As a nurse, an important part of the job is to be caring and helpful for the physical and mental aspects of the patient. The ideas of Jean Watson 's Caritas Processes help define how a nurse can show caring in themselves to their patients. Watson names the eight processes; then define they mean which is key to understanding how a nurse should act to their patients. The book as We Are Now by May Sarton helps show some examples of how these processes work in action and helps to form ideas of how one can improve as a nurse in the future.
Caritas process one is “cultivating the practice of Loving- Kindness and equanimity toward self and other as foundational to Caritas consciousness” (Watson, 2008, p. 47). This means that for a nurse to love others no matter their situation, they must have equanimity and loving kindness to any situation to best help and support their patients (Watson, 2008, p. 59). With regards to Sarton’s book Lisa Thornhill and Caro show this process as Lisa is loving in how she speaks to Caro giving Caro hope and happiness from her visits. Lisa tells Caro how she would love to revisit making Caro happy to hear the truth (Sarton, 1973, p. 65). When I have patients I will make sure to ask them how they feel, what I could help with, or listen to their stories. I will make sure to stay and listen to everything they say without acting rushed so they know I care for them and their needs.
Caritas process two is “being authentically present: enabling,
Nursing should not be looked upon or practiced as a mere physical approach to healing. Nursing should encompass the aspect of restoring each individual patient to his/her maximum physical and emotional state of being. In order to achieve such a goal, a patient must be able to bond with her caregiver on a personal level (Blais & Hayes, 2011). Jean Watson’s caritas factors sets an environment where the patient can obtain optimum health benefits (Blais & Hayes, 2011). The goal of this paper is to state my philosophy of nursing, the important dynamics and values that led me to adopting this philosophy, and the reason why I choose nursing as a profession. I will further explain how Jean Watson’s principles of philosophy is
Nurses actively preserve the dignity of people through practiced kindness and respect for the vulnerability and powerlessness of people in their care… This vulnerability creates a power differential in the relationship between nurses and persons in their care that must be recognised and managed.7 A diagram representing a continuum of professional behaviour provides a picture of therapeutic versus non-therapeutic behaviour in the relationship between the nurse and the persons in their care.8
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.
Since the early 1900’s nurses have been trying to improve and individualise patient care. In the 1970s this became more structured when the nursing process was introduced by the general nursing council (GNC), (Lloyd, Hancock & Campbell, 2007) .By doing this their intentions were to try and understand the patient in order to give them the best care possible (Cronin & Anderson, 2003). Through the nursing process philosophy care plans were written for patients. It was understood that this relationship would ensure the patient received the best care possible to suit them individually. This would consist of not just the patient as a physical being but their spiritual emotional and holistic being also (Cutler, 2010). The
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
Nursing revolves, not merely about looking after patients, but creating awareness in the society about self care nursing and prevention strategies and to communicate with their patients in a holistic manner, so as to satisfy their physical, mental and spiritual health needs. Various nursing theorists have repeatedly
In her theory of deliberative nursing process, she describes the interaction between nurse and patient. Communication between nurse and patient is described in three concepts: the ‘Patient Behavior’, the ‘Nurse’s Reaction,’ and the ‘Nurse’s Activity’ (Sheldon & Ellington, 2008). The patient sends a cue in the form of behavior (Patient Behavior) and the nurse responds to the behavior (Nurse’s Reaction). ‘Nurse’s Activity’ is categorized into two stages: non-observable and observable. The nurse’s thoughts, perceptions, or feelings related to behavior are non-observable and the final action or response to the ‘Patient Behavior’ is observable (Sheldon & Ellington, 2008). Orlando labels ‘Nurse Activity’ as automatic or deliberative, allowing the nurse to identify the patient’s needs and then help the patient (Sheldon & Ellington, 2008). In patient care, this theory asks nurses to identify their perceptions, feelings, and thoughts as a basis for nursing actions. Orlando then takes it a step further by advocating that the nurse explore their assumptions with the patient to identify
Caring can mean different things to different people, however, there are a few principles that are important to all such as empathy, compassion, respect and trust. The act of caring is shown initially by our exterior presence but our actions and personality is what portrays our caring ways. Growing up in a family with morals and beliefs, has taught me to be an approachable friendly person, having strong qualities of respect and compassion for others. Knowing one 's self, the acceptance of others comes naturally and eases formation of relationships. Understanding the caring needs of others, I will establish the nurse-patient relationship. Jean Watson, and many other nursing theorist, have defined caring as the central concept of nursing. Despite the unique and personal needs of each individual patient – there are key characteristics that the profession upholds. Throughout this paper, I will talk about what caring is and how it is different in the nursing industry.
In this module’s Assignment, you will draft a formal paper expressing your personal philosophy of nursing paper. In this paper, you will provide a framework for your personal practice of nursing and reflect on why you chose nursing as a profession. Your paper will define how you interact with patients, family members, other nurses, and other health care professionals.
As We Are Now by May Sarton is an emotional story that follows the journal of 76-year old, Caroline Spencer as she is placed into a nursing home by her relatives. While her physical strength has all but diminished, her mind remains intact - leaving her to consciously understand the subtle cruelties she and her peers are subjected to by the daily behaviors of the two staff members, Harriet and Rose. Caroline or “Caro” for short, draws many similarities between the home and a prison often referring to the other residents as “inmates” and the facility itself as a “concentration camp”.
Within the Theory of Human Caring, during transpersonal caring moment, the nurse and the patient gain entry into the lived knowledge of each other. In order for transpersonal contact to occur both the caregiver and the one being cared for should experience a process of being and becoming, both are influenced by the nature of transaction. (Watson, 1985) Watson defines human caring as a moral ideal, that the nurse should carry during every transaction. According to her theory, that ideal will assure a certain needed behaviour at the time of the caring occasion.
Any nurse would admit that preparation to becoming a nurse is a difficult task. Mostly because the practice of nursing consists of many things to follow in order be a great nurse for the patient. To make the preparation less difficult for nurses or nurse to be, Ida Jean Orlando contributed to the Discipline of the Nursing Process to further prepare those in nursing. The Discipline of Nursing Process is a theoretical approach to nursing that follows a nurse-to-patient relationship that would improve the patient’s behavior to seek beneficence and autonomy of the patient (Orlando, 1972). This provides nurses or upcoming nurse the strategies to deal with real life circumstances in nursing and improves the skills of the nurse to improve a patient care. This piece will focus on the theorist, Ida Jean Orlando, the meaning of the nursing process and the reason for the nursing process, any discrepancies that may be associated with nursing such as medical procedures and professional nurses, studies associated with the use of the nursing process and how the nursing process influence personally.
Nursing process discipline is a nursing theory developed by nursing theorist, Ida Jean Orlando. This theory, one of the first written about the nursing process, was written to help establish nursing as an independent function in providing health care for a patient. Through this independent nursing function, Orlando developed her theory on the concept of the nurse-patient interaction. During that interaction the nurse recognizes a patient behavior as an “… immediate need for help” (George, 2011, p. 165). This “immediate” need must be correctly identified by the nurse, so the nurse may provide care to relieve the need for help experienced by the patient. Orlando’s creation of the nursing process discipline helped to further establish