Looking after everyone except yourself: the double-edged sword of caring

Caring is, in a broad sense, a basic phenomenon of human life (Benner and Wrubel, 1989; Noddings 1999) and an intrinsic part of what it is to be human. In other words, human beings may not consciously choose to care, but caring is inherent in them: it is an activity encountered beyond the boundaries of nursing, and certainly not unique to nursing or to the overtly 'caring' services, such as palliative care provision in the community, hospitals and hospices.