Shepherding: A concept analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this analysis was to explore the concept of shepherding as it applies to nursing. Shepherding is a term used in chaplaincy literature to describe the guidance and protection a chaplain offers. While this term may be appropriate to the relational work of nurses, it has yet to be defined in the nursing literature. Walker and Avant's eight-step method for concept development was utilized. An electronic search using "shepherd/shepherding and nursing or health or inpatient" was performed in eight databases related to nursing, medicine, health, social sciences, and chaplaincy. Scholarly articles, in English, with substantive references to shepherding were included. Four defining attributes related to shepherding were identified: relational interaction, safety and comfort, reciprocal guidance, and transformation through possibilities and actualization. The operational definition of shepherding was thus identified as a relational interaction between the nurse and a patient or family during a transformational crisis. The nurse accompanies the patient, ensuring safety, and comfort and, through reciprocal guidance, the nurse supports the patient to understand possibilities and actualize possibilities based on the patient's preferences.