In 2012, chief nursing officers (CNO) in England published a policy on compassion in response to serious criticisms of patients’ care. Because their objective is fundamentally to shape nursing, this study argues, following Popper, that the policy should be analysed. An appraisal tool, developed from Popper, Gadamer, Jauss and Thiselton, is the framework for this analysis. The CNO policy document identified six values and behaviours, termed ‘6Cs’, required by all nurses, midwives and care staff. The document contains no data, references (...) or acknowledgements, but is similar to the 6Cs defined by the Canadian nursing nun, Sister M. Simone Roach, in her theory of caring published 30 years earlier. Roach considered caring and the components of it, including compassion, to be moral virtues, an inner motivation to care. This study suggests that without explicit reference to Roach's ideas, and her underlying theoretical base, the CNO requirement has the effect of turning virtues into commodities and a form of external control, described by Ritzer as a McDonaldized dehumanization. This study, which has international relevance beyond England and the UK, suggests that the CNO revise their policy by acknowledging Roach's 6Cs and openly discuss the implications of her work for their policy. (shrink)

It is accepted that research should be systematically examined to judge its trustworthiness and value in a particular context. No such appraisal is required of reports published by organizations that have possibly even greater influence on policy that affects the public. This paper explores a philosophical framework for appraising reports. It gives the reasons why informed engagement is important, drawing on Popper's concept of the open society, and it suggests a method for appraisal. Gadamer's concept of the two horizons and (...) Jauss's reception theory offer a methodological framework to enable the individual citizen, whether professional or lay, to engage in debate about policy that affects him or her. By way of a worked example, the framework is applied to two international reports on nursing. Conclusions suggest that nursing policy should be subjected to robust interrogatory appraisal by both profession and public for a democratic debate and creative discourse. Although this analysis is related to international nursing policy, it has a wider relevance and application beyond nursing. (shrink)