Background. This research was based on previous qualitative research consisting of five sub studies, in which a hermeneutic approach was employed to identify how caring becomes visible in clinical praxis and how it is carried out in the context of a Swedish research programme.

The aim of the research was to explore the ethical foundations of caring in the perioperative dialogue and culture on the basis of previous research and philosophical literature, as well as to focus on ethos as a vital part in the common world of the perioperative dialogue.

Methodology. The research employed a hermeneutic approach grounded in the perspective of the humanistic caring tradition of caring science, where ethos confers the ultimate meaning to the caring context.

Results. This approach resulted in a theoretical model comprising the caring properties and characteristic caring principles of the perioperative dialogue structure. As a guiding principle for the perioperative common world, ethos revealed a deeper principle of structure; the responsibility of the face – “here I am”. The inner core of caring can be approached through communion, which forms a continuous whole in the patient’s and nurse’s common world and leads to health for the participants.