Running head: CARING BEHAVIORS FOR NURSES

Caring Behaviors for Nurses Adam Hyatt Dixie State University

CARING BEHAVIORS FOR NURSES Caring Behaviors for Nurses For a nurse, caring incorporates many different ideas and actions. Some of them are

psychological, like a genuine interest in the patient, and some are physical, such as assisting with activities of daily living. For me, some of the most important aspects of caring are listening and responding to the patient, anticipating their needs, and having a desire to get them back to their highest attainable level of well-being. Also, being knowledgeable and proficient in nursing skills and time management are aspects of caring that are often overlooked. Being able to complete the necessary tasks in a thorough and timely manner allows more time for a more in depth interaction with the patient. In my clinical experiences at acute and long term care facilities, I have had the opportunity to observe nurses interact with and provide caring behaviors for their patients. One in particular exemplified this is a couple of different ways. First, she was interested in the patients personal lives, asked questions and remembered details about each person. This, I think, shows the patient that they are being treated like an individual and not just as another faceless person in the crowd. Second, she took the time to address issues that were perhaps uncomfortable to the patient, but were important for their health and safety. Addressing issues and trying to change them is better than avoiding an uncomfortable situation. Also, as she was getting ready to leave the rooms, she asked, almost to the point of insisting, if there was anything else she could do or get for the patient. In researching caring behaviors, I found an article that divided caring in nursing into five categories. These core nursing values are human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice (Fahrenwald, N. L., Bassett, S. D., Tschetter, L., Carson, P. P., White, L., & Winterboer, V. J., 2005). Also, in another study that looked at patient satisfaction and loyalty as

CARING BEHAVIORS FOR NURSES it related to caring behaviors by the staff, it was found that making the patient aware of carerelated details, using a caring touch, and making sure the patient understands the treatment procedure were strongly correlated to patient loyalty (Liu, S.S., Franz, D., Allen, M., Chang, E. C., Janowiak, D., White, R., 2010). In comparing my clinical experiences with the articles I found, there were several behaviors that overlapped and some that did not. The nurse in my clinical shifts made use of actively listening, caring touch, and sharing healthcare knowledge, among others, but you could tell she had a genuine interest in the patient, which is hard to quantify in studies. With caring

being such a broad subject, it is difficult to distill it into a few core behaviors. And, some nurses may show they care in different ways, depending on the patients needs and desires.

CARING BEHAVIORS FOR NURSES References Fehrenwald, N. L., Bassett, S. D., Tschetter, L., Carson, P. P., White, L., & Winterboer, V. J. (2005). Teaching core nursing values. Journal of Professional Nursing, 21(1), 46-51. Liu, S.S., Franz, D., Allen, M., Chang, E. C., Janowiak, D., Mayne, P., & White, R. (2010). ED services: The impact of caring behaviors on patient loyalty Journal of Emergency Nursing, 35(5), 404-414.