The Meaning of Caring From Nurses Working at an Intensive Coronary Care Unit in Mauritius

Background: One of the major concerns in intensive care units is caring. There was no universally accepted definition of the phenomenon, instead of decades of research in this field. Purpose: The study presented here was designed to explore the meaning of caring, particularly from the nurses working at a renowned intensive coronary care unit (ICCU). Method: Volunteers participated in semi-structured interviews and the interviews were recorded in a tape. The recordings were transcribed verbatim and the analysis was done using Colliazzi reductive framework. Findings: Being a nurse in the ICCU meant being valuable, professional, and confident. However, in some cases they were also frustrated. The theme that emerged from the meaning of caring include accountability, empathy, competency development and holistic service. Conclusion and Recommendations: An understanding of the meaning of caring can be of great importance in improving the nursing practice. The nature of this investigation was only exploratory; therefore more research is required to bring positive changes. It is essential to examine the patients’ experience of caring in the same setting by the use of a methodology including a large sample.