Notes On... Caring: (Notes On (Nursing))

NOTES ON… CARING Discover the connection between care and healing with this transformative book Care is often regarded as fundamental to the nursing profession, almost synonymous. The relationship between care and nursing is presented as though no further explanation is required, no theorisation of what it means to care, and no elaboration of the role played by care in nursing as a profession and a practice. Given the agreed-upon centrality of care to nursing, there is an urgent need for a work analysing this key relationship and what it can mean for nursing professionals. Notes On… Caring meets this need with a clear, concise discussion of caring in the healthcare context. Beginning from the premise that care is essential to fostering the health and healing of others, it sets out to clarify the subject and articulate an ethic of care that can be cultivated in nursing and medical practice. With the COVID-19 pandemic placing nursing care more than ever at the forefront of public health, there has never been a better time to understand what it means for nurses to care. This book is ideal for all nurses, midwives, and other medical professionals or students.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Acknowledgements xi About the Author xiii About the Notes On ... Series xv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 About This Book 1 2 What Is Caring? 5 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Defining Care 5 2.3 Theories of Care 9 2.4 Summary 14 3 Professional Caring 17 3.1 Introduction 17 3.2 Types of Care 18 3.3 Summary 24 4 The Attributes (or Ingredients) of Transformational Care 25 4.1 Introduction 25 4.2 The Seven Cs + 25 4.3 Ingredients/Attributes of Transformational Care 27 4.4 Summary 51 5 Understanding the Context of Care 53 5.1 Introduction 53 5.2 Nurses, Other Health Professionals, and Caring 54 5.3 So, Why Did You Want to become a Nurse or Health Professional? 54 5.4 So, What Is Important to You? 55 5.5 Contributors to the Challenge 56 5.6 Summary 63 6 The Therapeutic Relationship: The Key to Professional Care 65 6.1 Introduction 65 6.2 The Therapeutic Relationship: Defined 65 6.3 Characteristics: What Constitutes a Therapeutic Relationship? 67 6.4 The Zone of Helpfulness 70 6.5 Phases of a Therapeutic Relationship (Building the Bridge) 74 6.6 Summary 76 7 Compassion, Empathy, and Sympathy 79 7.1 Introduction 79 7.2 Compassion 79 7.3 Compassion Fatigue 80 7.4 Compassionate Leadership 81 7.5 Congruent Leadership 84 7.6 Empathy 86 7.7 Sympathy 87 7.8 Summary 89 8 Who Cares? -- Self-Care/Self-Compassion -- When the Oxygen Masks Fall! 91 8.1 Introduction 91 8.2 Hardwired to Put Others First 92 8.3 Hardwired to Bring Others Down 94 8.4 What Are the Risks of a Lack of Self-Care? 98 8.5 Caring for Self 99 8.6 Definition of Self-Care, Self-Compassion, and Compassionate Care 99 8.7 Strategies for Managing and Promoting Self-Care and Self-Compassion 100 8.8 The Future 105 8.9 Summary 106 References 107 Index 123

About the Author :
David Stanley, NursD, has been a nurse and midwife for over 42 years and is recently retired. He has published widely on clinical leadership, the challenges faced by men in nursing, and the importance of values in the nursing and medical professions. He now writes fiction and poetry.