Pantip JormsriArewan KlunklinOuyporn TunmukayakulWichit Srisuphan2011-02-222011-02-222010-05-192010-05-19Thai Journal of Nursing Council; Vol 25, No. 1 January-March 2010; 27-37http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/132518Nurses provide nursing practice in the pursuit of quality nursing, which is in the patients’ best interests. Underneath the nursing practice, nurses use knowledge and skills based on what they have learned from the nursing profession. The principles embedding nursing knowledge and skills steer the nurses to perform competent nursing practice.This qualitative study was designed to explore what nurses perceive as nursing principles. The assumption of this study was that nurses use principles whenever they provide nursing practice, although they may not recognize this during their practice. What nurses perceive as nursing principles might be different based on the many factors that influence and facilitate nurses to perform nursing practice. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the nursing principles from the perception of nurses in nursing practice.Valuable sources of data included the focus groups of 12 registered nurses and the in-depth interviews of four experts in the nursing profession including instructors and practitioners. According to the findings of nurses’ perception, nursing principles were seen as the entity of the nursing profession. Nursing principles were composed of four characteristics or components, namely;1) nursing care for patient safety; 2) holistic nursing care; 3) nursing care based on standards of nursing; and 4) nursing care using the scientific knowledge of the art of nursing derived from nursing and related sciences. Nurses perceived the importance of nursing principles throughout learning and experiencing nursing practice. Furthermore, they accepted that nursing principles represent the nursing profession and also sustain quality ofnursing practice.en-USThailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, Ministry of Public Health, ThailandResearch Reports