Care is the most important concept that constitutes the core of nursing. Nurses perceptions on care influences the quality of care practices greatly. It is especially important that nursing care is adequate and effective at intensive care units where care is provided for patients with complex and life-threatening problems. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the perceptions of nurses on the concept of care and their care practices. This qualitative study was conducted at an intensive care unit in the Southeastern Anatolia Region in Turkey. The study was performed with 17 intensive care nurses. Private face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. The data were analyzed using the method of content analysis. All the nurses stated that the concept of care is the basis of nursing. As a result of the analysis of the data, three main themes were determined. (a) Perception of care; physical care, psychological and physical care, (b) Care; care practice, care responsibility, contribution of care practices to perception of nursing as a profession, (c) Feelings after care; feeling happy, feeling of fulfilling your responsibility. Care perceptions and care practices of intensive care nurses should be improved further.
Key words: Concept of care, intensive care nurses, qualitative study
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