Caring is the concept that entails being concerned about the vulnerability of people or individuals who need help. Caring can be witnessed or interpreted in five different perspectives. It can be a human state, an interpersonal relationship, a nursing intervention, an effect as well as a moral imperative or ideal. In the nursing profession, nurses has been accounted as an ‘essence’ concept by the theorists. The relationship between caring and the profession of caring has been researched by many scientists leading to a better understanding of the features of caring as well as an increase of its implication in the practice of the nursing. The paper intends to explain how caring is a human trait. It will also explain the meaning of caring as a moral imperative or ideal and the importance of Morse, Solberg, Neander, Bottorff, and Johnson’s (1990) discussion of the implications of caring.
We can do it today.
According to Morse et al. (1990), caring is a human trait because it is a behavioral attribute in a person. It is an innate human trait that pushes a person to be or have that mode of assisting others. Hence, caring is a portion of human nature. It is a human trait that is not uniform in all people, but it is a behavior that is improved by the experience of being taken care. Acquisition of skills and knowledge helps to improve the human trait of caring, especially in the nursing profession. Besides it being a human trait, professional traits are accompanied by attributes of compassion, commitment, confidence, competence as well as a commitment to the practice. Therefore, in the nursing practices, the human trait of caring together with the attributes above are the main motivators of nursing actions when looking after the patients (Watson, 2014). Caring is also considered as a way of being in the universe, all nurses have the human trait of caring, but learning makes them differ in how they care for the patients.
Smith, Turkel, and Wolf (2013) argued that, besides caring being considered as a human trait, it can also be accounted as a moral imperative or ideal. On nursing profession, caring is also described as a fundamental value or an ideal of maintaining the dignity of the patients. In this perspective, caring is not demonstrated as behavior or either a trait in a nursing profession, but it is a devotion to making sure that the integrity of the person who needs assistance is maintained. Caring is what nurses are expected to do because the environment in which they work provide the basis for their actions. Nurses do not just care for the patients only for the human trait they possess, but because they lack rights to control their practices in the society. Hence, the profession of nursing considers caring as a moral ideal.
The discussion by Morse et al. (1990) on the outcomes of caring has great importance as it gives an understanding of the concept of care by either examining patients physiologically or by referring to the physiologic outcomes of individual under care. The discussions help in determining the indicators of care to the patients and realize the level of care offered. In addition, researchers can gain more ideas on how different theorists consider the concept of care and caring with the different perspective provided.
- Morse, J. M., Solberg, S. M., Neander, W. L., Bottorff, J. L., & Johnson, J. L. (1990). Concepts of caring and caring as a concept. Advances in Nursing Science, 13(1), 1-14.
- Smith, M. C., Turkel, M. C., & Wolf, Z. R. (2013). Caring in nursing classics: An essential resource. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
- Watson, J. (2014). Integrative nursing caring science, human caring, and peace. Integrative Nursing, 101-108. doi:10.1093/med/9780199860739.003.0008