The Concept of Caring in Nursing - Term Paper Example

Jean Watson, an expert in the field of nursing, emphasizes that the concept of caring is more of a science than an art or a professional skill (Watson, 2003). Watson defines caring as the science that entails a human science-oriented humanitarian process of taking care of others, in a manner that demonstrates the evidence of arts, science, and humanities in the delivery of care services (Watson, 2003).

Dictionary definition and origin of the word
The Macmillan dictionary (online) defines care as, being interested in someone and wanting them to be well and happy (Care [Def. 1], 2014). The word caring is a derivative of the word ‘care’, which came from the old English word care, clear – meaning anxiety, sorrow, and grief. The word is also believed to have emanated from the Proto-Germanic word ‘Karo’, which means severe mental attention or the reality of mental burdens. The word is believed to have evolved from the different origins in a variety of ways, including that in English it implies the lamentation, cry, or the grief of a person.

Examples of the concept in poetry and art
In the world of poetry – the concept of caring has been communicated and emphasized by different writers, including the writing of the physician-poet William Carlos; the writer emphasizes the importance of caring and the way it is communicated through poetry.

In an excerpt from his poem, the greeny flower, he writes as follows:
“It is difficult
To get the news from poems
Yet men die miserably every day
For lack
Of what is found there” (Coulehan & Clary, 2005).
The lines drawn from the poem present a paradox that is very useful to the experience of clinicians, especially those who care for the dying and the terminally ill. The first statement, “it is difficult – to get the news from poems” is self-explanatory; the statement appears to emphasize the fact that poetry offers people little or no hard data (Coulehan & Clary, 2005). The emphasis is that poetry does not provide useful information about recent therapeutic and diagnostic developments. However, the second statement changes the setting, delivering the paradox that, despite the lack of newsworthiness, poetry encloses the essential nutrient needed by the providers of healthcare services. From the context of writing the poem, it was intended for the poet’s wife who had been sick for a long, and that demonstrates that the word poetry is used in a vastly broad sense. It is used to represent the human world of imagination and creativity, which are mainly the desire to discover meaning from the world and lives in general. This human inclination is served by different things, including painting, music, the arts, drama, and also reflective living and spirituality (Coulehan & Clary, 2005). The example demonstrates the fact that poetry can be used to communicate the hidden feelings and the needs of humanity, and also serve them.

Personal experience of the concept of caring
Personally, the concept of caring relates to an experience, when I had to remain hospitalized for a week, after suffering from a broken leg while playing soccer. After admission to the hospital, the nurse in charge of my ward was not a welcoming one, and that became evident from the fact that she could not answer any of my questions about the injury.

However, during the next shift, the next nurse came in and asked all sorts of questions and I immediately felt a sense of care and connection with her. Throughout the week, I must admit that she was an important contributor to my improvement, mainly because she engaged me positively and kept me optimistic about nursing care ever since.
The importance of the concept to nursing

The concept of caring is important to nursing in different ways, including that it is the main characteristic shared by the nurses that are good at service delivery; caring is critical to the work of a nurse. Secondly, the concept is important to nursing, because it is at the center of patient welfare and recovery; caring is the primary ingredient needed to eliminate patient fear and apathy, and the consequences are felt in the emotional, psychological, and the physical planes of a patient (Rhodes, Morris & Lazenby, 2011). Thirdly, caring is the trait that separates nursing from other professions, noting that it is at the core of the holistic provision of care. The fourth importance of the concept is that caring is the primary motivation fuelling the competence of nurses, which makes them pursue the improvement of patient outcomes (Rhodes, Morris & Lazenby, 2011). Read More