behaviors among nursing students

“…In the form developed by the researchers based on the relevant literature (4,5,9,16), important personal and professional characteristics of nursing students in terms of secondary traumatic stress and caregiving behaviors (gender, age, grade level, where they lived for the longest time, willingly choosing the nursing department, experiencing a situation that they consider traumatic, listening to traumatic experiences during clinical practice, The clinical practice consisted of 12 questions about being affected by the trauma of the patients, if any, during clinical practice, being affected by the health status and individual characteristics of the patients during clinical practice, thinking that they needed psychological support during clinical practice, and finding themselves successful in clinical practice during their student years.…”

“…Care in the professional sense is "a process of interpersonal interaction with scientific, ethical and aesthetic features with the harmony of mind, body and spirit" (2). Caregiving is the essence of the nursing profession and is a concept unique to nursing (1,2,3,4).…”

“…At the center of care is understanding and being present with the patient (3,4,5). Understanding the patient and being present in care is based on two basic approaches: compassion and empathy.…”