Åbo Akademi University, Department of Caring Science
VON SCHANTZ ANNIKA: With the aim on caritas – anchoring of caring science in the director of nursing’s planning documents during the period 1996-2005 within a healthcare organisation
Master's thesis, 88 pages, 11 appendices
Supervisor: PhD (caring science) Oili Kärkkäinen
August 2007
Keywords: caring science, director of nursing, planning document, balanced score card, qualitative content analyses, caring science, patient, leadership, management
The aim of the study is to deepen the understanding of how caring science was anchored in practice during the period 1996-2005 in Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District. The focus is on the directors of nursing, on their planning documents and on respect for human dignity. The purpose of the study is to enable the use of the results for continued planning of the systematic investment on thinking in a caring scientific way and of anchoring caring science in the Hospital District.
The main question is in what way the anchoring of caring science is visible in the planning documents. The main question is divided into three parts; the visibility of the substance of caring science and of the patient and the expression of leadership in the planning documents.
The theoretical perspective of the study is based on the notion of caring science as a human science developed by prof. Eriksson in the Department of Caring Sciences at Åbo Akademi University. Data was collected from the planning documents. The method of the data analysis was qualitative inductive content analyses.
The central result is that caring science is anchored in practice and that caring scientific thinking is visible through four meaning bearing themes.
The substance of caring science is visible through ontological statements, ethics and values, evidence based care and through forming of a caring scientific way of thinking. Searching for and making a caring scientific identity visible arises as one meaning bearing theme.
The patient is visible by participating in his own care and through respect of his dignity as a human being. The meaning bearing theme is that the participation of the patient is implicated by respect of the dignity of him as a human being.
The leadership is visible through responsibility for good care, responsibility for making the nurse’s potential visible and by responsibility for the power of attraction of the hospital and the profession. Responsibility for good care arises as the meaning bearing theme. The leadership style is expressed through searching for an own unique leadership identity.
The conclusion is that there is a need for a scientific community and shared identity and a new way of thinking about leadership. The value of a strong caring identity lies in its purpose, to alleviate suffering, and being dedicated to the patient.
Implications for further studies suggested by this study are, the annual reports by the nursing directors and the hindering factors for the vision to be realized, anchoring of a uniform scientific language and concepts, analysis of the patients and the relatives possibility of participation in the care and anchoring of caritative leadership which may contribute to create a unique own leadership identity.