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CHAPTER 19 Anne Boykin and Savina O. Schoenhofer 363

of ourselves as caring persons. Actualization of the
Person potential to express caring varies in the moment. As
One: Persons are Caring by Virtue competency in caring is developed through life, we
of their Humanness come to understand what it means to be a caring per-
The belief that persons are caring by virtue of their son, to live caring, and to nurture each other as caring.
humanness sets forth the ontological and ethical This awareness of self as a caring person brings forth
bases on which the theory is grounded. Being a per- to consciousness the valuing of caring and becomes
son means living caring, through which being and the moral imperative, directing the “oughts” of actions
possibilities are known to the fullest. Each person with the persistent question, “How ought I act as car-
throughout his or her life grows in the capacity to ing person?” (Boykin & Schoenhofer, 2001a, p. 4).
express caring. The assumption that all persons are
caring does not require that each act of a person be Health
caring, but it does require the acceptance that “funda- Four: Personhood is Living Life Grounded
mentally, potentially, and actually, each person is car- in Caring
ing” (Boykin & Schoenhofer, 2001a, p. 2). Through Personhood is a process of living caring and growing
entering, experiencing, and appreciating the life- in caring: It is being authentic, demonstrating con-
world of other, the nature of being human is more gruence between beliefs and behaviors, and living out
fully understood. From the perspective of Nursing as the meaning of one’s life. Personhood acknowledges
Caring, the understanding of person as caring “cen- the potential for unfolding caring possibilities mo-
ters on valuing and celebrating human wholeness, the ment to moment. From the perspective of Nursing as
human person as living and growing in caring, and Caring, personhood is the universal human call. This
active personal engagement with others” (Boykin & implies that the fullness of being human is expressed
Schoenhofer, 2001a, p. 5). in living caring uniquely day to day and is enhanced
through participation in caring relationships (Boykin
Two: Persons are Whole and Complete & Schoenhofer, 2001a).
in the Moment
Respect for the person is communicated by the Environment
notion of person as whole or complete in the Five: Personhood is Enhanced through
moment. Being complete in the moment signifies that Participating in Nurturing Relationships
there is no insufficiency, no brokenness, and no with Caring Others
absence of something. Wholeness, or the fullness of As a process, personhood acknowledges the potential
being, is forever present. The view of the person as of persons to live caring and is enhanced through par-
caring and complete is intentional, offering a unifying ticipation in nurturing relationships with caring oth-
lens for being present with the other that prevents ers. The nature of relationships is transformed through
segmenting into parts such as mind, body, and spirit. caring. Caring is living in the context of relational
Through this lens, the person is at all times whole, responsibilities and possibilities, and it acknowledges
with no insufficiency, brokenness, or absence of some- the importance of knowing person as person. “Through
thing. The idea of wholeness does not preclude the knowing self as caring person, I am able to be authentic
idea of complexity of being. Instead, from the perspec- to self, freeing me to truly be with others” (Boykin &
tive of Nursing as Caring, to encounter a person as less Schoenhofer, 2001a, p. 4).
than whole fails to truly encounter the person.
Nursing
Three: Persons Live Caring, Moment Six: Nursing is Both a Discipline
to Moment and a Profession
Caring is a lifetime process that is lived moment to Nursing is an “exquisitely interwoven” (Boykin &
moment and is constantly unfolding. In the rhythm of Schoenhofer, 2001a, p. 6) unity of aspects of the disci-
life experiences, we continually develop expressions pline and profession of nursing. As a discipline, nursing