Caring: its meaning and place in the practice of nursing.

The School of Nursing at which the author is an instructor has decided to revise its curriculum. The new curriculum will use Jean Watson's Theory of Caring as its theoretical base. This qualitative study was undertaken to help clarify the meaning and value of caring in nursing practice as perceived by second-year diploma nursing students. When the data were analyzed, three categories of nurse behaviors emerged that were perceived as caring: giving of self, meeting patients' needs in a timely fashion, and providing comfort measures for patients and their families. The results of this study can be interpreted as a social constructive view of caring in the practice of nursing. These outcomes may help to define and teach caring nurse behaviors in a curriculum based on the Theory of Caring.