Running head: DEFINITION OF CARING BASED ON HOLISTIC CARE

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Definition of Caring Based on Holistic Care

Jessica Morgan Miller

Emporia State University

DEFINITION OF CARING BASED ON HOLISTIC CARE

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Definition of Caring Based on Holistic Care

Caring is a term that is not easy to defined and can have multiple meanings. To get a

better understanding of caring, I began a very basic search and used the top three search engines

available to the public: Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It was interesting to see the variations of the

term and the different ways in which it can be used. Google’s definition of caring was “the work

or practice of looking after those unable to care for themselves, esp. sick and elderly people”

(Google dictionary). Yahoo’s top definition was “feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for

others” (Yahoo dictionary). Lastly Bing’s definition was “relating to profession looking after

people: belonging or relating to a profession that involves looking after people's physical,

medical, or general welfare, e.g. nursing or social work”(Bing dictionary). I felt all of these

online definitions were missing key elements in caring.

My personal definition of caring as it relates to the nursing profession is an unselfish and

nonjudgmental process that is individualized to promote safety, health, and well-being. While

doing so, this provides holistic care through evidence based practice, and truly incorporates ones

feelings and sincerity to themselves and others. In order to have patient centered care needs such

as physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs must be met in the correct

sequence according to the specific situation of each patient. There is no all-knowing book that

can tell you how to treat each patient. Instead nurses need to focus on learning how to provide

holistic care and how to incorporate it in a variety of ways. This can be accomplished by reading

journals and books to continue our education outside of the classroom. The three articles that I

reviewed showed me how to incorporate caring into practice. “Translating Caring Theory into

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Practice”, “Jean Watsons Caring Theory”, and “Six C’s of Caring” were all great articles that did

an outstanding job of providing specific examples that tailored to my definition of caring.

Translating Caring Theory into Practice

Translating Caring Theory into Practice was not only the title of this article but truly the

focus. The authors describe the Swanson’s Caring Theory as a middle-range theory that provides

structure of the caring processes and patient well-being. “Caring theory postulates that nurses

demonstrating they care about a patient is as important to the patient well-being as caring for

them through clinical activities such as preventing infection and administering medications.”

(Tones, 2011) Through the Swanson Caring Theory, the Carolina Care Model was developed

and implemented at the University of North Carolina Hospitals. The main goal of the Carolina

Care Model was to explain patient satisfaction and the betterment of nursing. The Carolina Care

Model is truly implemented into their practice by Care Delivery as Caring Actions which are

composed of 5 interrelated caring processes. These include: Maintaining Belief, Knowing, Being

with, Doing for, and Enabling. These five processes have contributed immense success to the

University of North Carolina hospitals with 50 % decrease in nosocomial decubuti due to the

implementation of hourly rounding, and a 60% improvement in the key area of meeting

emotional need, response to call lights, concerns, complaints, and overall patient satisfaction.

One of the unique things that was incorporated into the hospital was clinical items. For example,

sharps boxes were moved from the patient’s direct view and replaced with art. Also the acronym

ROUNDS was used to complete their hourly check in. R- Are you comfortable (Pain), O- Other

side (positioning), U- Use the bathroom, N- Need anything? D- Door/curtain open or closed

(privacy), S- Safety (call bell in reach, hazards removed).

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Teaching: Learning Professional Caring

My next article describes Jean Watson’s theoretical caring concepts in relation to self,

others, peers/co-workers, nursing leadership, local/world communities, the environment and

web-based interactions and how to incorporate this in teaching nursing students. The goal of this

article is to help teachers and students to begin to build caring professional identities based on

enhanced understanding of caring and through studying others professional caring activities.

There has been debate about caring as it relates to nursing and has brought differing positions

among nurse scholars regarding the usefulness of identifying care as the core of nursing practice.

In this particular case teachers were inspired by Watson’s caring using ten clinical caritas

processes. These ten caring caritas are based on the notion that all of life is interconnected. To

provide authentic care you must have a spiritual, emotional and physical care for yourself.

(Sitzman 2011) Teachers incorporated these ten processes in to their classes to provide students

with actual examples.

The Six C’s of Caring

In my final article, I learned about Sister Simone Roach and her six C’s of caring.

According to Roach, (1992) The six C’s were developed when she asked herself “what is a nurse

actually doing when he or she is caring? These six C’s are described as attributes of caring that

aid in identifying the specific caring behaviors that a nurse engages in when providing care for a

patient (p.58). The six C’s of caring provide a framework for nurses all over the world to strive

toward when providing care. Compassion, competence, confidence, conscience, commitment,

and comportment compose the six C’s of caring by Roach. The Six C’s of caring show the

qualities that professional nurses need to strive for.

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What I Learned

In the Carolina Care Model (Tonges 2011) I loved the use of the “Moment of Caring”

where the nurses were required to spend a “moment of caring” with each patient. Each shift

included time (3-5 minutes) with the patient to discuss personal issues and coping mechanisms.

They were also taught the appropriateness of holding a patient’s hands or touching their arm to

provide an additional sense of sincerity. My second article Teaching-Learning Professional

Caring Cased on Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring, the main focus for me was

understanding that all of life is interconnected. Meaning if someone is spiritually or emotionally

in need that the patient needs attention along with physical need for the patient to be holistically

cared for. My last article The 6 C’s of Caring gave me something to focus on and strive to be. It

defined each word and gave me clarity to their purpose and meaning. According to Roach (1992)

caring is the underlying concept that forms the basis of what nurses do each and every day.

“A caring heart that listens is often more valued than an intelligent mind that talks.”

(Michael Josephson, 2001). You don’t have to be beautiful, rich, or perfect to help others

throughout life, you just have to care. Caring can be defined and explained in a variety of ways,

it is individualized to each person and situation. You must learn to adapt to the type of caring

each patient needs to truly provide a patient with complete holistic care to the best of your

ability.

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References

Caring. (n.d.) Google English Dictionaries Online.

Caring. (n.d.) Yahoo English Dictionaries Online.

Caring. (n.d.) Bing English Dictionaries Online.

Michael Josephson, (2001). Brainy Quote.

Roach, S. (1992). The Human Act of Caring: A blueprint for the health professionals. Canadian

Hospital Association Press. Retrieved from

http://www.angelfire.com/alt/phogee/caring.htm

Sitzman, K. L. (2003). Teaching-Learning Professional Caring Cased on Jean Watson's Theory

of Human Caring. Retrieved October 1, 2013, fromhttp://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/

colleges/nursing/caring/Documents/JW_Sitzman.pdf

Tonges, M. (2011). Translating Caring Theory Into Practice. The Journal of Nursing

Administration, 41(9), 374 - 381. Retrieved from

http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/Nursing/ nursingmedialibrary /articles/transltheory.pdf