Nursing students confront relentless academic and emotional pressures that can erode well-being and professional identity. The purpose of this theory-informed narrative analysis was to illuminate these pressures through the artistic text “I Can’t Breathe” and frame its insights with caring science theory, which catalyzes pedagogical change. The poem is positioned as lived experience data, hermeneutically mapped using Mayeroff’s caring ingredients, Roach’s Five Cs, and Boykin & Schoenhofer’s nursing as caring theory. Concepts are then cross-referenced with recent phenomenological findings on student stress. The narrative traces a path from burnout to renewal via trust, compassion, and supportive relationships, paralleling key caring constructs and empirical themes on wellness barriers, coping, and help-seeking. Findings of this analysis suggest that narrative art can be a powerful way for students to share lived experience. Pairing this bravery and vulnerability with educators and practitioners who embrace the caring science with authenticity can be transformative for the future of our nursing workforce. Such an academic and professional climate can normalize help-seeking and cultivate coping skills that will benefit nurses throughout their careers.
This poetic expression weaves together the migration stories of Layla, a Syrian refugee woman, and Olena, a Ukrainian newcomer woman. Through vivid imagery, it traces their losses, resilience, and the small objects they carried as lifelines of memory. Their voices capture the dislocation of war, the uncertainty of borders, and the fragile hope of new beginnings. Canada becomes both a destination and a promise of safety, renewal, and possibility. These stories remind us that arrival is not an ending but the beginning of rebuilding, often through homestay hosting, where refugee women begin to write their next chapters within the community.
We applied Kristen Swanson’s theory of caring to create and implement two surveys assessing students’ needs post-Hurricane Helene. Survey response rates varied (30%–87%) by program. The Helene Check-In survey provided faculty with knowledge of their students’ physical and mental condition and revealed that students felt valued, safe, and comforted by faculty. The Readiness to Return to Class survey showed that online students were more prepared to resume classes than on-campus students, and student responses illustrated the healing outcomes: understood, capable, and hopeful. The assessments effectively communicated caring and promoted well-being. Future disaster response can benefit from such preparedness and assessment planning.
There has been substantive scholarly discourse on caring as represented from a science of unitary human beings perspective for over 20 years. This qualitative, narrative unitary appreciative inquiry study presents findings from an exploration of online course postings by nurses and other health professionals engaged in massive open online courses that took place between 2017 and 2022. Findings demonstrate the unique experiential nature of caring aligned with five constitutive meanings from an earlier concept clarification study and subsequent development of a middle-range theory of caring in the science of unitary human beings.
This article describes the developmental stages and progress of the Caring Behaviors Inventory (CBI), a measure of caring, a core nursing concept. The first CBI was superseded by the 5-dimension, 42-item version and provided a base for future CBIs. English language versions have subsequently been translated by researchers and bilingual experts to achieve cultural relevance and linguistically appropriate modifications. Researchers have created and shared numerous instruments that also measure caring in nursing. Some researchers, particularly students, may be unaware that the CBI and other measures of caring are available in their primary language.
To explore how gender-based violence (GBV), trauma, and substance use intersect among Indigenous women living on reservations in the Upper Midwest. Guided by an Indigenous feminist framework, this community-engaged study used storytelling interviews with 30 Indigenous survivors from two Upper-Midwest reservations. Themes included co-occurring mental health issues, substance use, and GBV; barriers to help-seeking; harms from providers or police; and intergenerational trauma. Findings underscore the need for culturally safe, trauma-informed, and Indigenous-led approaches to address the interconnected realities of GBV, substance use, and mental health among Indigenous women and promote survivor-centered care.
There is an increasing challenge for nursing to deliver quality care to the increasing population of limited English-speaking patients. This descriptive case study presents the experiences of four Hispanic bilingual nurses certified in medical interpretation and their perceptions of how caring is demonstrated while carrying out the dual role of nursing and medical interpreter. Their perceptions were analyzed through the lens of Watson’s caring theory with a focus on authentic listening and clear communication, with language concordance emerging as the means to achieve both. There have been limited studies that analyze medical interpreter-trained nurses’ perceptions in caring for limited English-speaking patients, specifically Spanish-speaking patients in the Southwestern United States. Nurses understand how genuine acts of caring can begin to narrow the health disparities experienced by the limited English-speaking population.
Nursing graduates in the Philippines are presented with many professional paths, collectively forming a complicated web. This descriptive exploratory study confronted the realities of financial stability with the interest of individuals in combining their love for patient care with their job choice motivation. Twelve separate interviews were undertaken, with an average duration of 45 minutes. The student accounts distinguished intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for career choices (e.g., altruism, sense of purpose, caring, and helping others) (e.g., workload, salary, career aspirations, and work–life balance). By focusing on the initial career aspirations and future practice settings considered by nursing students in the Philippines, this study sheds light on the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and cultural values that influence their early career decision-making process. Although practical factors such as job stability and familial obligations are substantial, the drive frequently originates from Filipino cultural values such as pag-aalaga (nurturance), pakikisama (togetherness), pagkalinga (caring), and pakikiisa (communion).
This study aimed to enhance self-compassion, compassion for others, and resilience in prelicensure nursing students using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). A pre- and postsurvey design assessed the effectiveness of three EFT sessions on 202 students from two Bachelor of Science programs, revealing comparable demographic profiles between intervention and control groups. Data were collected using the Self-Compassion Scale—Short Form, Compassion Scale, and Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. Results showed statistically significant increases in resilience, compassion, and self-compassion ( p < .05) in the intervention group compared with the control. EFT shows promise as a coping strategy to improve these factors, potentially reducing burnout, turnover rates, and enhancing job satisfaction and patient care in nursing.
The purpose of this article is to highlight postpartum stress and coping among Native American women and its impact on overall health and well-being. Exploring these provides a foundation for providing culturally relevant nursing from a caring framework. In this case study and secondary analysis, 17 women who identified as Native American were included and compared with 17 White women. Respondents were at least 18 years of age, were English speaking, resided in the United States, had Internet access, and had a child they had given birth to who was between 2 and 22 months of age. Five measures were analyzed and included the Perceived Stress Scale, Sources of Stress-Revised, Postpartum Coping Scale, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, and Global Health survey. The findings of this case study and secondary analysis among Native American women can serve as the foundation for further exploratory studies that elucidate how women manage stress and cope during the postpartum period. There is a need for culturally tailored resources for Native American women during postpartum, such as community-engaged activities and classes. Finally, there is an increased need to continue contributing to the body of knowledge regarding how Native American women find meaningful support during postpartum that is reflective of the Native American worldviews and grounded in culturally relevant care.
A significant number of Latino farmworkers (LFWs) are working in the United States’ agricultural sector. Latinos are prone to experience mental health disorders, which have been linked to an increased use of alcohol. Limited research has been conducted assessing the use of alcohol among LFWs. This literature review synthesized recent evidence about influences of alcohol use among LFWs framed through the lens of Ray’s transcultural caring dynamics in nursing and health care theory. Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, and PsycINFO were the databases used to search peer-reviewed articles published between 2001 and 2025. To assess the articles’ content level of evidence, Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 was utilized. The results were displayed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses by Moher et al. Alcohol use among LFWs is common, multifactorial, and frequently associated with multiple environmental, socioeconomic, mental health, and cultural factors. The literature review included two qualitative studies including a narrative analysis and a thematic analysis, eight quantitative studies that included seven secondary data analyses, and a correlational design, one mixed method study, one review study, and one meta-analysis. Social environment and related stressors were the most frequently reported factors impacting alcohol use and misuse in this population. This review highlights the need for culturally grounded, caring science-based efforts to further understand and address alcohol use in this population.
This manuscript explores the evolving concept of ecological caring within the discipline of nursing, positioning it as both an ethical obligation and a public health necessity in the Anthropocene epoch. Grounded in environmental philosophy, ecofeminist ethics, and holistic nursing theories, we propose a reconceptualization of nursing practice that fully acknowledges the profound interdependence between human well-being and the health of the planet. As ecological crises intensify, nurses are called to respond not only to the immediate health needs of individuals but also to the broader socio-environmental determinants that shape health outcomes. This article further articulates a framework for ecological caring that integrates environmental stewardship, social justice, and compassionate clinical practice, thereby advancing a more responsive, equitable, and sustainable model of care.
Nursing practice is contextual, influenced by complex patient safety needs and chaotic workplace environments, with the need to dismantle barriers that perpetuate systemic exclusion. Faculty must develop educational innovations to begin the critical discourse of examining and mitigating systemic discrimination within health care systems and the profession. An assignment was designed for the exploration of the intersection between Indigenous knowing and nursing science. The intent was for learners to gain awareness of the Eurocentric perspective prevalent in the discipline and to challenge long-held beliefs of whose voice matters as evidence of ongoing hegemonic practices.
Hildegard of Bingen, a prolific 12th-century Benedictine nun, produced scholarly and artistic works relevant to contemporary nursing. Using a hermeneutic analysis of primary and secondary sources, we identified and elaborated themes of ecological consciousness, compassionate love, universal communion, and mystical wisdom within her work with the hope of deepening an understanding of human flourishing through spiritual human–earth–universe interconnections. Hildegard’s work, although created during the European medieval period, inspires new reflections about nursing and caring science and the essential power of love and compassion for oneself, each other, the earth, and those we serve.
The overall aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Native American youth who participated in a culturally grounded, school-based group intervention program designed to prevent mental health disorders. The study employed a traditional Native American talking circle qualitative descriptive approach. This study approach is a traditional Native American method where individuals gather to share their experiences on a specific topic. A convenience sample of 20 rural Native American youth, aged 10-12 years, participated in the talking circle sessions at the end of the group intervention program and after completing all intervention outcome measures. Semistructured, open-ended questions were used to elicit participant reflections. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research. Words and phrases that emerged from the data were categorized in relation to the key concepts and actions from the Native-Reliance theoretical framework. Themes that emerged from responses from youth participants demonstrated how their experiences and reflections align with the Native-Reliance theoretical core values of seeking truth and making connections. The school-based group intervention program provided Native American youth participants with an opportunity to understand and experience the Native-Reliance core values and key concepts in a profound and meaningful way. The group intervention program fostered caring relationships, personal growth, and deep cultural connections. By supporting reconnection to cultural teachings and enhancing self-awareness within a cultural community, the group intervention program promoted a deep sense of wellness rooted in identity and caring relationships.
Nurses comprise nearly 60% of the global health workforce and are uniquely equipped to promote health and healing among Native American and Indigenous communities through culturally grounded, community-centered approaches. Rooted in holistic worldviews and relational ethics, nursing practice and research align with Indigenous values, particularly when guided by models, such as Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring. The first process of “knowing” emphasizes understanding the lived experiences of those served, an essential orientation in addressing the historical trauma and structural inequities that shape Indigenous health outcomes. Community-based participatory research reflects this ethic, fostering cocreated knowledge that honors tribal sovereignty and community voice. Nontraditional postdoctoral fellowships, such as the Indigenous Nursing Research Enhancement Program at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, exemplify a shift toward place-based, reciprocal models of scholarship that center cultural safety, relational accountability, and sustained engagement. These programs challenge conventional academic paradigms by embedding fellows within Indigenous communities and prioritizing cultural immersion, elder guidance, and land-based learning. Through interdisciplinary, culturally responsive research, and partnerships, nurse scholars are advancing health equity while embodying a decolonized ethic of presence, care, and mutual respect.
