Running head: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CARE?

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What Does It Mean to Care?
Megan Davis
Dixie State University

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What Does It Mean to Care?
I had an amazing nurse when I was in labor with my second daughter. This nurse
knew what it means to care. My husband and I had to take our 3-year-old daughter with
us to the hospital because we had no one around to watch her. My nurse, noticing that we
were stressed out and tired, found someone to watch her for us. During my labor, I was in
severe pain and begging for an epidural. I had to wait a long time to get one because the
anesthesiologist was busy with other patients. My nurse was very compassionate and she
empathized with me. I could tell that she was sincere. She did everything should could to
try and relieve my pain. She stayed with me and helped me breath through the
contractions. She even involved my husband and taught him things he could do to help
me. She listened to me and gave me a lot of encouragement. She told me that it was okay
to cry and didnt make me feel weak. My nurse made me feel important. She went above
and beyond to make sure I was okay. She was very knowledgeable and answered all of
my questions. She was definitely a caring nurse.
In his article, Sabatino (1999) stated, Although care is usually extended in the
course of treatment, it also entails an attitude of empathy that is focused on the well-being
of those one is treating during a particularly vulnerable time in their lives (p. 375). It is
important to remember that patients are vulnerable. They need nurses to listen to them
and empathize with them. The treatments the patients receive are important but nurses
need to remember to focus on and spend time with the patient.
In a study, nurses identified that involving the patients family is an important part
of caring for the patient. Nurses should support the family, respond to their need for
information, and explain what is going on. The study also identified caring as looking
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after the patients physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs (Wilkin, 2004, p.
54).
The nurse in my example was without a doubt a caring nurse. When I was
vulnerable she was empathetic, she listened to me, and she spent time with me. My
family is very important to me, so I was extremely grateful when she supported my
husband and involved him in my care. She was able to assess and respond to all of my
needs.
In nursing there are many different ways to define caring. From personal
experience and from reading the literature Ive learned that caring is having empathy,
involving family members in the patients care, being an advocate for the patient, and
recognizing and responding to all of the patients needs. Caring is focusing on the whole
patient and not just the treatments.





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References
Sabatino, C. (1999). Reflections on the meaning of care. Nursing Ethics, 6(5), 374-382.
Retrieved from http://nej.sagepub.com/content/6/5/374
Wilkin, K. (2004). The meaning of caring to nurses: An investigation into the nature of
caring work in an intensive care unit. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 13, 50-59.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.dixie.edu/docview/234996783?accountid=27
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