Jean Watson: a Caring Moment Essay

The ten carative factors are: humanistic-altruistic system of values, faith-hope, sensitivity to self and others, developing helping-trusting caring relationship, expressing emotions and feelings, individualized problem solving caring process, transpersonal teaching-learning, providing supportive environment, gratifying human needs and allowance of existential-phenomenological and spiritual forces (Parker & Smith, 2014, p. 357-358). The second concept transpersonal caring, stresses on, going beyond one’s ego and physical self to connect with and tap into the patient’s healing. The caring moment explains the coming together and the occurrence of a human-human transaction (Watson,

Watson’s caring theories are implicitly defined because of many underlying moral values that can be derived out of her major concepts. Her ten carative factors, for instance, was not absolute but rather serves only as a guide. Unlike explicitly defined theories where the concepts are clearly defined, fixed and unconditional, Watson’s caring model is open for modifications. In fact, Watson herself pointed out that her carative factors can “evolve within an expanding perspective”; suggesting that her theories can have different meanings depending on how it is perceived (Watson, J., 2014).

The Theory of Human caring is a middle range theory developed by Jean Watson with the focus on the relation between use of the clinical caritas processes and the building of a transpersonal caring relationship within the context of caring occasion and caring consciousness. The Theory of Human Caring honors the unity of the whole human being, while focusing on creating a healing environment (Watson, 2006). Watson had preference for human science, and clearly shunned the mechanistic and reductionist word view (Watson, 1985, as cited in Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2017). According to Watson, person is “an experiencing and perceiving spiritual being” (Watson, 1999, as cited in

Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. The theory can be described as an expanded view of

I feel I closely identify with many of Jean Watson’s concepts. Her theory is about caring as a

The theory of human caring meets the criterion of significance. Watson explicitly articulated the philosophical claims and the conceptual orientation for the theory. She credited her education and experiences, including her intellectual, philosophical, and personal values and beliefs of human beings and life as the antecedents through which the theory of human caring is derived (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2013). She acknowledged most of the adjunctive knowledge she drew upon. She referenced the impact of Carl Roger on her definition of the self

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

Swanson’s middle-range theory, Caring Theory, was derived from Watson’s grand theory of Human Caring (Chen & Chou, 2010). Jean

According to Burkhartd (), “compassion is the ability to imagine oneself in the situation of another” (p.50). Majority of the population has experienced a form of illness or another at some point in life. Previous encounters with particular situations help people to understand exactly what someone is going through. A nurse may come across a patient who is suffering from the same type of cancer that his/her grandfather once did or a child who fractured the same bone he/she did during childhood. Previous experiences don’t have to be lived to fully understand each situation, sometimes repetitious occurrences help. For example, the nurse could also understand a particular circumstance because he/she cared for many others who suffered from the same illness. It helps the nurse remember what if this were my grandfather, who was in the exact situation? What helped the most when that happened to me? These prior experiences bring about feelings of compassion and motivation to care for this patient with the best of his/her abilities. The essential nursing value of altruism also motivates people to help those in need. As a healthcare provider, it’s important to have faith in the human race and have a sincere concern for human beings. Without the concern for mankind there would be no desire to help those in

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

A. Nursing theory: Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring Watson believes in a holistic approach to healthcare. Through this holistic approach, when a patient is in need, a transpersonal approach is key to their healing and wellbeing. Watson’s theory suggests that in order to put an end to a patients need the sense of human caring is required and essential to healing. The theory stresses that a human being cannot be healed as an object and is part of a larger universe. Watson’s theory aims to ensure balance.

She is the first nursing theorist to support the idea of soul and to accentuate the spiritual dimension of human existence. Watson describes nursing as an art and a human science with the major focus being the process of a human care for individuals, families and groups. According to her beliefs, body, mind and soul are distinquished from each other. Nevertheless, Watson also states that harmony is required among the three to be the highest form of health and that it is the nursing goal to help people to reach this equanimity. This goal can be accomplished through transpersonal relationship.

The analysis of consistency allows one to reflect on a theory to better understand the theory relates to practice, research, and education (Fitzpatrick & Whall, 2005). Watson’s model of caring “has been criticized for the incongruent use of abstract terminology in defining the component and relationships within the original human caring theory and the postmodern transpersonal caring-healing paradigm” (Fitzpatrick & Whall, 2005, p. 315). The

Jean Watson's theory of nursing is based on the ideas of a number of philosophers and psychologists, including Carl Rogers, most specifically on his "phenomenological psychology and philosophy" (Tourville and Ingalls, 2003, p. 21). Her theory evolved over at least two decades of diverse experiences. Watson's theory is referred to as Transpersonal Caring because it emphasizes unity in the world (Tourville and Ingalls, 2003). Watson proposed that caring is a natural act for humans and it becomes a moral principle at the point when a patient and a nurse share a caring experience (Watson 2007). According to Watson, the goal of nursing is to help the patient achieve harmony of mind, body and spirit (Watson, 2007).

To provide guidance and direction, ten carative factors are identified that result in the satisfaction of human needs. The first three factors; acting from a humanistic-altruistic set of values, enabling and sustaining faith and hope, and cultivating a sense of sensitivity to self and others form the foundation of caring from which the other seven carative factors are built ("Jean Watson - philosophy and science of caring," 2010).