התפתחויות בסיעוד: שינויים בהגדרת Caring: [מאמר סקירה]

Background: The capacity for caring is critical in every area of nursing practice; caring in this context refers to the commitment to provide supportive and comprehensive care for the patient, out of empathy and human compassion, and from a holistic view of the patient. The modern nursing paradigm promotes the incorporation of the technological,scientific, and economic developments of Western society, alongside developments in nursing; caring has undergone similar changes. In this review, we attempt to provide an overview on the changes that have taken place in the definition and perception of caring over time, from the perspective of patients, nurses and nursing students.Methods: A literature review was performed, using the following databases: Medline,PubMed, Embase, Web of Science. Keywords included: ״caring״, ״nursing״, ״career in nursing״ ״patient care״ and ״students.״Findings: The literature review shows that patients recognize caring as integral to every action the nurse takes; they therefore expect every nursing treatment to include interpersonal communication and displays of empathy. There is a similar consensus among researchers and nurses that caring is an integral and essential part of nursing.However, while the nursing students still identify altruism and emotional involvement(as part of direct patient care) as central values of nursing, caring is seen as an additional skill that must be acquired, much like the acquired skill of technology usage.Conclusions: Training programs should include as a necessary component the encouragement of nursing students to become aware of the high value of caring, in order for them to function optimally in providing the highest possible quality of care.