is on a change of consciousness, a focused
intentionality towards caring and healing
relationships and modalities, a shift towards
a spiritualization of health vs. a limited med-
icalized view.” Our ACT commitment is to
authentic relationships and the creation of
caring-healing environments.References
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PUBLICATIONS/AUDIOVISUALS
Bevis, E. O., & Watson, J. (1989).Toward a caring curriculum. A
new pedagogy for nursing(reprinted 2000). Mass: Jones &
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Watson, J. (l979).Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring.ing consciousness of Caring Theory do not support
this meeting format. We are adopting another
meeting style that expresses caring values.
Our unit director had the foresight to budget a
position for a CNS to support the cocreation of car-
ing praxis. The traditional CNS roles—researcher,
clinical expert, collaborator, educator, and change
agent—have allowed the integration of Caring
Theory development into all aspects of our unit
program. The CNS role advocates self-care and fa-
cilitates staff members to incorporate caring-heal-
ing arts into their practice through modeling and
hands-on support. In addition to providing assis-
tance, searching for resources, acting as liaison with
other health-care teams, and promoting staff in
their efforts, the very presence of the CNS on the
unit reinforces our commitment to caring praxis.
Caring-healing cocreation is fluid, not static.
Over 100 years ago, Florence Nightingale
wrote, “I entirely repudiate the distinction
usually drawn between the man of thought
and the man of action” (Vivinus & Nergaard,
1990, p. 310). Nightingale rejected the sepa-
ration of the ideal (theory) from action
(practice). For Nightingale, nursing is not a
profession or a job one performs, but is
rather a calling. Dedicating her life toward
achieving the ideal, she challenged others to
“let the Ideal go if you are not trying to in-
corporate it in your daily life” (Vivinus &
Nergaard, 1990, p. 310). We continue to work
toward incorporating caring ideal in every
action. Currently, we are modifying our
competency-based guidelines to emphasize
caring competency within tasks and skills.
Building relationships for supportive collab-
orative practice is the most exciting and most
challenging endeavor we are now facing as
old roles are reevaluated in light of cocreating
caring-healing relationships. Watson and
Foster (2003, p. 361) describe the potential of
such collaboration: “the new caring-healing
practice environment is increasingly depend-
ent on partnerships, negotiation, coordination,
new forms of communication pattern and
authentic relationships. The new emphasis306 SECTION III Nursing Theory in Nursing Practice, Education, Research, and Administration