Analyzing Jean Watson's Theory of Caring - Essay Example

? Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring Module Module no: The Paper Born and brought up in West Virginia, USA, the name and works of Dr. Jean Watson are not unfamiliar in the field of nursing. Being dint of her innate compassionate feelings, great enthusiasm and dedication to the nursing profession, she has rendered valuables services for the cause of the suffering humanity, in the treatment of which she has made sincere and unflinching efforts for the last five decades. From the University of Colorado, she earned her undergraduate degree in nursing and psychology, her master’s degree in psychiatric-mental health nursing, and continued to earn her Ph.D. in educational psychology and counseling. (Cara, 2003) Though she has always taken personal interest in the convalescence procedure of the patients under her supervision, but also she obtained command over various departments of the nursing profession by earning her Doctorate in the discipline. Furthermore, she also presented a wonderful theory under the title “Carative Theory of Nursing”, where she has depicted divergent features and characteristics of nursing by paying special concentration upon the displaying sympathetic attitude towards the patients. She also authored books on the discipline, where she laid stress upon the significance of the behavior of the medical staff in the fast recovery of the patients. Watson presented his famous theory of caring in 1979, where she declares caring as an essential element to save the life of the patient. She is of the opinion that care is not confined to look after the patient under treatment according to the instructions issued by the hospital management or by the senior medical officials. On the contrary, caring contains complete code of ethics and morality in its wide scope, which includes complete involvement of the nurses in the personal, mental, physical, professional and even domestic problems of the patients for the creation of an amicable environment for sharing the pains and sufferings the patients are undergoing. Watson looks for the complete care of the diet and nutrition of the patient, which is not confined to the providing of diet only. Rather, a healthy and beneficial food is a must during the disease, so that the ailment could be mitigated with the use of healthy diet including fruits, meet, vegetables and nuts. It is particularly the case with the patients suffering from stomach problems and dehydration. The care of the patient with gastrointestinal disease is complex and challenging. The reasons for the complexity are varied and different for each patient. Any of these variables can affect the nutritional health of the patient, an essential element of care that supports healing, recovery, and improved quality of life. (Childs, 2006) Watson has coined the notion intentionality, where she looks for observing of sincere efforts for the cure of the patients. The nurse’s moral commitment, intentionality, and personal use of the clinical caritas protect, enhance and potentiate human dignity, wholeness, and healing: this encourages the patient to create (or really, co-create) a meaning of a disease and treatment.” (Conway et al., 2010) Hence, if a nurse takes attending of the patients as an undue burden upon her, she would be unable to create and offer a pleasant environment to them. Consequently, the patients’ sufferings could not be mitigated while working with an iron face. On the other hand, such unpleasant environment may enhance their ailment in one way or the other. Thus, a nurse’s intentions pave the way towards the fast and unconditional convalescence of the patient. Watson also lays stress upon the strict exercising of care-giving and human values. By care-giving she simply means that the relation between the counselor and patient must be developed on the concrete foundations of trust, respect and affection, so that the patient could be in a position to provide the details of his illness along with the case history leading towards such a sorry state of affairs. Caring is, according to Watson, an endorsement of professional nurses identity. Medicines identity is that of “caring.” Florence Nightingale appeared to agree in her statement: “It is the surgeon who saves a person’s life; it is the nurse who helps this person live.” (Vanguard Health Systems) Hence, the professional duties of the nurses are not limited to taking blood pressure or diabetes level of the patents or mere offering medicine to him; rather, it is the developing of anamiable atmosphere that turns out to be supportive in the healing process of the patient. Caring endorses our professional identity within a context where humanistic values are constantly questioned and challenged. Upholding these caring values in our daily practice helps transcend the nurse from a state where nursing is perceived as “just a job,” to that of a gratifying profession. (Duquette & Cara, 2000) Consequently, application of all possible human values including sacrificing one’s personal comforts, taking the patient as close friend or associate, feeling pains in heart for the sufferings of the patient and gratifying and consoling him to mitigate his worries include the human values, which are vehemently necessary for driving him out of the mental and physical hurting. Since nursing and medical care have always been considered as the most sacred professions since ever, which aims to help the humanity undergoing pains and sufferings due to illness, accidents, addiction, diseases and old age etc, the nurses sacrifices their comforts and peace of mind for the sake of patients. Hence, the medical professionals and nursing staff members have to deal with the weak, frail, old and ill individuals of society, to which no other professional likes to converse with even while his suffering from one disease or the other. “Nurses care for the sick and injured in hospitals, where they work to restore health and alleviate suffering. Many people are sent home from the hospital when they still need nursing care, so nurses often provide care in the home that is very similar to the care they give to patients in the hospital.” (World Health Organization, 1997) It is therefore nursing is rightly revered as the noblest profession where the professionals get an opportunity of serving the humanity undergoing health problems and sickness. “Nursing is a demanding profession that requires dedication. Nursing is not a 9 to 5 job because sometimes, you may be assigned to work the graveyard shift or extend beyond 8 hours of work especially when there are a lot of patients to attend to.” (Quoted in lifeinfozone.com) I also have personal experiences regarding attending the patients during their illness. Being a professional nurse, I have great attachment with my nature of work at hospital. I came across the situation where an old women suffering from heart disease and schizophrenia got admitted at our hospital. Since she was 76 years old, she often forgot the issues she had already discussed with me. At first she used to conceal her problems with me; somehow, after two days of her stay in my company, she turned frank and free. I observed first carative factor during her stay in the hospital. First carative described by Watson (2006) lays stress upon the establishment of a humanistic- altruistic system of values, which simply means putting one’s all comforts while rendering services to the patient under care. I applied the same while treating the old woman, which was very talkative by nature, and seldom kept silence. Somehow I ignored the peace of my mind just to keep her happy and lively. Second carative factor looks for the fulfillment of some particular human need, which I also adopted while dealing the old patient. She informed me her pathetic life in the old house; where her children did not care visit her even once a year. She told me that she was fed up of too much medicines and preventions as well, and intended to take sweets and ice cream. I had got the information, from her case history, that she had been diabetic for the last two decades. Consequently, I diverted her attention from sweet dishes to the sugar free ice cream, and promised to share ice cream with her. It really brought smiles and tears of joy in her old eyes, and she started praying for my good health and occupational growth as well. I always encouraged her by saying that she would overcome her ailment very soon. She declared her domestic situation as responsible for her ill health. Third carative factor, according to Watson, concentrates upon the very reality that an effective caring promotes health and individual or family growth. While I used to stay with her for many hours a day, she forgot about her health problems and disease, and learnt how to remain happy. I looked after her like a real daughter, she started taking interest in different things around her. Thus, within seven days, her heart problem witnessed significant recovery and she was discharged from the hospital soon. Then I came to know why Watson laid particular stress upon care providing activities. Watson’s (1999) Theory of Caring insists that a holistic approach, including the social history of the patient, be considered, as it allows the interviewer to understand a more complete approach to the patients’ care. Professional responsibilities, according to Helm (1984), tradition, and personal conscience along with legal, philosophical, and religious convictions dictate nursing interventions. Inevitably, these factors embrace life-sustaining therapies. I had also observed Watson’s fourth carative factor, which aims to state that caring responses accept person not only as he or she is now but as what he or she may become. (Watson, 2006) Thus, it is by dint of the sincere efforts I made for the patient that she felt far better in health than she was feeling on the day of her admission. Actually she was feeling on the day of her admission that she would never be able to get recovered. I also have my personal experiences while taking medical treatment from the nurses. Something I found there in their behavior includes that the nurses recently entered in this profession are far more enthusiastic and determined to care the ailing patients. They run towards them on their one single call, and also stay with them for several minutes in order to provide them company and relief. Somehow, with the passage of time, their enthusiasm and passion start declining. It is partially because of the thankless attitude of the patients too, which disheartens their ambitions of serving them without any greed of reward. However, they certainly expect gratitude through words from the patients whom they have served by neglecting their personal comforts, sleep and rest. Anyway, I have always found them as caring, sympathetic and extremely anxious to provide me every comfort during my stay in the hospitals. I personally intend to pay my sincere thanks to the nursing staff for their untiring efforts for my look after. To conclude, it becomes evident that Watson has produced a wonderful theory of nursing that is entirely based upon the noble principles of pity, compassion sacrifice, dedication and care. It is these noble principles that have paved the way in creating a very healthy society in the USA. Her philosophy looks for widening the scope of the services to the complete attention of the patients rather than confining their duties to the rules and regulations prescribed in the hospital manual only. Consequently, nursing is not limited to providing timely dosage or injections to the patients only. Rather, offering emotional support is vehemently necessary for their fast and complete recovery. Hence, the character and role of the nurses cannot be denied in making the USA as the economic and strategic giant of the entire globe. REFERENCES Cara, Chantal. (2003) A Pragmatic View of Jean Watson’s Caring Theory Retrieved from http://www.humancaring.org/conted/Pragmatic%20View.pdf Duquette, A., & Cara, C. (2000). Le caring et la sante de l’infirmiere. L’infirmiere Canadienne, 1(2), 10-11. Childs, Anne (2006) The Complex Gastrointestinal Patient and Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring in Nutrition Support Retrieved from http://downloads.lww.com/wolterskluwer_vitalstream_com/sample-content/9780781784542_Dudek/samples/sga_1042895x_2006_29_4_283.pdf Conway, Alyson., Erickson, Sally., Lynch, Patty., Myers, Kimberly & Palmer, Sarah (2010) Helm, A. (1984) Ethical Dilemmas and Nursing Aviat Space Environ Med !Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6487215) Grotstein, James S. and Rinsley, Donald B. (1994) Fairbairn and the Origins of Object Relations New York & London: The Guilford Press, ISBN 0-89862- 135-6. Watson, Jean (2006) Watson’s Theory of Human Caring and Subjective Living Experiences: Carative Factors/Caritas Processes as A Disciplinary Guide To The Professional Nursing Practice Danish Clinical Nursing Journal. 20 (3): 21-7. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/tce/v16n1/a16v16n1.pdf Vanguard Health Systems Overview of Jean Watson’s Theory Retrieved from http://www.innovativecaremodels.com/uploads/File/caring%20model/Overview%20JW%20Theory.pdf Nursing Theories. Jean Watson's Philosophy of Nursing Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Watson.html Nursing Career is a Demanding Profession! http://www.lifeinfozone.com/education-training/nursing-career-is-a-demanding-profession/ Nursing Care of the Sick: A Guide for Nurses Working in Small Rural Hospitals Western Pacific Education In Action Series No. 12 Retrieved from http://www.wpro.who.int/internet/files/pub/Nursing_Care_of_the_Sick.pdf 188-189 Read More