الفهرس 
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Abstract
Caring is an intentional act that conveys physical and emotional security and genuine connectedness with another person. It, validates the humanness of both the nurse and the patient. It is much more than a nice, vague emotion that one may or may not experience depending on the level of energy or wellness he may feel, on a particular day. But, is an intentional act of the will, in which the caregiver moves beyond personal barriers, in order to connect with the other person in the space where they genuinely exist at that moment.
The need to feel being cared for is at its, highest during critical illness. This need originates from the incapacitating nature of critical illness that cause the critically ill patients to experience a loss of self worth and self esteem, be stripped of their sense of independence and privacy; feel isolated from their family and significant others and lose autonomy, as well as control over their bodily functions.
Despite the centrality of caring in the provision of care to the critically ill patients. The invasive treatment to which critically ill patients are subjected and the frequently unstable nature of their condition may results in their physical needs to be often perceived as having greater priority than psychological needs. Thus, in order to retain the focus for nursing: the patient for whom the practice of nursing exists, it was necessary to carry out this study.
Aim of the study,.
This study aimed at determining the state of caring in the intensive care units through the direct observation of nurses’ caring behaviors and nurse patient interaction and measuring nurses caring ability.
Setting:
The study was conducted in two critical care units in Alexandria Main University Hospital, the casualty intensive care unit (Unit I) and the general intensive care unit (Unit III).
Sabiects:
The sample of this study comprised all nurses (N=66) who were involved in providing direct patient care in the Casualty and General intensive care units at the time of data collection (27 diplomas, 7 associates, 32 interns).
Tools of the study:
Three tools were used for data collection in this study.