Running head: THE HEART OF CARING 1

The Heart of Caring

Claudia Zundel
Dixie State University
















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The Heart of Caring
As a nurse, there are countless opportunities to influence the quality of life of our
patients. What does it mean for a nurse to truly care? I believe that for a nurse to care she needs
to have a genuine desire to help patients, expressed to the best of her ability without expecting
anything in return.
I strongly believe that a nurses profound care for her patient can be delivered in various
ways depending on the nurse, and the specific needs of the patient. From my own experience, Id
like to focus on two important aspects that show a nurse cares: placing the patients priorities
above our own, and delivering empathetic care.
Placing the Patients Priorities Above our Own
I was eleven hours into my shift during a busy night in Emergency Department (ED)
when I decided to head over to the break room for a well needed time for myself. The orders
from doctors and nurses had stopped for one minute; it was my chance to run to the bathroom.
As I walked past a patients room, I glanced over the bed and noticed the family member
standing up with a needy and concerned look on his face. I recognized the look and could almost
guess what he needed. The call light was not on, and even though the family member and I had
made eye contact, he did not ask for help; I was free to finally make it to the bathroom. I made it
just barely passed the room, when I suddenly came to a stop and turned around to return to this
patients room. I found the family member holding the call light ready to push the button, he was
somewhat surprised to see me come back. I asked him if he needed any help. He replied that he
had been waiting for 4 hours and was frustrated and wanted to know the staus of the visit. I told
him I would call his nurse over the radio to have her come talk to him and that I would be back
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in five minutes to check if she made it to the room. He smiled and thanked me and I then
proceeded to successfully continue to the bathroom.
Later on that night I stopped to reflect on what made me stop and help this person even when he
had not yet asked for help. It was a small enriching moment for me; I knew I cared. Watson
(2007) describes caring as follows: it is possible to read, study, learn about, even teach and
research the caring theory; however, to truly get it one has to personally experience it (p. 1)
There are many things we can study and practice to learn to care, but nothing can confirm our
learning more than experiencing the moment when we helped someone. It is by unselfishly
placing the patients priority above our own that shows we care. Simple and small things we do
to relieve pain or anxiety for a patient family demonstrates we cared.
Empathetic Care
I believe it is important for the nurse to be sensitive to the patients feelings and
understand how hard the decision to seek help may be for that particular patient. I have seen
nurses stop their charting to take a minute to hold a suicidal patients hand and express how
proud they are of that patient for coming to the ED to seek help rather than succumbing to their
hurtful thoughts or actions.
Tylor, Lillis, LeMone,and Lynn (2011) states the following:
Patients quickly sense whether they are merely a task to be performed (task centered
caring), or a person of worth who is both cared about and cared for (relation-centered
caring). 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 say and do.
(pp. 450-451)
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This quote demonstrates to me how critical it is for the patients wellbeing to feel cared for and
accepted. When the nurse adapt her nursing care to the patients particular emotional needs, I
believe true empathetic care has taken place. The nurse in turn is able to establish a good
relationship with the patient, thus helping the patient feel secured and supported.
Conclusion
There are many ways to show caring. I see nurses show care when their actions, words,
tone of voice, and every other aspect of patient care are focused on the wellbeing of the patient.
No matter how this care is expressed, there is always empathy and a genuine interest for the
wellbeing of the patient. I have chosen nursing because it gives me an opportunity to be part of
one of the most influential and caring professions in the world. Patients come to nurses with the
trust that they will be cared for. We made a commitment to care when we chose this profession.
It is our responsibility to live up to this commitment by embarking into the caring aspects of this
profession. Nursing truly should be where the heart of caring is found.










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References
Watson, J. (2007). Caring science then caritas processes, Inova Health.
Taylor, C. R.,Lillis, C.,LeMone, P., & Lynn, P. (20011). Fundamentals of nursing: The art and
science of nursing care (7
th
ed.). Philadelphia, PA.