As 2024 recedes from view - for those who stayed in nursing - it was another year of survival. I’m wondering – on January 1, 2024, what did you think the new year of 2024 would bring your way in the challenging world of nursing? How many of your expectations became reality? Nurses headed into a new, and as yet unknown year, I am sharing what is on my heart and mind – the concept of Presence as applied to the work life of nurses. An article published in a well-known nursing journal by nurse educator, Pamela Renee Boeck (2014), discusses presence in the context of therapeutic relationships and communication in nursing care. “Presence in its multitude of meanings may be one of the greatest essential therapeutic components …” (Boeck, 2024, p. 1).

So, what is the concept of Presence? Dr. Barbara Dossey’s Theory of Integral Nursing (2022), the foundational theory of my doctoral project, has much to say about presence. Presence is human connectedness and validation of human needs as being of value, and worthy of being met, in and through the presence of another person. This sounds a lot like a component of self-care to me. The first step in self-care is awareness of the need for it. The second step is tuning-in to the human need for connectedness with others. The third step is finding healthy ways to meet those needs for connectedness with others.

One thing I’ve realized in my long nursing career is that nurses are often not great at “tuning in” to their self-care needs. How many of you could benefit from the warmth and soothing of therapeutic communication with a trusted individual? Nurse talk makes legends of the solo strength of the nurse, the “toughness” of character in managing one’s own emotions and stress so the nurse can care for the needs of their patients. Nurses – may I encourage you to consider seeking the power of Presence, the soothing experience of human connectedness with another person? Nurses know nurses. Maybe consider seeking the power of Presence in the presence of another nurse?

Applied to nursing work life, the concept of Presence seems especially fitting to many of my fellow nurses on the threshold of the uncertainties ahead in 2025. Please take care of you. There are not enough of us. We count, we are important, our needs are worthy of being validated and met – but we must take the first step toward meeting the need.

Reference

Boeck, P.R. (2014). Presence: A concept analysis. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244014527990

Dossey, B. M. (2022). Theory of integral nursing. In Helming, M. B, Shields, D. A, Avino, K. M., & Rosa, W. E. (Eds.), Dossey and Keegan’s Holistic Nursing: A handbook for practice (8th ed.) (pp 53-75). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.