During this tumultuous period in health care, it can be helpful for both students and practicing nurses to not only look forward to change but to look back at customs that have served nurses well over the years. This text examines a variety of nursing rituals in the context of caring science and evidence-based practice and demonstrates how understanding and incorporation of such rituals can have a transformative effect on contemporary nursing practice. It is written for undergraduate and graduate students, and serves to integrate the liberal arts into nursing education as per AACN’s New Essentials of Baccalaureate Education.

The text explores the history of nursing rituals and the symbols, meanings, and overall usefulness nursing rituals can convey to the profession today. These rituals–marking the sacred and profane of nursing–serve functions both practical and social and offer a window into the art of nursing that runs beneath the surface. Not only does the book examine rituals that take place in nurse-to-patient direct care situations, in nurse-to-nurse relationships, and those that mark the transitions into the professional nursing role, it also incorporates evidence-based research and an emphasis on caring theory. The book demonstrates how understanding and effective incorporation of these rituals in one’s learning and practice can enhance nursing care. Rituals addressed include those used for bathing patients, pre and postmortem care, ritualistic prevention of medication-related errors, rituals of socialisation, and nursing ceremonies.

Key Features:

Presents a history of nursing rituals and their significance past and present Incorporates evidence-based research and an emphasis on caring theory Demonstrates how understanding and incorporation of nursing rituals can greatly enhance nursing care today Includes rituals for bathing patients, pre and postmortem care, prevention of medication errors, rituals of socialisation, and nursing ceremonies Features poems and photographs