Caring: our focus, our dream

Abstract

Quality nursing care is a major contributor to excellence in health care in South Africa, which is influenced by patients’ perceptions of nurses’ caring behaviour. This became very clear when caring, as the foundation of the nursing profession, was at the centre of discussions at the first International Caritas Consortium Conference to be held in Gauteng from16-18 September 2015. The emphasis by health facilities on optimisation of the patient journey through ensuring that all aspects of care and treatment are positive experiences for patients and their families, proved to be the right direction to follow. The South African Nursing Council Code of Ethics for Nursing Practitioners reiterates the importance of ethics for the nursing profession, and forms the foundation thereof (www.sanc.co.za). The core concepts of Jean Watson’s theory of human caring (The core principles/practices: evolving from Carative to Caritas. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2008) serve as a useful guide to health professionals.