Care as a moral attitude in nursing

The concept of care can be explained in various ways, and it can present a different meaning to each person. Nurses are increasingly aware that good n ursing care consists of 'more' than the competent performance of a number o f caring activities. For many nurses it is less clear what this 'more' mean s and what importance it has in nursing. This article will develop a view c oncerning care considered as a moral attitude. It is argued that care can b e considered as a foundational normative concept in the ethics of the nursi ng profession. The aim is to clarify that nurses do not derive their specif ic caring identity just from the set of tasks that they perform but also fr om the way in which they commit themselves to the caring process.