Crescent of Care Nursing Model: Caring Across the Lifespan of the Patient

A foreground question throughout the refinement of the Crescent of Care nursing model and implementation phase was: how would we know it is part of every nurse’s way of thinking and practice? The presentation will demonstrate  the impact of the model and the change it brought to nurses’ practice.  Three scenarios will be highlighted, explaining how the model became alive in practice:

-          Working through the family to care for the patient: The family is an integral part of the care delivery, as being the main decision maker on behalf of the patient. The family is at the center of the Crescent of Care nursing model; nurses work through the family to deliver the five components of care to the patient.

-          Care at the beginning of life: Birth practices and caring for the newborn is associated with specific cultural and spiritual requirements of the patient and family.

-          Care at the end of life:  An understanding of the way life and death is viewed within the Arab Muslim world view is essential to providing end of life care. The concept of do not resuscitation orders is viewed differently within this cultural context and end of life care needs to be provided from a specific cultural and spiritual perspective.