NURSES CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF CARING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

This paper outlines a study, which provided a pilot for part of a larg er research project, to investigate nurses' conceptualizations of cari ng. The report gives an overview of previous work related to defining the concept of care before outlining the study undertaken. A sample of nine qualified nurses was used and Kelly's repertory grid technique e mployed to elicit constructs within the concepts of caring attitudes a nd caring behaviours. Grid data were analysed using cluster analysis a nd nine common themes were identified. These themes were largely suppo rtive of previous research studies. It is proposed that in developing a theory of care, a synthesis should occur between nurses' conceptuali zations of the concept and their professional practice.