Faculty’s perceptions of humanistic teaching in nursing baccalaureate programs

In an attempt to investigate faculty's perceptions of human istic teaching in nursing baccalaureate programs, a qualitative study was conducted by interviewing 10 faculty members (including one dean, and five associate deans) who all had experience in teaching nursing baccalaureate students. The participants were from five universities located in the south western, south eastern, and southern parts of the USA. The data were collected from 6/28-7/12, 2002. All the interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was inductive, seeking understanding of individuals' perceptions. When a number of coded contexts were considered to have common elements, they were merged to form categories and presented as results. The findings showed that there are five essential elements in faculty's perceptions of human istic teaching in nursing baccalaureate programs: availability, caring, authenticity, empowerment, and a transformative curriculum.