PATIENT PERCEPTIONS OF NURSE CARING ON A MEDICAL SURGICAL UNIT.
Contributors: University of Cincinnati.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 108
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Clinical.
Description: The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to uncover the meaning of nurse caring to hospitalized medical surgical patients. Participants in the study included seven adults between the ages of 45 and 75, four were men and three were women. Data gathering interviews were conducted in a large teaching hospital setting and were audio tape recorded. The researcher developed and used a semi-structured interview guide during the interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the Giorgi phenomenological method. Data analysis using a modification of the Giorgi method proceeded as follows: dwelling with the data, identification of scenes, emergence of themes, identification of focal meanings, synthesis of situated structural descriptions, and synthesis of a general structural description. The modification of the method was that the researcher did a synthesis of the focal meanings as the Situated Structural Descriptions were written for each participant. The major finding of the study was the general structural description of the phenomenon of nurse caring as a lived experience of hospitalized medical surgical patients. From this general structural description of nurse caring, two major dimensions of nurse caring were identified. These dimensions were: meeting human needs with vigilance, knowledge, and competency; and the relational style of the nurse in how she relates to patients, and with respect to her work style. The findings were determined to be consistent with Watson's Theory of Human Caring. Each of the ten Carative Factors identified in the theory were evident in the findings. The findings were also consistent with the work of other nurse researchers, especially Swanson, Ray, and Larson.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: B, page: 4242.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI, 1995.

School code: 0045.