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CHAPTER 11 Katie Eriksson 181

movement between the potential and the actual, the process model work in practice has been verified by
abstract general and the concrete individual. With everything from a multiplicity of essays and tests of
the help of logical abstract thinking combined with learning in clinical practice to master’s theses, licen-
the logic of the heart (Pascal, 1971), the Theory of tiates’ theses, and doctoral dissertations produced all
Caritative Caring becomes perceptible through the over the Nordic countries.
art of caring.
Education

Acceptance by the Nursing Community Since the 1970s, Eriksson’s theory has been integrated
into the education of nurses at various levels, and her
Practice books have been included continuously in the exami-
A characteristic feature of Eriksson’s manner of work- nation requirements in various forms of nursing edu-
ing is her way of structuring abstract thinking as a cation in the Nordic countries. The education for
natural and obvious precondition of clinical activity master’s and doctoral degrees that started in 1986 at
and an evidence-based form of caring that opens up a the Department of Caring Science, Åbo Akademi
deeper insight. Several nursing units in the Nordic University, has been based entirely on Eriksson’s
countries have based their practice and caring philoso- ideas, and her caritative caring theory forms the core
phy on Eriksson’s ideas and her caritative theory of of the development of substance in education and
caring. These include the Hospital District of Helsinki research.
and Uusimaa in Finland, Stiftelsen Hemmet in the Development of the caring science–centered curric-
Åland Islands of Finland, and Stora Sköndal in Sweden. ulum and caring didactics continued in the educational
Because Eriksson’s thinking and process model of car- and research program in caring science didactics.
ing are general, the nursing care process model has Development of teachers within the education of nurses
proved to be applicable in all contexts of caring, from forms a part of the master’s degree program and has
acute clinical caring and psychiatric care to health- resulted in the first doctoral dissertation in the didactics
promoting and preventive care. of caring science (Ekebergh, 2001).
Since the 1970s, Eriksson’s nursing care process Eriksson realized at an early stage the importance
model was systematically used, tested, and developed as of integrating academic courses in the education of
a basis of nursing care and documentation at Helsinki nurses; nowadays, academic courses in caring science
University Central Hospital. From the beginning of based on Eriksson’s theory are offered as part of con-
the 1990s, Eriksson served as director of the clinical tinuing education for those who work in clinical
research program, “In the World of the Patient.” In practice. Approximately 200 nurses take part annually
various studies, Eriksson’s theory has been tested, and in these academic courses.
the results have been presented in doctoral and master’s Because Eriksson sees caring science not as profes-
theses and published in professional and scientific jour- sion oriented but as a “pure” academic discipline, it
nals. The study, “In the Patient’s World II: Alleviating has aroused interest among students in other disci-
the Patient’s Suffering—Ethics and Evidence” led to plines and other occupational groups, such as teach-
recommendations for the care of patients and is an ers, social workers, psychologists, and theologians.
ongoing research project that will become a handbook Eriksson stresses that it is necessary for doctors
for clinical caring science. as well to study caring science, so that genuine inter-
Eriksson’s model has been subjected to more disciplinary cooperation is achieved between caring
comprehensive academic research (Fagerström, 1999; science and medicine.
Kärkkäinen & Eriksson, 2003, 2004; Lukander, 1995;
Turtiainen, 1999). Eriksson’s thinking has been in- Research
fluential in nursing leadership and nursing adminis- Eriksson and her teaching and research colleagues
tration, where the caritative theory of nursing forms at the Department of Caring Science designed a
the core of the development of nursing leadership research program based on her caring science tradi-
at various levels of the nursing organization. That tion. This program comprises systematic caring sci-
Eriksson’s ideas about caring and her nursing care ence, clinical caring science, didactic caring science,