Caring is the essence of nursing and a core value of the profession of nursing (Beck, 1992; Bevis & Watson, 1989; National League for Nursing (NLN), 2011; Roach, 2008; Swanson, 1991; Touhy & Boykin, 2008; Watson, 1985b). There is theoretical agreement amongst researchers that caring can be learned through interactions with faculty in an environment characterized by supportive faculty-student relationships (Beck, 1992; Gaines & Baldwin, 1996). In the virtual world of online nursing education, caring behaviors displayed by faculty are difficult to convey over wires and screens where there is a lack of the spoken voice, gestures and human connection that is vital to nursing (Plante & Asselin, 2014). Text-based language often replaces the multidimensional physical characteristics of communication such as tone of voice, facial expressions and body language contributing to a potential disconnection between the faculty teacher, computer screen and student sitting in front of it. The challenge is to discover ways in which caring behaviors are demonstrated in online nursing education. A mixed method research design, grounded on Watson's theory of human caring (Watson, 1996), was used to discover which of the carative factors most highly or is least likely to demonstrate caring in an online nursing course. The quantitative aspect of the study identified caring behaviors perceived by online RN-BSN degree nursing students using a modified version of the Nursing Students' Perception of Instructor Caring instrument (Wade & Kasper (2006). Data analysis indicated Watson's first carative factor, formation of humanistic-altruistic system of values, was most important and perceived most highly when faculty displayed kindness, made themselves available to students, clearly communicated expectations, were attentive during communications, and made the student feel that they can be successful. In addition to the quantitative instrument, study participants described examples of behaviors that communicated caring in online nursing courses. The findings from this research provided contemporary data to identify which specific faculty behaviors support nursing students feeling cared for in an online nursing course. Implications for nursing education and further research are presented.

"As in the first edition, the author has done a magnificent job compiling these instruments and providing important information that the reader can use to evaluate their usefulness." --Ora Lea Strickland, RN, PhD, FAAN (From the Foreword) This book provides all the essential research tools for assessing and measuring caring for those in the caring professions. Watson's text is the only comprehensive and accessible collection of instruments for care measurement in clinical and educational nursing research. The measurements address quality of care, patient, client, and nurse perceptions of caring, and caring behaviors, abilities, and efficacy. Newly updated, this edition also contains three new chapters, which document the most effective caring language and provide innovative methods of selecting appropriate tools for measurement based on validity and reliability. Key features of new edition: A chapter providing a comprehensive literature review of the research and measurement of caring A chapter entitled "Caring Factor Survey," which presents a new scale based on Watson's original theory of human caring Chapters outlining instruments for care measurement, including Holistic Caring Inventory, Peer Group Caring Interaction Scale, and many more New instruments focused on assessing caring at the administrative-relational caring level An updated section dedicated to challenges and future directions of the measurement of caring

Clinical experience is the most important component of nursing education. As part of the clinical education environment, the teaching behaviors of nursing faculty have considerable potential to influence the learning of students. To produce effective learning by students, nurse educators have a responsibility to instruct students so that learning is optimal. The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of students of clinical teaching behaviors of nursing faculty. The study uncovers new knowledge about clinical teaching behaviors based on the student perceptions during their own clinical experiences. A non-experimental survey with a descriptive exploratory design was used. A single convenience sample was drawn from senior level nursing students attending an on-campus associate degree nursing program in southern North Carolina. All students had completed clinical courses involving patient care. The instrument utilized was the Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory. The survey consists of forty seven teaching behaviors for which students rated frequency of use for the clinical instructor on a seven point Likert scale.