Introducing the Theorists
Anne Boykin is dean and professor of the College of
Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. She is direc-
tor of the Christine E. Lynne Center for Caring,
which is housed in the College of Nursing. This
center was created for the purpose of humanizing
care through the integration of teaching, research,
and service. She has demonstrated a long-standing
commitment to the International Association for
Human Caring, holding the following positions:
president-elect (1990 to 1993), president (1993 to
1996), and member of the nominating committee
(1997 to 1999). As immediate past president, she
served as coeditor of the journal International
Association for Human Caringfrom 1996 to 1999.
Her scholarly work is centered in caring as the
grounding for nursing. This is evidenced in her
coauthored book,Nursing As Caring: A Model for
Transforming Practice(1993), and the book Living a
Caring-based Program(1994). The latter book illus-
trates how caring grounds the development of a
nursing program from creating the environment
for study through evaluation. She has also authored
numerous book chapters and articles. She serves as
a consultant locally, regionally, nationally, and in-
ternationally on the topic of caring.
Dr. Boykin is a graduate of Alverno College in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin; she received her master’s
degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia,
and her doctorate from Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Savina Schoenhofer’s initial nursing study was at
Wichita State University, where she earned under-
graduate and graduate degrees in nursing, psychol-
ogy, and counseling. She completed a PhD in
educational foundations and administration at
Kansas State University in 1983. In 1990, Schoen-
hofer cofounded Nightingale Songs,an early venue
for communicating the beauty of nursing in poetry
and prose. In addition to her work on caring, in-
cluding coauthorship of Nursing As Caring: A
Model for Transforming Practice,she has written on
nursing values, primary care, nursing education,
support, touch, personnel management in nursing
homes, and mentoring. Her career in nursing has
been significantly influenced by three colleagues:
Lt. Col. Ann Ashjian (Ret.), whose community
nursing practice in Brazil presented an inspiring
model of nursing; Marilyn E. Parker, PhD, a faculty
colleague who mentored her in the idea of nursing
as a discipline, the academic role in higher educa-
tion, and the world of nursing theories and theo-
rists; and Anne Boykin, PhD, who introduced her
to caring as a substantive field of nursing study.
Schoenhofer created and manages the Web site and
discussion forum on the theory of nursing as caring
(www.nursingascaring.com).Introducing the Theory
This chapter is intended as an overview of the the-
ory of nursing as caring, a general theory, frame-
work, or disciplinary view of nursing. The theory of
nursing as caring offers a view that permits a broad,
encompassing understanding of any and all situa-
tions of nursing practice (Boykin & Schoenhofer,
1993). This theory serves as an organizing frame-
work for nursing scholars in the various roles of
practitioner, researcher, administrator, teacher, and
developer.
Initially, we will present the theory in its most
abstract form, addressing assumptions and key
themes. We will then discuss the meaning of the
theory in relation to practice and other nursing
roles. In the second part of this chapter, Danielle
Linden further describes the theory by illustrating
its use as a guide to practice.ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY THEMES
Certain fundamental beliefs about what it means to
be human underlie the theory of nursing as caring.
These assumptions, which will be illustrated later,
reflect a particular set of values and key themes that
provide a basis for understanding and explicating
the meaning of nursing, listed as follows and de-
tailed here:- Persons are caring by virtue of their humanness.
- Persons are whole and complete in the moment.
- Persons live caring from moment to moment.
- Personhood is a way of living grounded in
caring. - Personhood is enhanced through participation
in nurturing relationships with caring others. - Nursing is both a discipline and a profession.
Caring
Caring is an altruistic, active expression of love and
is the intentional and embodied recognition ofCHAPTER 21 Anne Boykin and Savina O. Schoenhofer’s Nursing as Caring Theory 335