Nursing Presence

Abstract

Data sets from three individual studies on nursing judgment were reviewed from a wider perspective. This yielded meanings and phenomena not readily identified in the individual studies, and it was tentatively labeled presence. A hermeneutic study using 10 transcripts from each data set asked: What are the common features of the context of nursing judgment? and, What are the features of the nurses’ connection with the patient that contribute to nursing judgment? The analysis yielded six features of nursing presence: uniqueness, connecting with the patient’s experience, sensing, going beyond the scientific data, knowing (what will work and when to act), and being with the patient. These features of nursing presence are logical distinctions and serve as ways to grasp the idea of nursing presence.