Exploring the Theory of Caring This paper will explore the beginnings of one of nursing’s most popular theories. Jean Watson established her caring theory in nursing which is still widely used today. In this paper, the author will explore the history of this theory as well as the changes that have occurred over time. The reader will gain insight as to how the theory was formed and how it is still used in today’s nursing practice. Stage One: Theorizing It is 1979 I, Jean Watson, have been a registered nurse for 18 years (Kte’pi, 2016). I was once going to major in literature but after losing my father to a heart attack, I decided to become a nurse. I started by earning my diploma in nursing in 1961 then went on to earn a bachelor of …show more content…
Both are needed to heal the entire person (Carey,2016). The second term I would like to include in my theory is transpersonal caring. Transpersonal caring which come from a person’s experiences that extend past the body and look farther into a person’s awareness of self and interconnection to human kind, life, psyche and the cosmos (Carey, 2016). As my theory gained popularity and I was able to conduct more research, a new term became associated with my theory. That term is caritas. This replaces the above originally used caring and matures into something more powerful. Caritas is from the Latin words for love. Those Latin words also translate into care and charity (Kte’pi, 2016). The ten carative factors were transformed into caritas processes. This list consists of the nurse being physically and spiritually present for the patient. Love, human dignity, and respect are three core values of this theory (Kte’pi, 2016). These terms drive us to be better people and better nurses. Stage Three: Theory Testing Over time the theory of caring has become even more popular nursing and has even spread to some non-nursing disciplines. In 2008, a study was done on a department that had a history of nurses who were not engaged and not satisfied in their roles (Summerell, 2015). The unit’s management team selected the caritas processes in hopes that they would change the environment of the department (Summerell, 2015). The first implemented
Human caring is what sets nursing apart from other professions. As Watson (1998) stated, “care and love are the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of cosmic forces: they comprise the primal universal psychic energy. Caring is the essence of nursing and the most central and unifying focus for nursing practice” (p. 32-33). It is important to establish a good nurse-patient relationship in order to create a healing environment that would meet patient’s needs on all levels including physical, mental/emotional and spiritual, promote recovery, maintain health, and create positive outcomes. Jean Watson emphasized the importance of human
Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring has six explicit assumptions. The first assumption is, ontological assumptions emphasizing on the oneness or the connectedness of the human beings. The nurse’s experiences and values are key points to the first assumption. The second is an epistemological assumption which states that there are many ways of knowing. This includes topics as oneself and patients to abstract topics and concepts in nursing. The third assumption mentions that there are diverse methods of knowing and that the collection of information is in various forms. This includes learning about cultures, talking to patients etc. The fourth assumption makes the diverse perspectives explicit in the caring model.
Kristen M. Swanson may not be as well-known as Florence Nightingale in the nursing field, but she has made great contributions with the Theory of Caring that has been used in many hospitals, even internationally, for their framework to guide patient care. Through the study of her practice, I have realized much of her practice is reflected in mine. This paper will present the basic concept of nursing known as the metaparadigm concepts of person, health, environment, and nursing as presented by Swanson, as well as provide my own philosophy of nursing, which in many ways mirrors Swanson’s.
When asked to develop a personal nursing philosophy caring was found to be the main component. Jean Watson’s Caring Science as Sacred Science reflects this philosophy in which caring is the predominate component needed in nursing. This paper will provided basic information on the Caring Science as Sacred Science Theory. The paper will further provide a personal example of a patient experience in which this theory shaped the care and healing of the patient. The personal experience to be shown in this paper involves a patient with complex chronic illness. The patient had been hospitalized for over a month. Patients with chronic illness and in the hospital often experience feeling powerless, scared, distant, and confined (Kay Hogan & Cleary, 2013). When these feelings persist they overcome the patient and do not allow the patient to concentrate on healing or being an active member of the healthcare team. Patients in this situation need caring and psychosocial support before moving on with medical care. However, this can often be hard for the healthcare team. When a patient has complex complications often treating these issues is all the team has time for due to patient load and institutional demands. Jean Watson (2009) recognizes this in her work Caring Science and Human Caring Theory: Transforming Personal and Professional Practices of Nursing and Health Care. Watson (2009) recognizes nurses are often torn between values of human caring
The caring theory was grounded on a humanitarian perspective and is found on a humanistic approach toward human caring programs and experiences. It acknowledges that life with individuals and their community to the surrounding environment are somehow connect and affects wellbeing of everything involved. The nature of the theory caring implies that it embraces reflective investigations as well subjective and interpretative inquiries. The nursing profession uses nursing theories as the framework and foundation for practice. Many people find nursing theories to be meaningless and of no use to the
The practice of nursing is synonymous with the concepts of empathy, compassion, nurturing, and caring. In the last two decades, a global nursing shortage has developed, leading to a phenomenon in nursing never seen before; the delivery of nursing care without nurturing. Increased workloads, higher patient acuity, deficient resources, and inadequate support systems, have all contributed to the decreased job satisfaction that has left nurses unable to display the compassion that was once a unique quality of nurses (Hooper, Craig, Janvrin, Wetsel, &
Kristen M. Swanson’s Caring Theory is the solution in bridging the gap between nursing practice and theory. It offers an explanation of the links between patient well-being and the caring process (Tonges & Ray, 2011). Swanson explained that nurses should be able to demonstrate that they care about their patients, and that caring about their wellbeing is as important as their patients’ current medical problem (Tonges & Ray, 2011).
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and summarize the philosophy of nursing and how nursing theory guides this nurse’s practice. Information used to do this paper was retrieved from the online database, Nursing and Allied Health Source and CINAHL through the SJR State Library. Our textbook, The Conceptual Foundations and the Merriam- Webster Dictionary website was also used. Some of the search phrases used were Jean Watson theory of human caring, philosophy of nursing, and Watson’s philosophy and theory of human caring in nursing on the online database. The word philosophy was also searched on the Merriam- Webster Dictionary website. There was an abundance information throughout my research on
It is evident that nursing theorists, scholars and health care professions have varying interpretations of what caring is or should be. In the middle of all these disparity, caring is a vital component of the nursing practice and the key to choosing the concept of caring is because it is very essential when it comes to health care. This paper tries to make clear the concept of caring in the field of nursing and it makes use of the Walker and Avant outline to support the concept. It starts with recognizing the concept and its functions. It then identifies three emerging attributes of caring will be identified and a description of each will be given. At last, the paper will recognize antecedents, the effects or consequences and
The purpose of this paper is an overview of Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring. This theory can be taken into account as one of the most philosophicaly complicated of existent nursing theories. The Theory of Human Caring, which also has been reffered to as the Theory of Transpersonal Caring, is middle – range explanatory theory. (Fawccett, 2000) The central point of which is on the human component of caring
Swanson's (1993) Theory of Caring is structured around five principles that encompass the overall definition of caring in nursing practice. This theory states that caring revolves around five categories: knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, and maintaining belief. When applied to nursing practice, each of these five categories can fuel the caregiver's attitude and improve overall patient well-being. In nursing, as well as other areas caring can be defined as, "a nurturing way of relating to a valued other toward whom one feels a personal sense of commitment and responsibility'. Upon examination, the five processes of Swanson's Theory of Caring can be used in nursing practice to achieve an enhanced
As humans, we naturally want to care for and be taken care of. According to (McEwen & Wills) concepts are terms that refer to phenomena that occur in nature or in thought. Caring is a concept that everyone can relate to and wants. The term “caring” can be used in relation to nurses, patients, and healthcare facilities.
Therefore, in determining a nursing theory in which GRMC could implement a professional practice model, it is pertinent to review the mission and vision statements in order to determine a common concept by which to follow. The apparent theme to the organizational mission in which to establish a theory-based nursing practice is- caring. Caring is noted at the beginning of the mission statement as providing care and compassion for all patients and is repeated through out these statements as quality care, cooperative spirit, and compassionate service (GRMC, 2009). Jean Watson’s Caring Theory would be an excellent choice in
6) Caring is more healthogenic than is curing. A science of caring is complementary to the science of curing.
In order to effectively guide practice, it is essential that nurses understand and critique different theories to evaluate them for use in practice. For this paper I have selected Jean Watson’s Human Caring Theory: