A phenomenological study of faculty-student caring interactions

Caring is an essential component in nursing that must be affirmed and nurtured. A National League for Nursing resolution in 1990 called for the incorporation of caring in nursing curriculum. Kelley's (1992) study of the major influences on senior nursing students' professional self-concept concluded that faculty were the dominant role models for caring. Nurse educators must determine effective ways of demonstrating caring. This study explored the perceptions of faculty caring behaviors as experienced by students at the practical nurse and nurses' aide levels. The research replicated a phenomenological study of baccalaureate nursing students (Beck, 1991). The results indicate that the participants perceived caring as recognition of their unique individuality and the sharing and giving of self and time by the faculty. Some unusual responses, deemed to be "positive-negatives" by the authors, are apparently unique to students at this entry level. The knowledge acquired in this study could be utilized by nursing faculty in order to reinforce or enrich caring interactions with students.