The Concept of Caring in Nursing

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Definition of the Selected Concept
Literature Review
Defining Attributes
Antecedent and Consequence
Empirical Referents
Construct Cases
Theoretical Applications
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Concept analysis plays a crucial role in helping caregivers to discover and evaluate the existence or the need for a specific concept such as caring. Hence, they stand a better chance of developing appropriate interventions, which, in turn, contribute to the overall goal of delivering quality care to patients. This paper addresses the concept of caring, which is regarded as the core of nursing services.

Madeleine Leininger’s culture of care theory will be investigated in detail to demonstrate the degree to which nurses and patients’ relatives apply the caring concept not only within hospitals but also at homes to facilitate recovery processes (Ma, Li, Zhu, Bai, & Song, 2013). This paper has various sections, which include the definition of the chosen concept of caring, a literature review about this idea, its defining attributes, some possible antecedents and consequences, and the underlying empirical referents. Before the conclusion section, the last two parts will present construct cases and theoretical applications, respectively.

Definition of the Selected Concept

Nursing officials are usually identified as caregivers due to their continuous application of the concept of caring within and outside healthcare settings. According to English Oxford Living Dictionaries (2018), caring is presented as an act of demonstrating compassion and concern for people in need. Canzan et al. (2014) define caring as a private attribute and a moral obligation that characterizes the healthcare industry. Studies by Ma, Li, Liang, Bai, and Song (2014) and Thompson (2014) reveal caring as an encouraging method of interacting with an esteemed individual who the society or family members have a duty to look after by providing the necessary support. These diverse views depict caring as a multifaceted phenomenon that characterizes the field of nursing.

Literature Review

According to Ma et al. (2014), the complex nature of the idea of caring explains Leininger’s hypothesis of cultural care diversity, which encourages scholars to examine and construe this notion from the perspectives of one’s culture. This theorist believes that care and culture are interconnected. Ma et al. (2013) regard caring as a pertinent issue that determines the future of the health sector. The article by Canzan et al. (2014) appreciates the diverse nature of patients’ perceptions of care in hospital beds or at home.

Based on the degree of sickness, Canzan et al. (2014) examine how aged patients confined in hospital beds perceive the idea of caring in the health sector. Patients in need of long-term care are found to value the time that health officials allocate to talk to them on a one-on-one basis. Blomberg, Bisholt, Nilsson, and Lindwall (2015) present another perspective of caring upheld in perioperative practice whereby health officials demonstrate their concern to the sick by committing to handle their bodies with the dignity they deserve, regardless of patients’ gender, race, or the level of sickness.

Operating theater nursing officials value the concept of close monitoring of patients’ progress with a view to availing any support whenever it is required. Mikkonen, Kyngäs, and Kääriäinen (2015) reveal the extent to which instructors demonstrate care to nursing students in the form of empathy to enhance their academic performance and career development. According to Rau’s (2017) article published in The New York Times, various medical facilities in California were warned after violating patients’ rights to getting optimal care within and outside of health facilities.

Defining Attributes

Concept analysis involves the identification of possible attributes. A caring nurse is expected to actively comfort patients while at the same time, listening to their issues concerning the support they need (Gartshore et al., 2017). Although patients’ views may be contrary to what nurses deem right, remaining attentive and calm, especially when they are presenting their opinions, is an attribute that demonstrates health officials’ attributes of resilience. Such flexibility helps them to connect with patients’ situations. In addition, nurses are required to exercise integrity when administering care services.

They are expected to offer the best attention in line with patients’ unique requirements while at the same time keeping such information confidential (Poorchangizi, Farokhzadian, Abbaszadeh, Mirzaee, & Borhani, 2017). Moreover, the concept of caring is associated with the attribute of fairness. Canzan et al. (2014) reveal caring as a personal feature and an ethical requirement, which calls upon nurses to express their emotions and deliver appropriate interventions to all patients, regardless of their backgrounds or health status.

Antecedent and Consequence

Antecedents and consequences cannot be overlooked in a concept analysis process. As implied in the study by Zeytinoğlu, Davey, Crerand, Fisher, and Akyil (2017), antecedents denote actions that have to take place before the caring concept can be manifested. In the current context, caring is preceded by awareness creation among nursing learners regarding the need for looking after those in need, such as children with cleft lip or the elderly (Ma et al., 2014).

The implementation of nursing initiatives, which emphasizes the idea of helping others, can act as a precursor of caring. The most expected consequence of caring is the recovery of patients. Some of the procedures that lead to this outcome include surgical reconstruction, speech treatment, or even availing the appropriate counseling by nurses (Zeytinoğlu et al., 2017). Overall, healing is an outcome of effective, caring processes.

Empirical Referents

The last stage of concept analysis entails the identification of empirical referents, which help not only to quantify a particular concept but also to devise an appropriate tool for assessing its effectiveness (Rembold, Santana, Souza, & Schwartz, 2018). In the current context, one empirical referent entails patients’ fulfillment questionnaires, which can be used to gather data regarding their satisfaction with nurses’ caring services.

According to Zeytinoğlu et al. (2017), another empirical referent includes the use of nurse-targeted surveys that can reveal the existence of various essential attributes of caring, such as their commitment to serving, interactions with patients, and attitude towards the sick.

Construct Cases

I have realized the importance of caring, as demonstrated by the model case of my husband, who served as an emergency responder in New York for more than 10 years. The father of two daughters and one son vowed to always be available on time whenever called to rescue people following accidents, fire breakouts, the collapsing of buildings, or the striking of hurricanes. His desire to offer the required support to victims of emergencies was beyond doubt. However, in his eighth year of service, he was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer of the colon. I was amazed by the manner in which nurses accorded my husband the necessary care via communicating, counseling, and encouraging him on a daily basis (Blomberg et al., 2015). This care led to his recovery one year later.

Regarding a borderline case, I inquired from my nursing colleagues whether healthcare officials offer optimal care to patients. According to them, nurses are dedicated to caring for patients. However, their huge workloads, demanding professions, and depression hinder them from attending to patients as expected (Gartshore et al., 2017). Hence, they are forced to overlook some elements of care.

A contrary case is evident among healthcare officials who focus on salaries and flexible working schedules, as opposed to their duty of caring for patients. These nurses do not bother about patients’ health demands. As a result, they leave sick people to suffer because they are not interested in attending to them as required.

Theoretical Applications

Concept analysis has been utilized extensively in the healthcare sector to reveal diverse explanations, features, antecedents, outcomes, and the prevailing perceptions of a particular nursing-related idea. Madeleine Leininger’s culture of care theory best addresses the selected concept of caring. According to Ma et al. (2014), stakeholders, for instance, nurses, family members, and even passersby have applied this theory when developing an ethical and cognitive enthusiasm to avail care whenever required. According to Ma et al. (2013), nursing institutions emphasize the significance of Leininger’s theory by equipping medical students with the appropriate caring expertise to boost their capacity to look after ailing people within and outside hospital grounds.

Conclusion

Nurses and medical doctors deploy various concepts to facilitate the involved stakeholders’ social, psychological, physical, and emotional well-being. These aspects revolve around the idea of caring for those in need, as discussed in this paper. Leininger’s theory has been presented as suitable in equipping healthcare givers with knowledge regarding the best ways of handling patients with a view to enhancing their recovery processes.

Concept analysis findings are applicable to advanced practice nursing specialties such as family nurse practitioners (FNPs) who have to offer continuous care to the sick. I have learned that effective manifestation of model cases of caring requires the existence of antecedents in concept analysis. I also appreciate various attributes associated with the caring concept, including integrity, resilience, and the commitment to handling patients impartially without any form of discrimination.

References

Blomberg, A. C., Bisholt, B., Nilsson, J., & Lindwall, L. (2015). Making the invisible visible – Operating theatre nurses’ perceptions of caring in perioperative practice. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 29(2), 361-368. Web.

Canzan, F., Heilemann, M. V., Saiani, L., Mortari, L., & Ambrosi, E. (2014). Visible and invisible caring in nursing from the perspectives of patients and nurses in the gerontological context. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 28(4), 732-40. Web.

English Oxford Living Dictionaries. (2018). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Gartshore, E., Waring, J., & Timmons, S. (2017). Patient safety culture in care homes for older people: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), 752. Web.

Ma, F., Li, J., Liang, H., Bai, Y., & Song, J. (2014). Baccalaureate nursing students’ perspectives on learning about caring in China: A qualitative descriptive study. BMC Medical Education, 14, 42. Web.

Ma, F., Li, J., Zhu, D., Bai, Y., & Song, J. (2013). Confronting the caring crisis in clinical practice. Medical Education, 47(10), 1037-1047. Web.

Mikkonen, K., Kyngäs, H., & Kääriäinen, M. (2015). Nursing students’ experiences of the empathy of their teachers: A qualitative study. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 20(3), 669-682.

Poorchangizi, B., Farokhzadian, J., Abbaszadeh, A., Mirzaee, M., & Borhani, F. (2017). The importance of professional values from clinical nurses’ perspective in hospitals of a medical university in Iran. BMC Medical Ethics, 18(1), 20. Web.

Rau, J. (2017). Poor patient care at many nursing homes despite stricter oversight. The New York Times. Web.

Rembold, S. M., Santana, R. F., Souza, P. A., & Schwartz, S. M. O. X. (2018). Nursing diagnosis risk for delayed surgical recovery (00246): Concept clarification and definition of empirical referents. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 29(4), 263-268. Web.

Thompson, J. (2014). A life forgotten: From the eyes of the caregiver. Chatfield, MN: Studio 223.

Zeytinoğlu, S., Davey, M. P., Crerand, C., Fisher, K., & Akyil, Y. (2017). Experiences of couples caring for a child born with cleft lip and/or palate: Impact of the timing of diagnosis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(1), 82-99. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!