Abstract
In considering the concept of caring, this second paper presents the research findings obtained from a phenomenological study conducted to answer the question 'what is caring for nurses working in intensive care?'. Unstructured, in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data on the experiences of nine staff nurses, who volunteered to participate in the study. Three major themes were drawn from the data using Colaizzi's procedure of inductive reduction. These were 'being involved', 'sustaining' and 'having frustrations'. A resultant description of caring identified that these nurses participated in delivering three types of caring involving physical, technical and emotional labour. These were 'being close', 'being there' and 'doing to'. Implications for nursing practice, education and further research are suggested.