A focused ethnography of the culture of inclusive caring practice in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Abstract Aim To explore and understand the culture of nurses' multidimensional “caring‐for” practice in intensive care unit (ICU). Design A focused ethnography. Methods Data were collected from 35 Registered Nurses through participant observations, field notes, documentation reviews, interviews, informal conversations and Participants' additional information forms over 6 months in one ICU. Thematic data analysis was used. Findings Different dimensions of nursing caring in ICU were found. The inclusivity of a culture of nurses' “caring‐for” involved the following: oneself, patients and their families, different colleagues, and caring as ecological consciousness in the ICU environment and organization.

Keywords

• colleagues
• environment
• family
• focused ethnography
• health professionals
• intensive/critical care