Saint Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City, 3500 Cagayan North

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Master of Science in Nursing

Advanced Adult Health Nursing 1

SUBMITTED BY:

Collantes, Joanne A.
Dela Cruz, Cristina S.
Macavinta, Joseph Celrin III, V.
Rodriguez, Ariane M.

Maria Girlie D. Jordan, MSN

Professor

Saint Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City

Cagayan Valley North

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SIMONE ROACHS 7 CS OF CARING

Introduction:

Roach (1992) posed an interesting question during her work on caring. This question
is: What is a nurse actually doing when he or she is caring?

The seven cs of caring have been developed by Simone Roach in response to this
question. These 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.

Meaning of Caring

Sister Simone Roach, (1992), states that caring is the human mode of being. Roach
(1992) discusses how people in health care professions care for others not because they are
required to do so by their jobs, but because they are human beings and this trait of caring is
intrinsic to all humans. According to Roach (1992) caring is the underlying concept that
forms the basis of what nurses do each and every day.

Sister Simone Roach Seven Cs of Caring

1. Compassion
2. Competence
3. Conscience
4. Confidence
5. Commitment
6. Comportment
7. Creativity

Simone Roachs 7 Cs of Caring and its application on:

Education
Research
Practice

Education

The conceptual framework underlying the curriculum of Mennonite College of

Nursing consists of a formulation of the facultys conceptualization of nursing.

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 It incorporates concepts derived from numerous caring, behavioral and nursing
theories, including the theory developed by Sister M. Simone Roach.
The curriculum is built upon the eight key concepts of human kind, environment,
research, legal/ethical/political dimensions, information processing, teaching/learning,
health promotion, and management. The development of these eight key concepts
leads to four outcome abilities inherent to nursing practice. These outcome abilities
are: caring, critical thinking, communication, and professional practice.

Research

Roach & Cs of Human Caring Theory was used in the research study entitled the
Students Experience of Learning Caring in a College of Nursing Grounded in a
Caring Philosophy (Drumm, 2006)
On this study, it demonstrated the importance of connecting caring theory to caring
practice. For nurse educators the challenge is to convey to students early on in their
education the value and power of studying the substantive base of caring knowledge.
Aligning caring in the curriculum educationally and philosophically facilitates the
students understanding of caring in nursing situations and supports the students
growing in their understanding of caring through modeling. The students revealed
through their stories that those faculty who demonstrated caring behaviors improved
their understanding and learning of caring.

Practice

The Scripps Mercy Hospital Division of Nursing adopted the theoretical framework
of Sr. Simone Roachs caring model to serve as the foundation for nursing
professionalism and practice.
They aim to explore Sister Simone Roachs caring model using poetry to illustrate
real life nursing exemplars. These poems also served as a means of recognizing and
teaching nurses about caring practices typical to their workplace.
The poems were shared during a celebratory luncheon, posted to the website,
described in a newsletter, shared as reflections, and used for training in orientation.
This novel approach was a well-received methodology for translating the caring
model into practice.

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Theory Critique

Sister M. Simone Roach 7Cs of Caring is a simple theory and has a minimal number
of concepts, compassion, competence, conscience, confidence, commitment, comportment,
creativity. The main purpose of the theory is to serve as a vehicle through which nurses
interact with patients and assists them to cope with suffering, to find meaning in their
experiences, to promote health and wellness and to die with dignity.

The concept of caring and caring attributes, which is the seven Cs, that are central to
the theory are clearly defined in identifying the specific caring behaviors that a nurse engages
in when providing care for a patient.

Roachs theory offers clear definitions and contextual linkages with the concepts of
the nursing discipline (person, nurse, environment, and health) in the nurse-client
interactions, thus further explicating the definitions.

Roachs Seven Cs used as a framework, suggesting categories of human behavior

within which professional caring is to be understood. In compassionate and competent acts;
in relationships qualified by confidence; through informed, sensitive conscience; through
commitment and fidelity; and in a manner of dress and language in harmony with held beliefs
about the dignity of the person, specific manifestations of caring are actualized.

Behavior expressed by the Seven Cs says a great deal about personality identity,
most importantly, such a way of virtuous acting encompasses much of what a professional
person wants to be. It brings the importance of caring to the forefront and exemplifies the
disciplines values. Her theory employ an interdisciplinary approach, weaving together
spirituality, aesthetics, creativity, self-healing and educational and cultural factors in order to
examine nursing from all perspective.

Research utilizing the Theory of Caring of Sister Simone Roach

A research entitled Concept Analysis: The clarification of Body Adornment

(Maykutt,2014) utilized the theory of Seven Cs in Caring by Simone Roach.
The study aimed is to clarify the concept of body adornment informed by Roachs
(2002) caring theory, specifically the attribute of comportment.

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 In the study, body adornment is a statement of Who I am as an Individual with
implications for Who I Am as a Professional. It reveals nuances involved in
creating a professional bodily representation for a RN. (Maykutt,2014)
This concept analysis supports Roachs (2002) statement who you are by your dress
(p48). Body adornment while requiring refinement as a concept specific to nursing
theory should be viewed as a measurable component of Roachs (2002) theory; and
thus, operationally defined using the attributes, antecedents, and consequences.
The nursing practice setting, our professional beliefs and values, agency specific
policies, as well as the recipient of care preferences (reflective of a patients personal
interpretation of the message conveyed by the bodily presentation of the RN) should
inform the choice of body adornment. Observance to body adornment, suitable to the
profession and those we care for, reveals respect for the dignity of a person as a
human being (Roach, 2002).
Although a relationship between comportment, as a caring attribute as theorized by
Roach (2002), and professional bodily representation has been proposed,
substantiation of this claim requires further examination and evidence. If
comportment theoretically exemplifies the epitome of a professional bodily
representation then understanding body adornment as a human expression is
necessary. Inclusion of body adornment, reflective of comportment, may allow for an
opportunity to genuinely care for ourselves as professionals while allowing for the
positive identification and connections between other RNs, our patients, and our
health care colleagues (Maykutt, 2014)

Conclusion

What is a nurse actually doing when he or she is caring? (Roach, 1992). This was the
question posed by Sister Simone Roach when she was working on her theory of caring. The
Seven Cs of caring have been developed by Simone Roach in response to this question.
These 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. Roachs Seven Cs used as a
framework, suggesting categories of human behavior within which professional caring is to
be understood. In compassionate and competent acts; in relationships qualified by
confidence; through informed, sensitive conscience; through commitment and fidelity; and in
a manner of dress and language in harmony with held beliefs about dignity of the person,

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specific manifestations of caring are actualized. Simone Roach theory laid her theory on how
he nurses care to their clients. The Seven Cs may be easy to grasp its meaning but the
consistency and application is much needed to understand her theory well.

We are living in this fast-paced world and everything seems to be busy. Priorities are
set aside because there are constant pressures in people, society, and environment.
Technology taught this generation to be work-oriented but less human centered. The level of
acre diminished as days goes by and machines tried to replace these human shortfall. In
medical field, there were lots of challenges that we are facing as a nurse. Nurse shortage
made us to be only work-oriented and less patient-centered. Care is lost, since we are
hurrying to finish a lot of paper works and a lot of orders that needs to be carried out. These
situations made me realize if I will let all of these human shortfalls influence me for being a
nurse. Roach theory let me reflect and question myself. What I am actually doing when I took
care of my patients? Are all of my experiences taught me to be an efficient and effective
nurse? Am I doing my work well? It has been 5 years and counting since I started to practice
my profession as a nurse. From the start, I always made sure that I only gave what is best for
my patients. Caring is part in our profession and is included in the expectations of our
patients, clients, and even their relatives. There are maybe a lot of ways on how to show care
to my patients. Each one of them is unique and needs an individualized care. I always
considered my patients as an individual who needs to be treated fairly and showed them how
they are loved. Sometimes, when I felt like Im quitting, I tried to remember the random
voices of my patients, friends, and family, encouraging me to be a better person so that I can
be a better nurse. I know that our work is full of demands and expectations, even sacrifices. I
know this profession deprived me from enjoying holidays, celebrating special events of my
family members but these must not compromise the way I rendered care to my patients. We
care, not because we are nurses, physicians workers, or parents, we care because we are
human beings. We differ on how we care. Caring is not unique to nursing or even to the
caring professions; it is a primary characteristic of being human.

The Seven Cs of caring are intended to be goals that a nurse can strive towards
providing care. Roach discusses how nurses base their caring approach on this broad
framework of the Seven Cs, will have the opportunity to provide profound and virtuous care
that encompasses largely what a professional nurse should be. Her theory is important since it
gives us a clear definition on how caring must be, in my everyday work. Behavior expressed
by the seven Cs says a great deal about personal identity in such a way of virtuous acting

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encompasses much of what a professional person wants to be. It brings the importance of
caring to be forefront and exemplifies the discipline values. Roach theory employs
interdisciplinary approach, weaving together spirituality, aesthetics, creativity, self-healing,
and educational and cultural factors in order to examine nursing from all perspective.

The main purpose of Simone Roach theory is to serve as a vehicle through which
nurses interact with patients and assists them to cope with suffering, to find meaning in their
experiences, to promote health and wellness and to die with dignity. This purpose serves a
reflection to me, if I cant be like her, but at least I can show how to care for my patients
Through Roach theory, I will try to have a clear definition of each of the Seven Cs and apply
it with consistency in my everyday work. I must respect each of person I will encounter,
understand their beliefs, and not to judge them. I will give my care to all the patients and see
to it that I am treating them fairly. I will not be selective in whom I will give my care. I will
be more professional, self-aware, and responsible in my work.

References:

Burnell, L., & Agan, D. (2011). Compassionate care: Can it be defined and measured?
The development of the Compassionate Care Assessment Tool. Scripps Mercy Hospital. San
Diego.

Chivers, L. (2002). Body adornment: Piercings and tattoos. Nursing standard, 16(34),
41-45. Retrieved from http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk/

Diekelmann, N. (1990). Nursing education: Caring, dialogue, and practice. Journal of

Nursing Education, 29(7), 300-305.

Mangum, S., Garrison, C., Lind, C., & Hilton, H. G. (1997). First impressions of the nurse

and nursing care. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 11(5), 39-47.

Roach, M. S. (1984). Caring: The Human Mode of Being, Implications for Nursing. Ottawa:

The Canadian Hospital Association Press. ISBN 0-7727-3740-1