CARING PROFESSIONAL

Caring Professional



Caring Professional

Concepts of nursing and care

That the concepts of nursing and caring are closely related is well illustrated who, in defining care, asked whether one means something different from nursing itself. As per the definition Nursing in terms of caring, while [Henderson's (1966] definition of the nurse's unique function encompasses aspects of the caring function. Whilst most professionals would agree implicitly that nursing and caring are closely linked, nursing texts have proved less elucidating in their explicit explanation of the fundamental components of either concept.

has identified a range of nursing activities including assisting, helping and servicing aspects; nursing also refers to a range of actions, some of whose complexity lies in the process of one person helping another to do things he normally would do for himself. Nursing therefore involves interpersonal skills, and skills in maintaining the integrity and self-respect of the individual. It sees one of the unique aspects of the nursing task as the provision of a 24 h service, 7 days a week. This commitment sets nursing apart from other health care professions and links it more closely to the type of surveillance and care given by a relative to an ill or dependent person at home.

More recently [Bergman (1983] and [Hirschfeld's (1983] have identified certain, more interpersonal aspects of the nurse's caring function. Bergman illustrated the need for an emotional dimension in nursing care by recounting the reactions of an elderly demented patient to an unaccustomed situation where the nurse was only able to pacify the patient by reacting to her distress through the comforting action of an embrace. From a different perspective, [Hirschfeld's (1983] demonstrated that without emotional involvement between the lay carer and the recipient of care, the relationship could neither be developed in a mutually beneficial way nor be maintained in a manner acceptable to both parties.

Theories

Florence Nightingale and subsequent nurse theorists wrote about the role of environment as a factor in human health to varying degrees. Environment has been alluded to and described by different nurse theorists as physical space, the social environment, the psychological environment or the spiritual environment. Further, several theorists have defined environment along multiple dimensions. Nightingale described the nurses role in optimizing the environment for healing, while others, such as Sister Callista Roy write about the environment as something clients must "adapt to"as part of the healing process. This paper seeks to explore the phenomenon of environment in nursing practice, and suggest considerations for expanding nursing knowledge in the realm of the impact of environment on human health. Advances in technology, man-made chemicals and the changing social fabric of the human experience begs further consideration for nurses to become more informed about the environment as a determinant of human health and what steps nurses can take to improve health by advocating for and adjusting environmental conditions.

Nursing theory has evolved on a number of levels in the past fifty years. While it is true that Florence Nightingale is commonly recognized and accepted as the founder of modern ...