Caring is the Expectation

Patients choose their health care organization in terms of where they believe to be the best place to go to receive care. Caring is a fundamental value that guides this decision and provides a basis for a patient's choice. Caring in a health care organization today must be personalized and individualized care that supports a patient and their family in understanding the meaning of their visit and the reasons that hospitals are there for them. According to Blais, Hayes, Kozier, and Erb (2006), caring is not just an emotion or concern but actually connotes a personal response. Caring occurs through a personal response and is recognized by the way a patient or person is treated (Blias, Hayes & Kozier, 2006). Caring communicates concern and empathy and is present by the personalization the caregiver lends to the patient. It involves multiple communication channels and requires what Watson, Burckhardt and Brown (1979) term as "extra effort". Caring is a fundamental value that guides ethical decision making and provides a basis for action and is enhanced by technical and interpersonal competence. It is a personalized approach to understanding a patient and treating them as a person. It is imperative for an organization to recognize what caring is about and to understand and act upon it in terms of what their customers perceive. Yukl and Lepsinger (2004) believe that leaders need timely information about the work in their organizations in terms of unit operations and performance of their employees in order to make change. Yukl and Lepsinger (2004) state that "solving operational problems involves identifying work-related issues, analyzing them in a systemic and timely manner, and acting decisively to implement solutions" (p. 58). Health care organizations are compelled to examine the care that is delivered inside their hospitals, evaluate the way it is delivered and simultaneously ensure that their customers are receiving the best possible care available to them. Health care organizations must take a look inside as well as outside their realm and evaluate if they are current in practice, safe in delivery and providing an overall great hospital experience. Health care organizations are compelled to examine not only the care delivery but to examine caring and the perceptions of patients and staff with respect to caring.