Theory of Caring by Kristen Swanson - Coursework Example

Kristen Swanson: Theory Of Caring Using insights to choose nursing theory A reflection on the nursing theories involves an individual’s personal reflection on enduring values of the profession, the nursing situations, and how he or she can connect these values to nursing situation (Smith, & Parker, 2010). Enduring values entails beliefs and values that drive individuals into nursing. Values and beliefs are what keep people in the nursing profession, and their evaluation also involves assessment of personal values that people hold dearly. However, nursing professionals can only succeed in their profession if they connect nursing and personal values with significant values within the society because the society has higher expectations when seeking help from nurses. Eventually, an individual should connect the values with nursing situation where the values and beliefs must be reflected in the nursing situation (Potter, Clarke, Hackett, & Little, 2013). On the other hand, the individual should take note if his or her values and beliefs are conflicting with the nursing situation. The implication is that personal and nursing professional values must come into play during the nursing situation. There are nursing theories that can help individuals to harness their personal beliefs and values to those of the nursing profession. Smith, & Parker, (2010) explains some of the insights to choose theory uses criteria for choosing the theory. In this context, the individual must choose the theory which is consistent with values and beliefs that guide the nursing practice, consistent with personal beliefs and values. The theory evaluation also involves looking at the benefits or what to achieve with the application or adoption of the nursing theory and applying it to certain nursing situations. Briefly, evaluation of theory involves the nursing professional finding out how he or she can use the model to improve his practice and the services offered to the patients. Kristen Swanson: Theory of caring Kristen Swanson is one of the major contributors to the field of nursing theory, and her model has been applied on many occasions within the nursing profession. The theory has generalized across different populations and also useful in meeting middle-range standards for explaining values and beliefs concerning the nursing profession besides showing how individuals can put them into practice (Lukose, 2011). Kristen developed her theory after carrying out three studies in different perinatal contexts in the late 80s but later the theory improved and redefined to suit the nursing profession. Many hospitals, as well as healthcare facilities, have since applied the theory to guide their nursing services, and the theory continue to find its relevance in clinical practice, education, and research. Consistency of nursing and personal values and beliefs The theory was built on fundamental elements of nursing care including knowing and understanding patient experience and that of the family, being with the patient, doing for the patients as they would treat themselves, enabling or providing for the capacity of patients for self-care and also care for their family and believing that the patient can get out of the situation and care for him or herself (Amendolair, 2011). All of the above fundamental values or principles of the theory are consistent with nursing values and beliefs since they are all patient centered. For instance, knowing is the act of understanding an event or a situation as it would mean to the other. In this case, the nursing profession must avoid any assumptions and center on the patient by assessing the aspects of the medical condition (Lukose, 2011). Furthermore, it entails aligning personal values with those of the patient where the nurse engages his or her personhood when caring for the patient. Nonetheless, the fundamental principle of being with entails development of strong emotional presence during the nursing situation (Lukose, 2011). The principle also aligns with the personal values and beliefs of sharing meanings and feelings with the patient and being available and having the ability to endure situations (Amendolair, 2011). The implication caring and being with is a nursing value that requires professionals to have emotional values of helping others with their situations and showing empathy to their problems. The fundamental principle of doing for aligns with nursing values and beliefs since the nurse must have the ability to comfort others, performing skillfully and competently, anticipating needs of others and protecting the patient against any possible harm (Lukose, 2011). Enabling as a fundamental principle involves offering to help the patients to cope up with the situations especially through counseling, coaching, and assistance with important issues (Lukose, 2011). Helping others is one of the values of nursing professions and also forms part of individual values as nurses are always driven by the urge to help others with their health situations. Finally, there is the fundamental principle of maintaining belief where the nursing professional must have the belief that the individual can get out of the situation and have a good future. In this case, the nurse must maintain the belief despite differences in spiritual and religious needs. The implication is that an individual nurse must have values that help him or she to tolerate cultural and religious differences among those cared for since it is a principle that focuses on strong connectedness between the patient and the caregiver. Importance of using the theory A deeper understanding of the theory helps nursing professionals to understand that caring depends on the relationship between the healthcare giver and the patient. The theory is relevant for nursing context as it provides guidance to behaviors that have been considered to be crucial or central to patient care (Lukose, 2011). In this case, the theory recommends ways through which nursing professionals can build good relationship with their clients, colleagues, and self by developing behaviors based on personal values and beliefs that must also align with those of the profession (Amendolair, 2011). On the other hand, theory can help an individual to incorporate the good caring behaviors to daily nursing practices since it stresses that nursing interactions must focus on the patient or the one being cared for. Moreover, the theory is of the opinion that the nurse and the patient relate to each other thus engage in the caring process together. In this case, the theory helps an individual to culminate meaningful relationships with patients thus suitable for fostering mutual benefits or desirable outcomes (Lukose, 2011). The bottom is that the theory explains how individual values and beliefs affect health care provision and that nurses should make sure that they are aligned with those of the profession. Using the theory to patient care The theory is particularly useful in improving performance of healthcare professionals since Swanson explains some of the aspects of relationships that relate to caring (Lukose, 2011). Her theory identifies elements like persons, health or well-being, nursing and environment as crucial in determining the relationships between patients and their caregivers (Amendolair, 2011). In this case, theory can be a positive implication for health care professionals to understand that environmental relationships are crucial in caring. Environment in this context encompasses cultural, political, economic, social, spiritual, and psychological factors. A deeper understanding of these elements improves the manner in which nurses handle their patients where they, for instance, understands cultural diversity and the implications for healthcare service provision. Moreover, Swanson puts a strong emphasis on informed caring and nursing relationships and suggests that nursing practices must be according to the guiding principles of the profession thus very crucial to improving performance of patient care. Importance of the theory to the nursing profession The theory is critical in nursing profession since it has many implications for nursing as a practice, research, and nursing education thus has a potential to create good future for the profession (Lukose, 2011). On the other hand, the importance of this theory evident from the manner in which other nursing scholars have been making endless efforts to advance the mode and encouraging its application in contemporary nursing practices. The importance of the theory to the nursing profession has much been attributed to its straightforwardness in explaining the relationships between good professional behaviors and efficient patient care. Besides, it is undoubtedly valuable in creating good future on informed patient care that involves direct engagement while at the same time respect the values and beliefs of both the caregiver and the patient (Potter, Clarke, Hackett, & Little, 2013). . References Amendolair, D. (2011). Caring Model: Putting Research into Practice. International Journal For Human Caring, 15(3), 49-56. Lukose, A. (2011). Developing a practice model for Watson’s theory of caring. Nursing science quarterly, 24(1), 27-30. Potter, G., Clarke, T., Hackett, S., & Little, M. (2013). Nursing students and geriatric care: the influence of specific knowledge on evolving values, attitudes, and actions. Nurse education in practice, 13(5), 449-453. Smith, C. M, & Parker, M.E. (2010). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Read More