Looking into the Nursing from the Viewpoint of Heidegger: Reflections on the Existence of Being

하이데거의 눈으로 '간호'를 바라보기: 실존하는 존재에 대한 성찰

Purpose: This article is aimed at broadening the perspectives of nursing by applying Heidegger's philosophical reasoning and views to nursing beliefs. Methods: Heidegger's main concepts on a human's way of being were the source for examining the encounter between care-receiver and care-giver in nursing. In addition, the paper illustrates the attitudes that nurses must present to their care-receiver in existential nursing. Results: As nurses and care-receivers experience existential crises due to anxiety about death and fear over uncontrollable situations, they both raise questions about the significance of their existences. By putting their deep reflections on these questions into nursing practice, nurses can exist as "Mitdasein" and be open to a number of possibilities in nursing. Conclusion: Nurses must be open to a number of possibilities in nursing by embracing various experiences of life and individuality without criticism, and pursuing the existing lives of their counterparts as well as their owns. They are able to take this attitude by raising fundamental questions about life and the existence of human beings through ceaseless reflections on their experiences, then implementing the result of these reflections in their lives and nursing practices.