Concept of Care
THE CONCEPT OF CARE AND THE NURSING METAPARADIGM
Caring is a core element in nursing even yet it remains elusive to the entire nursing metaparadigm. All nurses as required by their profession must be caring. For it is through caring that nursing derives its uniqueness and contributes significantly to health care (Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, and Kirkham, 2002). This is not only the patient as an individual but the family and community as well. Further as the nursing profession continues to take on some of the roles of physicians, it is important to differentiate the profession from that of physicians. Caring seems an obvious component of nursing yet does not feature in the nursing metaparadigm for a number of possible reasons. First, there is a possibility that caring was perceived to be synonymous to nursing. It is true there is little understanding and agreement on what the term refers to. Again, a focus on caring was perceived to delimit the nursing territory (Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, and Kirkham, 2002). The variability of care makes scientific inquiry almost impossible. It is indeed true that medicinal treatment alone can guarantee healing. This however, becomes tricky with the aged, frail people and those suffering from chronic diseases. These groups of persons need care.
According to research and experiences recorded by nurses; once patients are well taken good care of, it helps boosts their chances of recovery. This is because sickness, even when traced from traditional societies, was perceived to interact with environment, family, community, spirit and the individual persons. The better an individual feels the greater are his or her chances to respond positively to treatment. The nurse who establishes confidence, a bond and trust with the patient can provide this good feeling. Caring is therefore an important concept that needs to feature in the nursing metaparadigm. Without this concept nurses may not be well able to execute
Caring is a core element in nursing even yet it remains elusive to the entire nursing metaparadigm. All nurses as required by their profession must be caring. For it is through caring that nursing derives its uniqueness and contributes significantly to health care (Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, and Kirkham, 2002). This is not only the patient as an individual but the family and community as well. Further as the nursing profession continues to take on some of the roles of physicians, it is important to differentiate the profession from that of physicians. Caring seems an obvious component of nursing yet does not feature in the nursing metaparadigm for a number of possible reasons. First, there is a possibility that caring was perceived to be synonymous to nursing. It is true there is little understanding and agreement on what the term refers to. Again, a focus on caring was perceived to delimit the nursing territory (Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, and Kirkham, 2002). The variability of care makes scientific inquiry almost impossible. It is indeed true that medicinal treatment alone can guarantee healing. This however, becomes tricky with the aged, frail people and those suffering from chronic diseases. These groups of persons need care.
According to research and experiences recorded by nurses; once patients are well taken good care of, it helps boosts their chances of recovery. This is because sickness, even when traced from traditional societies, was perceived to interact with environment, family, community, spirit and the individual persons. The better an individual feels the greater are his or her chances to respond positively to treatment. The nurse who establishes confidence, a bond and trust with the patient can provide this good feeling. Caring is therefore an important concept that needs to feature in the nursing metaparadigm. Without this concept nurses may not be well able to execute