Page 159 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

F r o m ca ra t i v e F a c t o r 8 t o C a r i t a s P r o C e s s 8
cultural significance of pain and suffering in a person’s life (regard-
less of one’s culture-belief system) are a form of comfort in their own
right. Nurses have an opportunity as well as an obligation to become
familiar with the spiritual, cultural, and religious meanings associated
with pain, comfort, and caring. Thus, in this Caritas Process, the nurse
can be a lifeline between the often impersonal “case” environmental
responses and the patient’s subjective cultural and spiritual needs and
beliefs that are honored as part of the provision of a healing environ-
ment at all levels—seeing and honoring the “face” of the other and his
or her personal, individual needs.

safety
The original focus of this Carative Factor remains the same, even as
it has evolved and continues to evolve. Indeed, issues related to safety,
such as falls, injuries, infections, skin care, sterilization, hand washing,
over- or under-medication, all types of medication errors—wrong per-
son, wrong medication, wrong method of administration, and so on—
along with other issues, such as safety of medical devices, bathing-toilet
access and equipment, restraining devices, radiation contamination,
pollution-toxicity levels, and others, have been the subject of national
news exposés as well as scientific Institute of Medicine studies, reports,
warnings, and attention. Safety is a basic component of professional
nursing and Caritas Processes. Safety concerns affect all of the nurse’s
activities related to supporting, protecting, and correcting the environ-
ment for healing at all levels.
To feel safe and protected is a basic need. To experience the
absence of threats or danger in the environment is critical to a person’s
well-being. It is the nurse’s ethical obligation to ensure safety. Environ-
mental issues are presenting concerns for both nurse and patient.
The nurse’s concern for safety and well-being includes an appre-
ciation of the various developmental and emotional factors that con-
tribute to a person’s belief that the environment is safe or unsafe.
Depending upon his or her background and trust in the current situ-
ation, the patient behaves in a variety of ways to create a sense of
safety and self-control over the environment. The Caritas Nurse dem-
onstrates concern for safety at multiple levels, including knowledge

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