Development of Nursing Art Models on the Child and Family Nursing

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the nursing art on the child and family nursing and to develop nursing art models that describe the expertise of nurses. Method: This study employed Flick's episodic interview method. Twelve pediatric nurses, all of whom were either graduate students or master's degree holders with five or more years of clinical experience, participated in this study. Data were collected in 2003. Findings and Discussion: Fifteen cases were analyzed. Five nursing art models and the process of nursing actions were identified. Model-1: Identifying the cue that reveals the potential of children, and showing it for families of which the relationships with children are weak. Model-2: Identifying matters of great interest to children or families when their time is limited, moreover, letting other staff involved in the care. Model-3: Identifying the chief present concerns of families in time, and directing them based on clinical judgment when children/families look different from as usual. Model-4: Sharing thoughts with others and altering the nature of care when the usual care is not applicable in the case of children who are always unsatisfied about situations. Model-5: Confronting the gap between the feelings of children/families and the situations they are in, modeling for staff members, and sharing the delivery of care. The process of each model is constructed with the following series of nursing actions: (1) being sensitive to situations, (2) clinical judgment, (3) nursing care, (4) confirming the direction of nursing care, (5) approaching the team members, and (6) nursing outcomes and confirming them. In this process, the nurses interpreted the situations they were attention to, explored the meaning of the behaviors of children and families, re-interpreted the situations, and decided upon the direction of nursing care. Ensuring the satisfaction and gaining the approval of children and families were set as goals to guarantee the best interests of them. Furthermore, nurses operated the systems in difficult cases in order to achieve effective outcomes. Each nursing art model facilitates the nursing practice by examining “how” clinical judgment and nursing approach are determined.