Strengthening Caring Character Education for Prospective Nurses: An Action Research in Nursing Education

Caring is an essential factor of a nurse's character. Therefore, it is necessary for nursing educational institutions to integrate caring values into their curriculum. This study investigated the process of formulating a structured approach to instil caring values as a foundational component of nursing education. To achieve the research objectives, action research was employed as research design by delineating three research stages. First, pre-action analysis was undertaken to map out the caring character problem; second, action implementation was carried out to implement actions to achieve what is desired, and third, action evaluation was done to assess all actions taken to achieve the desired goal. The study involved 30 nursing students from a prominent university in West Java Province, Indonesia. Data collection was carried out using survey techniques, observations and semi-structured interviews, while the data were analysed using two approaches, namely quantitative and qualitative. The findings resulted in a comprehensive framework consisting of seven stages for nurturing the caring character, encapsulated in the acronym "PELOPOR" (Promoting, Elaborating, Learning, Organizing, Project Learning, Observing, Reflecting). This study concludes that these seven stages have a significant impact on enhancing the caring character of aspiring nursing professionals. In addition, this study adds valuable insights to the creation of effective learning approaches for prospective nurses by focusing on the cultivation of a caring character. It suggests further investigations to extend the seven identified steps in this study towards crafting learning models applicable to various health professions.