NCM 100 (THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF NURSING)

KATIE ERIKSSON

BSN 1G
Ordoñez, Maria Nikka C.
Parojinog, Danzel Mark
Rama, Krizzia Bryce A.
Tañan, Zhelo

KATIE ERIKSSON
(THEORY OF CARITATIVE CARING)
Biography
 a Finland-Swedish nurse.
 born on November 18,1943, in Jakobstad, Finland.
 She is a 1965 graduate of the Helsinki Swedish School of Nursing, and in 1967, she
completed her public health nursing specialty education at the same institution.
 She continued her academic studies at University of Helsinki, where she received her MA
degree in philosophy in 1974 and her licentiate degree in 1976; (The Patient Care Process
—An Approach to Curriculum Construction within Nursing Education: The Development
of a Model for the Patient Care Process and an Approach for Curriculum Development
Based on the Process of Patient Care) in 1982 (Eriksson, 1974, 1976, 1981).
 In 1984, Eriksson was appointed Docent of Caring Science (part time) at University of
Kuopio, the first docentship in caring science in the Nordic countries. She was appointed
Professor of Caring Science at Åbo Akademi University in 1992. Between 1993 and
1999, she held a professorship in caring science at University of Helsinki, Faculty of
Medicine, where she has been a docent since 2001.
 1996, she has also served as Director of Nursing at Helsinki University Central Hospital,
with responsibilities for research and development of caring science in connection with
her professorship at Åbo Akademi University.
 She died on August 30, 2019 at 75 years old.

What is the Theory of Caritative Caring?

This model of nursing distinguishes between caring ethics, the practical relationship between the
patient and the nurse, and nursing ethics. Nursing ethics are the ethical principles that guide a
nurse’s decision making abilities. Caritative caring consists of love and charity, which is also
known as caritas, and respect and reverence for human holiness and dignity. According to the
theory, suffering then occurs as a result of a lack of caritative care is a violation of human
dignity.

Major Concepts

 Caritas
 means love and charity.
 In caritas, eros and agapé are united, and caritas is by nature unconditional love.
 Caritas, which is the fundamental motive of caring science, also constitutes the
motive for all caring.
 It means that caring is an endeavor to mediate faith, hope, and love through tending,
playing, and learning.

 Caring Communion
 constitutes the context of the meaning of caring and is the structure that determines caring
reality.
 Caring gets its distinctive character through caring communion (Eriksson,1990). Caring
communion requires meeting in time and space, an absolute, lasting presence (Eriksson,
1992c).
 Caring communion is characterized by intensity and vitality, and by warmth, closeness,
rest, respect, honesty, and tolerance. It cannot be taken for granted but presupposes a
conscious effort to be with the other.
 Caring communion is seen as the source of strength and meaning in caring.

 The Act of Caring

 The act of caring contains the caring elements (faith, hope, love, tending, playing, and
learning), involves the categories of infinity and eternity, and invites to deep communion.
The act of caring is the art of making something very special out of something less
special.

 Caritative Caring Ethics

  comprises the ethics of caring, the core of which is determined by the caritas motive.
Caring ethics deals with the basic relation between the patient and the nurse—the way in
which the nurse meets the patient in an ethical sense. It is about the approach we have
toward the patient.
 Nursing ethics deals with the ethical principles and rules that guide my work or my
decisions. Caring ethics is the core of nursing ethics.
 Ethical caring is what we actually make explicit through our approach and the things we
do for the patient in practice. An approach that is based on ethics in care means that we,
without prejudice, see the human being with respect, and that we confirm his or her
absolute dignity. It also means that we are willing to sacrifice something of ourselves.
The ethical categories that emerge as basic in caritative caring ethics are human dignity,
the caring communion, invitation, responsibility, good and evil, and virtue and obligation.
In an ethical act, the good is brought out through ethical actions (Eriksson, 1995, 2003).

 Dignity
 Dignity constitutes one of the basic concepts of caritative caring ethics. Human dignity is
partly absolute dignity, partly relative dignity. Absolute dignity is granted the human
being through creation, while relative dignity is influenced and formed through culture
and external contexts. A human being’s absolute dignity involves the right to be
confirmed as a
 unique human being (Eriksson, 1988, 1995, 1997a).

 Invitation
 Invitation refers to the act that occurs when the carer welcomes the patient to the caring
communion. The concept of invitation finds room for a place where the human being is
allowed to rest, a place that breathes genuine hospitality, and where the patient’s appeal
for charity meets with a response (Eriksson, 1995; Eriksson & Lindström, 2000).

 Suffering
 Suffering is an ontological concept described as a human being’s struggle between good
and evil in a state of becoming. Suffering implies in some sense dying away from
something, and through reconciliation, the wholeness of body, soul, and spirit is re-
created, when the human being’s holiness and dignity appear. Suffering is a unique,
isolated total experience and is notsynonymous with pain (Eriksson, 1984, 1993).

 Suffering Related to Illness, to Care, and to Life

 Suffering related to illness is experienced in connection with illness and treatment.
 When the patient is exposed to suffering caused by care or absence of caring, the patient
experiences suffering related to care, which is always a violation of the patient’s dignity.
Not to be taken seriously, not to be welcome, being blamed, and being subjected to the
exercise of power are various forms of suffering related to care.
 In the situation of being a patient, the entire life of a human being may be experienced as
suffering related to life (Eriksson, 1993, 1994a; Lindholm & Eriksson, 1993).

 The Suffering Human Being

 The suffering human being is the concept that Eriksson uses to describe the patient. The
patient refers to the concept of patiens (Latin), which means “suffering.”The patient is a
suffering human being, or a human being who suffers and patiently endures (Eriksson,
1994a; Eriksson & Herberts, 1992).

 Reconciliation
 Reconciliation refers to the drama of suffering. Reconciliation implies a change through
which a new wholeness is formed of the life the human being has lost in suffering.
Having achieved reconciliation implies living with an imperfection with regard to oneself
and others but seeing a way forward and a meaning in one’s suffering. Reconciliation is a
prerequisite of caritas (Eriksson, 1990).

 Caring Culture
 Caring culture is the concept that Eriksson (1987a) uses instead of environment. It
characterizes the total caring reality and is based on cultural elements such as traditions,
rituals, and basic values. Caring culture transmits an inner order of value preferences or
 ethos, and the different constructions of culture have their basis in the changes of value
that ethos undergoes.

 Use of Empirical Evidence

 From the beginning development of her theory, Eriksson has firmly established it in
empiricism by systematically employing a hermeneutical and hypothetical deductive
approach. Eriksson, in conformity with a human science and hermeneutical way of
thinking, has developed a caring science concept of evidence (Eriksson, Nordman, &
Myllymäki, 1999). As her main argument for this, she points out that the concept of
evidence in natural science is too narrow to capture and reach the depth of the complex
caring reality. Her concept of evidence is derived from Gadamer’s concept of truth
(Gadamer, 1960/1994), which encompasses the true, the beautiful, and the good. She
points out, in accordance with Gadamer, that evidence cannot be connected solely with a
method and empirical data. Evidence in a human science perspective contains two
aspects: a conceptual, logical one, which she calls ontological, and an empirical one, each
pre-supposing the other. The evidence concept developed by Eriksson has been shown to
be empirically evident when tested in two comprehensive empirical studies where the
idea was to develop evidence-based caring cultures in seven caring units in the Hospital
District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (Eriksson & Nordman, 2004).

Major Assumptions

 Axiom
 The human being is fundamentally an entity of body, soul, and spirit.
 The human being is fundamentally a religious being.
 The human being is fundamentally holy. Human dignity means accepting the human
obligation of serving with love, of existing for the sake of others.
 Communion is the basis for all humanity. Human beings are fundamentally interrelated to
an abstract and/or concrete other in a communion.
 Caring is something human by nature, a call to serve in love. Suffering is an inseparable
part of life. Suffering and health are each other’s prerequisites.
 Health is more than the absence of illness. Health implies wholeness and holiness.
 The human being lives in a reality that is characterized by mystery, infinity, and eternity.

 Theses
 Ethos confers ultimate meaning on the caring context.
 The basic motive of caring is the caritas motive.
 The basic category of caring is suffering.
 Caring communion forms the context of meaning of caring and derives its origin from the
ethos of love, responsibility, and sacrifice, namely, caritative ethics.
 Health means a movement in becoming, being, and doing while striving for wholeness
and holiness, which is compatible with endurable suffering.
 Caring implies alleviation of suffering in charity, love, faith, and hope. Natural basic
caring is expressed through tending, playing, and learning in a sustained caring
relationship, which is asymmetrical by nature.

Metaparadigm
 Human being: In Eriksson's theory, the human being is seen as a unique individual with
physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. The person is at the center of care
and is in need of help and support.

 Health: Health is viewed as a state of well-being that encompasses the whole person, not just
the absence of illness. It includes physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects.

 Nursing: Nursing is seen as a relational and ethical practice. It involves caring for and with
the person in need and respecting their dignity, integrity, and worth. The nurse's role is to
alleviate suffering and promote the person's well-being.

 Environment: The environment includes the physical, social, and spiritual context in which
care is provided. It has an impact on the person's well-being and can either support or hinder
the caring process.
Strengths and Weaknesses
 STRENGTHS
 Eriksson's theory places a strong emphasis on compassion and altruism in nursing care.
 It underscores the significance of patient centered care.
 Eriksson's model provides ethical foundation for nursing practice.
 WEAKNESSES
 That is abstract and philosophical which make it challenging for some nurses to translate
in practical care.
 Eriksson's theory may not be as widely known or taught in nursing education programs.
 Theory may not provide specific, step by step guidance for nurses in clinical setting.

Relevance to Nursing
 Eriksson's theory emphasizes compassion and empathy in healthcare, emphasizing
patient-centered care. It encourages healthcare professionals to view patients as unique
individuals with their own values and needs. The theory provides a strong ethical
foundation for nursing practice, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and addressing
patient's spiritual needs in health

References
 Alligood, M. R. (Ed.). (2013). Nursing theorists and their work (8th ed.).Elsevier.