Watsons Theory of Caring

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

Nursing care incorporates not only a compassionate attitude but passion for care of patients. The caring component of nursing cannot be measured, rather dissected through theory within the clarification of what nurses do. Systemically this is all supported through abundant theories and theorist. The nursing profession emphasizes on holistic care which is defined as treatment of the whole person. Within this skill is the admittance of problems that are biomedical but also opportune clarification of the well-being and health of a human that introduces added indicators of disease that are non-visualized (Powers, 2011).

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

Jean Watson believed in The Philosophy and Science of Caring focuses on the connection a patient and nurse must have. There are four major concepts which include human being, health, environment/society, and nursing. This theory was developed to educate nurses on how important it is to build a relationship with their patients and not treat them just like a number. Many people become a nurse for the wrong reasons so throughout this paper I will cover why this theory is so important to the nursing community and how it is applied to the nursing practice. The Philosophy and Science of Caring theory provides the resources needed to be a good nurse to your patient. This theory should be used every day from start to finish with anyone

" The nursing profession, and each nurse within it, is invited to consider/reconsider: How do we walk through life? How do we get our footing to bring the artistry of caring and global caritas consciousness into our lives, our work, and our world?"

The nursing theorist I chose to discuss is Dr. Jean Watson’s. I chose Dr. Jean Watson because I believe and agree with her nursing theories. Dr. Watson’s theories take into consideration the mind, body and spirit of the patient as a whole. She believes that it is not the role of the nurse to cure the patient of his or her disease, but rather “honor the human dimensions of nursing work and the inner life world and subjective experiences of the people [nurses] serve” (Watson, 1997, p. 50). She feels nursing is an art, not a science (Watson, 1997). Her work illustrates how caring is the backbone of the nursing profession and she has developed Ten Carative Factors that can be directly applied by any nurse in a clinical setting to better meet

A patient by the name of Jackson Gray is a 90-year-old patient who is diagnosed with end stage renal disease, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic heart failure. He has refused to get out of bed, refused dialysis, and states “I’m done living; I don’t want to keep going on like this.” Which all raise concerns for me as a nurse. Of the nursing theorists, I chose Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring because of the correlational of human caring and patient wellness. “The first three factors form the "philosophical foundation" for the science of caring, and the remaining seven come from that foundation” (Nursing Theory,n.d.)

Caring entails the application of professional characteristics coupled with the continuous interrogation of humanistic deals. Jean Watson’s Caring Theory allows the nurse to show compassion and kindness to relieve the patient and patient’s family from suffering and to aid healing and development. The theory empasizes humanistic aspects of nursing im combination with scientific knowledge, so it can also be applied in research to find ways on how to efficiently deliver nursing care in ways that the patient sees acceptable. The theory guides nurses to go beyond the application of technical nursing skills and to show more concern towards the patients subjective situation. Integrating Jean Watson’s Caring Theory into my future nursing practice will allow me to manage my priorities in order to have uninterrupted time with my patients . Doing this will allow me to pay attention to the patients concerns and/or fears when it comes to his or her care. The theory will help me to accept the patient as a unique individual despite their physical appearance or emotional needs. Watson’s theory will remind me that every patient will need my unconditional support and encouragement to facilitate recovery and to improve their quality of life; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

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 which called them to nursing, and the

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.

The nursing theory is essentially a set of beliefs, ideas, thought, and hypotheses that are influenced from former nursing representations that have a structured view of the purposes of nursing attempting to explain the correlation of each concept with predictability. (personal experience with nursing theory). This paper will address the core elements of Dr. Jean Watson’s theory of caring science. We will scrutinize the essential key concepts of the theory and its relationship with the other elements, emphasize its effects in a clinical situation, and how it views the nursing policies with definite personal examples.

In this paper on Watson’s theory of human caring it will briefly describe the theories background and concepts. In discussion of an actual nurse patient event I have had in Obstetrics it will analyze major theory assumptions related to person, health, nursing and environment in the context of this caring moment, along with a personal reflection of this caring moment.

(Watson, 1999 pp. 8-9) This is important in the nursing profession because if caring is not shown between nurse and patient, the patient may have a hard time trusting his/her nurse. Second assumption she describes is that caring should consist of carative factors that results in the satisfaction of human needs. (Watson, 1999 pp. 8-9) Watson defined carative as another word for curative. That being said, she believed that nurses should contain curing factors that would help better their patient. Third assumption in Watson’s theory states that effective caring promotes health for the individual or family. (Watson, 1999 pp. 8-9) It is crucial that nurses know how to deliver the best care possible for the individual and their family. This assumption provides an educational guide… Fourth assumption stated in Watson’s theory states that the caring response should accept a person not only at they are but what they will become. (Watson, 1999 pp. 8-9) This essential in a nurse profession. Nurses should not be biased towards any patient. Each and every patient should be treated with the same respect and care no matter of their condition and or actions. Fifth assumption

Watson links her 10 carative factors with her seven carative assumptions, this is where the science of nursing merges with the compassion of nursing practice. “Watson is one of the few nursing theorists who consider not only the cared-for but also the caregiver” Cara, 2003, p. 51). Promoting and applying these carative factors and carative assumptions is essential for nurses as well as patients.

Jean Watson introduced her first published book Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring (1979) more than 30 years ago. Her statement "Caring is a professional ethical covenant that nursing has with the public to sustain human caring in instances where it may be threatened; it necessarily involves something deeper and more substantial than a ‘customer model’ orientation" (Watson, 2009, p. 470). In her theory it is stated that caring is the essence of nursing and that professional nurses should have a commitment and a connection for healing to begin. This paper will express the human caring theory methods which include carative factors/carative process, caring moments, transpersonal caring and caring healing modalities this will help us understand ourselves and our patients and how to provide a better environment even if it is for a brief moment.