Jean Watson's Theory of Caring
Dr. Jean Watson developed a theory of human caring that has become essential in nursing. Caring is at the core of nursing and is vital in providing positive patient outcomes. Watson’s theory of caring can be applied to patient situation and his or her environment. She based her theory upon human caring relationships and experiences of human life. She acknowledges a caring relationship and a caring environment preserve human dignity, wholeness, and integrity and to restore the person’s harmony it is the nurse’s responsibility to assist an individual to establish meaning in illness and suffering (Cara, 2003). Nurses have a responsibility to evaluate the patient’s …show more content…
They can release feelings, and help gain self-healing (Cohen, 1991, p. 906).
I have seen how she viewed different aspects of nursing and how they convert over to caring moments with our patients. I recently had a caring moment with a patient who contributed to my own self-actualization. My patient was a 78-year-old male admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Two chest tubes was placed in his left lung and chest x-rays was obtained showing the presence of a cancerous tumor. Upon hearing the results he and his family was devastated. He was afraid of dying and what was going to happen to his wife of 60 years. I had a caring moment with him as I sat and listened to him express his feelings about death and dying, and he shared how he was feeling. I allowed him to discuss his beliefs of the dying process and how he viewed them. He said he felt much better having someone listen to him express his feelings. He believed he could face death and that he needed to look deep into himself and trust that his wife would be all right. This was a caring moment with this elderly gentleman in which I showed my patient he was worth my time. He could go very deep because of the trust we had been building.
Watson defines the person as a being in the world comprised of body, mind, and spirit. These are influenced by the concept that oneself is unique and free to make choices. She sees