The meaning of caring in the practice of intensive care nursing

Caring is perceived as human behaviour that includes cognitive, affective, psychomotor and administrative skills within which professional caring may be expressed. It is a vital resource within the highly technological area of the intensive care unit (ICU). The terms care and caring are predominantly used to describe the inherent work and value of nursing. Nursing is a nurturing profession and caring is the essential component of its holistic practice, especially with the critically ill patient. The concept of caring in the ICU is central to the social relationship between the nurse, the patient and his/her relatives. Although caring is not unique to nursing, there is substantive, existing and developing knowledge related to caring in nursing. The concept of caring has been extensively explored in the literature. However, there is still little clarity in the understanding, description, relevance or function of caring in nursing.