In Memoriam
Guardians of the Discipline

Guest Contributor: Meghann Buyco
PhD student in Nursing, Trinity Western University, Canada

It is an absolute honour to feature Sister Marie Simone Roach (1922-2016) as a Guardian of our Discipline. Sister Roach grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was brought up by a Roman Catholic family. She was a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Martha of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Sister Roach attended St. Jospeh School of Nursing (Nova Scotia), St. Jospeh School of Nursing (Nova Scotia), St. Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia), University of Toronto (Ottawa), Boston University (Massachusetts), and Catholic University (D.C.). She was a highly admired nurse educator, leader, ethicist, theologian, and scholar. She dedicated a lifetime of work to advancing nursing knowledge through the development and dissemination of philosophy and theory related to human caring. Her work was deeply rooted in her religious and community upbringing and care for and commitment to all humans.

In Canada, she was designated to develop the first code of ethics in 1965 (Villeneuve et al., 2016). While drafting the code of ethics, she aimed to gather insights into the various values that were necessary to be included in the code for nurses in Canada and the different ethical issues that Canadian nurses have and will experience. She proposed two values as a basis for the Canadian Code: (1) caring as a unique focus of nursing; and (2) respect for persons and its related principle, the sanctity of human life. It was then revised and officially adopted by the Canadian Nurse Association in 1985. Sister Roach promoted that the code of ethics cannot be a set of rules or lists of dos and don’ts, nor does the code of ethics provide concrete answers for various dilemmas. She highlighted it to be used with reflection on its purpose and usefulness in times of decision-making.

Sister Roach’s (1984) research focused on What is caring in itself? Later on, she posted another question: What is a nurse actually doing when he or she is caring? Her (2002) extensive study on human caring led her to the understanding of “caring as the human mode of being” (p. 7)“ and “caring as the unique manifestation of a person’s being-in-the-world” (p.30). It is intrinsic and is a way of living.

“An individual cares not because of his or her particular role but because he or she is a human being.” (Roach, 2002, p. 39)

She is well-known for her theory of caring known as the six C’s of caring:

• Compassion involves entering and immersing into the experience of others, recognizing their intrinsic worth, and having sensitivity to the pain, loss, and suffering.
• Competence entails having the knowledge and skills necessary to provide high-quality service that a responsibility or role demands.
• Confidence inspires trust within the relationship in which patients are able to rely that a nurse will act in their best interests.
• Conscience enables nurses to have a moral awareness of what is right and wrong, to be sensitive and informed, and to respond to something that matters.
• Commitment is described as a complex affective response in which one’s desires and one’s obligations converge. In other words, what one commits oneself to do coincides with what they want to do.
• Comportment encompasses professionalism, in which there is harmony in one’s beliefs and values with demeanour, dress, and language. One dresses appropriately and observes socially acceptable protocols.

She promoted that human act of caring is not only a moral behaviour but it is a nursing philosophy of caring and is central to nursing ethics. She acknowledged that caring is not unique to nursing and that caring is not what sets us apart from other health professions. She, however, described that caring can alone embody certain qualities, and it is “the locus of all attributes used to describe nursing” (Roach, 2002, p. 39).

Sister Roach left a lasting impact on Canada’s nursing history and nursing history in general. She pioneered our understanding of the concepts of human caring, relational ethics, and spirituality. Her legacy will persist and continue to impact our discipline.

References

Villeneuve, M. J., Tschudin, V., Storch, J., Fowler, M. D., & Peter, E. (2016). A very human being: Sister Marie Simone Roach, 1922–2016. Nursing Inquiry, 23(4), 283-289.

Roach, M. S. (1984). Caring: The human mode of being: Implications for nursing, a monograph. Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto.

Roach, M. S. (2002). Caring, the human mode of being: A blueprint for the health professions (2nd ed.). The Canadian Hospital Association Press.

About Meghann Buyco

My name is Meghann Buyco and I am from British Columbia, Canada. I am one of Nursology.net’s 2024-2025 interns. I am in my first year of my PhD in Nursing at Trinity Western University. Clinically, I work in an outpatient cancer centre and long-term care facility. In the last few years, I have been drawn to the research side of nursing, and I have been involved in an international research with the Mothering and Albinism project as the Project Coordinator.