Importance of Caring in Nursing Profession

Running head: NURSING CARE
Nursing Care
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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NURSING CARE
Introduction
According to Adam (2016), philosophy of caring is the basic pillar of nursing
profession. However, Adams (2016, pp: 01) have opined that, “The attribute of caring is no
longer a central theme to the nursing profession and has become only second nature to the
busy, overworked nurse in a technologically dominated setting”. The following essay aims to
analyse to what extent this statement holds significance in nursing profession. Analysis of the
validity of the statement will be done under the light of the Professional Code of Conduct of
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2017) along with detailed examination of related
concept of care and importance of care in nursing profession and present day scenario.
Towards the end the essay with put forward the conclusion stating to what extent the writer
agrees or digresses with the above mentioned statement.
Related concept of care
The profession of nursing is the key healthcare profession. It has principal
contribution towards the overall health and wellbeing of the patients. The concept of care in
nursing profession generally deals with holistic care to the patients for fast recovery of the
mental and physical health (Bodner et al., 2015). According to Oosterom-Calo Vice and
Breslow (2015), apart from providing the medical care, it is also the duty of the nurse to
make sure that the surrounding environment is suitable for fulfilling the comprehensive
requirement of the patients thereby leading towards the physical wellbeing and mental
satisfaction. Oosterom-Calo et al. (2015) further opined that the patients who are suffering
from the prolong disease like cancer, demands certain level of emotional and spiritual support
and it is the duty of the nurse to fulfil the spiritual requirement of the patients in order to
promote speedy mental recovery which in turn positively impacts the physical health.
Ramezani et al. (2014) has also spiritual care mode as one of the related concept of care in

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nursing profession. Spiritual care is regarded as a critical aspect of nursing care. This is
because, the patients project nurses as the valuable source of the spiritual information and it is
the duty of the nurse to be able to fulfil the spiritual requirement of the patients. However, in
spite of increasing importance of spiritual care in the recent times, at present there are still
certain level of ambiguities about in the nature and the associated components of the spiritual
care (Ramezani et al. 2014). According to Lusk and Fater (2013), in order to optimally fulfill
the physical, mental and spiritual requirement of the patients, it is the duty of the nurses to
abide by person or patient centered care model. This care plan varies from person to person
and is now gradually evolving as the principal mode of care plan among the nurses.
Meaning of the term caring
According to Adams (2016) the concept of caring varies from individual to
individual. Adams (2016) have further defined the concept of caring as an altruistic act of
feeling concerned for another person. Caring is the fundamental principal of the nursing
profession as introduced by the Florence Nightingale. The caring in nursing profession has
two main domains one act as a noun and other domain act as the verb that signifies the act of
caring for unknown person when he or she is unable to take care for them (Adams 2016). Via
procuring care, a nurse employs a genuine and authentic practice that is comprehensive and
meaningful to both the patient and their family of cares (Adams 2016). This authentic
practice is mainly based on the nurse knowledge base and the knowledge that arose from the
interpersonal relationship between the nurse and patients. The concept propose by the Adams
(2016) aligns with the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia. According to the code of ethics
nurse must value quality nurse care for all the patients irrespective of the diversity. Here
quality nursing is acknowledged as accepting the accountability of the standards of the
nursing care and taking reasonable actions as per the requirement.

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Caring an important aspect of nursing
According to Adams (2016, pp: 01), “The attribute of caring is no longer a central
theme to the nursing profession and has become only second nature to the busy, overworked
nurse in a technologically dominated setting”. However, Entwistle and Watt (2013) is of the
opinion that caring is an important aspect of nursing because it helps to improve the overall
experience of patient in the process of delivering healthcare. The concept of caring, helps in
the framing of the patient centred care plan. According to Kitson et al. (2013), patient centred
care plan is one of the crucial parameter behind improvement of patient’s health and
wellbeing. This again goes with the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia
(2017) which vouches in favour of health and wellbeing of the patient. According to Rathert,
Wyrwich and Boren (2013), patient centred care plan is a modified version behind the
concept of nursing care and must be placed as the first preference in the nursing profession.
The importance of the patient centred care plan is, it covers eight different aspects of patient’s
care plan and this include respect towards patient’s preference, integration and co-ordination
of care, education and information, optimal physical comfort, proper emotional support,
adequate of the family members, friends and family in the decision making process, proper
access to care and continuity and transition (Rathert, Wyrwich and Boren 2013). Moreover,
optimal nursing care is also significant in the present day culturally diverse healthcare
environment of Australia. According to Renzaho et al. (2013), culturally competent health
care model promotes increase rate of awareness cultural awareness under the linguistically
diverse environment and thereby preventing compromised patient-provider relationships
which increasing patient’s health outcomes. This culturally competent care model again
inclines with the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia (2017) which
emphasize the importance of nursing practise in a culturally competent manner with due