Scope of Nursing Practice • Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Ed. • 11
The Art of Nursing
The art of nursing is based on caring and respect for human dignity. A com-
passionate approach to patient care carries a mandate to provide care com-
petently. Such competent care is provided and accomplished through both
independent practice and partnerships. Collaboration may be with individuals
seeking support or assistance with their healthcare needs, interprofessional
colleagues, and other stakeholders.
The art of nursing embraces spirituality, healing, empathy, mutual respect,
and compassion. These intangible aspects promote health. Nursing embraces
healing. Healing is fostered by helping, listening, mentoring, coaching, teach-
ing, exploring, being present, supporting, touching, intuition, service, cultural
competence, tolerance, acceptance, nurturing, mutually creating, and conflict
resolution.
Nursing focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health
and quality of life; prevention or resolution of disease, illness, or disability;
facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering; and transition to a dignified and
peaceful death. Nursing needs are identified from a holistic perspective and
are met in the context of a culturally sensitive, caring, personal relationship.
Nursing includes the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or
potential health problems. Registered nurses employ practices that are promo-
tive, supportive, and restorative in nature.
Care and Caring in Nursing Practice
The act of caring is foundational to the practice of nursing: “A great truth, the
act of caring is the first step in the power to heal” (Moffitt, 2004, p. 23). Watson
(2012), in her Human Caring Science Theory, emphasizes the personal relation-
ship between patient and nurse; highlights the role of the nurse in defining the
patient as a unique human being to be valued, respected, nurtured, under-
stood, assisted; and stresses the importance of the connections between the
nurse and patient. Human care and caring is viewed as the moral ideal of nurs-
ing consisting of human-to-human attempts to protect, enhance, and preserve
humanity and human dignity, integrity, and wholeness by assisting a person
to find meaning in illness, suffering, pain, and existence. Human caring helps
another gain self-knowledge, self-control, self-caring, and self-healing so that
a sense of inner harmony is restored regardless of the external circumstances.
Human caring is not just an emotion, concern, attitude, or benevolent desire.
It involves values, knowledge, caring actions, acceptance of consequences,
a will, and a commitment to care. Human caring is related to intersubjec-
tive human responses to health-illness-healing conditions; a knowledge of
health-illness, environmental-personal relations, and the nurse caring process;
and self-knowledge in relation to both strengths and limitations. Human caring