Running head: CARING IN THE NURSING PROFESSION 1

Caring in the Nursing Profession

Channing Callahan
Dixie State University

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Caring in the Nursing Profession
How do you know that somebody cares? Have you ever had a nurse that acted like he or
she didnt care? How did this impact your hospital stay and how did it affect your healing?
Everyone needs to be treated with respect and compassion. This is part of what caring is in the
nursing profession. This paper will define what it means to be caring, give an example of how a
caring nurse can influence your hospital stay, and compare and contrast the differences of caring
from literature.
The word caring is often used to describe what a nurse is. Caring means that you are
empathetic and concerned for your patients well-being. You follow through with your
commitments and promises, and you never leave the patient hanging. If a nurse is caring, they go
the extra mile to make sure their patient receives excellent care. Most individuals choose
nursing as a profession because of their desire to care for other individuals (Vance, 2003).
According to Taylor, Patients quickly sense whether they are merely a task to be performed, or
a person of worth, who is both cared about and cared for (Taylor, Lillis, LeMone & Lynn, 2011,
p. 450-451). Being caring goes far beyond your actions; it also includes the way you
communicate with each patient. If you are guarded, rude, or impatient do you think that your
patient will trust you and think that you have their best interest in mind? If a nurse is caring, he
or she will use effective communication and thoroughly discuss each patients plan of care and
treatment options.
I work as a Certified Nursing Assistant on the Medical Oncology unit at the Dixie
Regional Medical Center hospital in St. George, Utah. One nurse stood out to me as she showed
a patient that she truly cared. It was a busy day as I remember, and we both had busy patient
groups. Our patient was in room 323 and was awaiting a conformation of cancer following some
tests that were done a few days earlier. There were many family members in and out of the room
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and you could tell that they were anxious. The nurse communicated with the doctor periodically
throughout the day. He was being held up somewhere and asked that she go into the patients
room and explain that the diagnosis of cancer had been confirmed.
She struggled for an hour or two of how she might go in and present this devastating
information to the patient and their family. After a while she pulled me aside and asked if I
would come in with her. We went into the room together and closed the door behind us. The
nurse explained that the doctor had asked her to come in and talk with them about the test results
and what they had found. She continued to proceed, and so compassionately said, that the
diagnosis of cancer was found to be positive and that she was incredibly sorry. As we all stood in
the room together, there were many tears. We sat on the edge of the bed next to our sweet patient
and gave her a hug. We hugged all the family members and then thought of something special
that could be done.
Since West 3, or the Medical Oncology unit is often where people find out they have a
diagnosis of cancer, the staff members who work there decided that they wanted to do something
special for these patients. Each year we get together on a Saturday morning and tie quilts
together. We save these quilts and then give them out to patients that are diagnosed with cancer
on our unit. It is our way of giving our support and love to our patients and their families. It is
our small way of showing how much we care. This nurse and I went in and picked out a blanket
we thought that our patient might like and then went in to present it to her. More tears filled the
room and they expressed their gratitude of our caring and thoughtful action. They were very
appreciative in this emotionally trying time.
Taylor explains that, expert nurses know how to communicate genuine caring the
minute they step into a patients space by how they look at and touch the patient and what they
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say and do (Taylor, Lillis, LeMone & Lynn, 2011, p. 450-451). This nurse that I worked with
was a perfect example of this. She showed a caring attitude and demonstrated behaviors that
mirrored her attitude. She made sure this patient was taken care of all day and that she addressed
every question the family had. She was dependable and was a source of caring and comfort. To
me, she was the perfect definition of what it means to be a caring and empathetic nurse. This
family did have a rough hospital stay but they voiced that because of what this nurse did, their
anxiety was eased and they felt cared for and comforted.
Just as the literature states, we can take care of our patients by using cognitive, technical,
ethical and legal skills. But patients respond best when they know that we, as nurses, genuinely
care about them. This is evidence based practice. In order to be caring you must connect with
your patients and develop a friendly relationship with them. It is more than demonstrating or
performing nursing duties in a routine manor. Patients respond better to someone who can
connect with them on a personal level, not to someone who spouts off information and facts.
Caring is a quality that every nurse should desire to have, it is a compassionate attitude
and set of behaviors. Caring is having respect and empathy for those you care for. It leads to
greater patient trust and life-long friendships.

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References
Taylor, C., Lillis, C., LeMone, P., & Lynn, P. (2011). Fundamentals of nursing. (7th ed., pp.
450-451). Hong Kong: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Vance, T. (2003, 03 20). Caring and the professional practice of nursing. Retrieved from
http://rnjournal.com/journal-of-nursing/caring-and-the-professional-practice-of-nursing