An intraoperative caring model – the ‘awake’ patient’s need for a genuine caring encounter

Anaesthesia nursing care during regional anaesthesia is characterized by the encounter between the ‘awake’ patient’s own lifeworld and the nurse anaesthetist’s knowledge in theory and in practice. This study aims to present an intraoperative caring model from the patient’s perspective that will facilitate nurse anaesthetists’ (NA) practice to enhance and support the ‘awake’ patient’s intraoperative well-being during surgery under regional anaesthesia. The model is underpinned by a synthesis based on interviews with patients, a philosophical reflection using Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, and video recordings from orthopaedic surgeries under regional anaesthesia. The model can be used as a tool to encounter awake patients’ existential needs in the intraoperative situation and to further enlighten NAs about the possible impact of their proximity, interaction and communication behaviour in the delivery of intraoperative nursing care. The model can help NAs to access, understand and learn through lived experiences, thereby deepening their professional caring skills. The model is a way to get research knowledge ready for use by NAs to reflect on what gaps need to be filled between what nurses know (research) and do (practice).