Helping Student Nurses Learn the Craft of Compassionate Care: A Relational Model

Abstract

This on the horizon article proposes a relational model for enabling the development of skills and attributes associated with ‘compassionate craftsmanship’ in the developing nurse. This pedagogic model was informed by findings from the author’s research with patients, nurses and students, all of which focused on aspects of care and compassion. While the studies were located in varying contexts and involved diverse stakeholders, findings consistently revealed a connection between the provision of compassionate person-centred care and the development of tacit knowledge in the nursing profession. These will be teased out and explicated in a future paper; this article focuses on the proposed model.

The proposed model was developed by drawing on the literature of craftsmanship in a range of disciplines, where tacit knowledge is commonly regarded as a vital underpinning factor. In consequence, the compassionate craftsmanship model emphasises the importance of tacit knowledge in the design of appropriate pedagogic approaches to foster an ethos of compassionate craftsmanship in nursing. The very nature of tacit knowledge, however, means it is a challenging educational area to address. Hence the model, which illuminates a series of inter-related enabling factors that underpin the development of key abilities associated with compassionate craftsmanship. It also highlights anticipated long-term outcomes for those who develop and apply these in clinical practice.

The model will be of particular interest to healthcare practitioners, nurse leaders and those working in higher education. While the underpinning abilities and associated outcomes are specific to nursing, they are likely to be relevant to different disciplines where effective interaction with others is essential.