Invitation to Caring | Collaboration with FAU | Nurses Week | Service Awards | Ingredients of Caring

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An Invitation to Caring?

You may ask, what does that mean… an invitation to caring? Caring means a lot of different things to different people, but to those at St. Lucie Medical Center, it is a way of life. It is what we do. It is who we are.

As the healthcare industry moves closer to a conventional business model, in some instances, bottom-line focus has replaced the traditional patient-focus. At St. Lucie Medical Center, we know that a caring focus on our patients and their families is what sets us apart. So much so, that we have adopted the Nursing as Caring philosophy. We believe that caring is an innate human quality, and that it is the goal of nursing.

Nursing as Caring

In the Nursing as Caring Theory, the person is thought of as whole person at all times. There is no deficit, nothing to be fixed or brought back to normal. It is what matters to the person that is valued by the nurse. The nurse uses his or her deeply held values to guide care for the person attending to what matters to the patient.

According to Boykin and Schoenhofer, caring is a value that the nurse is deeply committed to. Living out this commitment to caring, and growing in the ability to care in each unique nursing situation, is the focus of this theory. To know a person is to be genuinely present to hear the personal stories of hopes and dreams, and of thoughts and feelings expressed by the person. Through reflection of the stories, the nurse perceives the expressed needs of the person. With this perception of needs in mind, the nurse is committed to respond in as competent, compassionate, and personal way as possible.