The nursing metaparadigm includes four basic concepts; the target of care: the individual, the external influences on the target: the environment, the goal of the care: health, and the care itself: nursing. In regard to nursing an individual could refer to a single …show more content…
These terms are able to be used interchangeably as they all share similar meaning. Compassion is defined as the feeling of emotion, when an individual is moved by the suffering of another, and the desire to relieve it (Schantz, 2007). Furthermore, the concept of caring within nursing consists of two forms; activities of caring and attitudes of caring (Griffin, 1983). These two forms are complementary to one another (Griffin, 1983). The activities of caring consist of tasks such as assisting the patient and helping and serving the patient. Nurses perform tasks for individuals that they cannot perform for themselves. Nurses implement these tasks for each patient encounter, and this implementation requires knowledge and expertise to be effective. The administering of medications and the provision of wound care is an example of this type of caring. The implementation of these tasks build the nurse-patient relationship through personal contact and the assurance of reliability. The nurse must possess the competency to carry out all required procedures, personal and technical, with concern for providing the proper care at the proper time in the proper way. The attitudes and feelings of caring are demonstrated through the expression of particular emotions. Through recognition of the importance of the patient care may be implemented. A patient’s need is perceived by the nurse through clinical assessment, perception of the patient’s situation allows for the appropriate intervention to be established. From the onset of an illness or course of disease the patient has been subjected to a vulnerable state. The autonomy of the patient is then relinquished upon the nurse. As this state of vulnerability is delicate it is a privilege for the nurse and other healthcare providers to be incorporated in the participation of care. Desire for the welfare of the