Caring is a universal need of all humans and central to the practice of nursing as a service profession. This research was conducted in an attempt to discover the meaning of caring to faculty and students, to determine how the meaning of caring shaped the students' experiences, and to describe how faculty communicated caring to students. Phenomenological methods were engaged as most appropriate for the understanding sought. A multi-cultural nursing education program with a strong philosophical emphasis on the Native American concept of harmony was chosen as the research site.

Data was gathered from the program's philosophy and conceptual framework, interviews with faculty and students, and classroom observations. Data were analyzed for values and actions congruent with caring.

Four carative factors identified and defined by Watson (1979) were found to be emphasized within the program: formation of a humanistic-altruistic system of values, cultivation of sensitivity to self and others, promotion of interpersonal teaching-learning, and provision for a supportive, protective, and(or) corrective mental, physical, sociocultural, and spiritual environment.

The metaphor of caring as music was developed as a means of summarizing the findings of the study and heightening understanding of caring as a central human and professional service construct.