In a climate of intense international scrutiny of healthcare and nursing in particular, there is an urgent need to identify, foster and support a caring disposition in student nurses worldwide. Yet relatively little is known about how core nursing values are shaped during education programmes and this warrants further investigation. This longitudinal study commencing in February 2013 examines the impact of an innovative nursing curriculum based on a humanising framework (Todres et al. 2009) and seeks to establish to what extent professional and core values are shaped over the duration of a three year nursing programme. This paper reports on Phase One which explores student nurses' personal values and beliefs around caring and nursing at the start of their programme. Undergraduate pre-registration nursing students from two discrete programmes (Advanced Diploma and BSc (Honours) Nursing with professional registration) were recruited to this study. Utilising individual semi-structured interviews, data collection commenced with February 2013 cohort (n = 12) and was repeated with February 2014 (n = 24) cohort. Findings from Phase One show that neophyte student nurses are enthusiastic about wanting to care and aspire to making a difference to patients and their families. This research promises to offer contributions to the debate around what caring means and in particular how it is understood by student nurses. Findings will benefit educators and students which will ultimately impact positively on those in receipt of healthcare.