Jean Watson free essay sample

As a nurse it is imperative to integrate the psychosocial of a critically ill patient and their family into care. One not only cares for the patient’s physical health, they care for all the components that makes up the patients entity. Sick patients face many obstacles. During the different phases of illness the nurse must alter care to accommodate the patients and family’s needs. Ones acceptance to the various stages can be facilitated and expressed through the Jean Watsons Philosophy, and Transpersonal Caring Theory. Jean Watsons Theory of Caring has become essential in nursing. Caring is at the core of nursing and is vital in providing positive patient outcomes. Watson’s theory is based upon human caring relationships and experiences in human life. She acknowledges a caring relationship and 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, 2008). We will write a custom essay sample on Jean Watson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nurses have a responsibility to evaluate the patient’s physical, mental, and emotional well- being. Jean Watsons Theory was derived in 1979 and revised in 1985 and 1988. The majority of her revisions were made to her carative factors, in which she believes is the concept for the core of nursing (Cara, 2008). According to Suliman, Welman, Omer and Thomas, (2009), Watsons theory suggest that â€Å"Caring is a different way of being human, present, attentive, conscious, and intentional. Nursing is centered on helping the patient achieve a higher degree of harmony within mind, body, and soul, and this harmony is achieved through caring transactions involving a transpersonal caring relationship (Cara, 2008). Human caring entails the humanitarian science of offering professional services to a needy human. This is based on the consideration that professional nursing services entail experience, knowledge, morals and empathy. Chesney and Anderson (2008) showed that Wilson’s Caring theory is derived from a moral and ethical foundation. The caregiver combines science, humanities, spirituality in enhancing the mind-body-spirit of healing. Watson’s theory is based on the notion that nurses should not rely on the practical aspects of nursing alone. One must encompass the physiological component of healing into ones practice. Instead, a willing nurse should interact with the patient on a personal level while executing ones nursing duties. (Watson, 2011). As a nurse on medical surgical unit I encounter on a consistent basis patients with varied illnesses. Many of the patients have complex needs. On this day, an 89 year old male presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of fever for one day. The patient is alert but nonverbal. He is able to follow simple commands. The daughter and grandson serve as the patient’s historian. The family gives an accurate account of the patient’s extensive medical history, which include: Parkinson’s, congestive heart failure, colon cancer, diabetes type I, aortic stenosis, dysphagia and frequent urinary tract infections. The daughter quickly verbalizes her frustration to the staff over the many questions. She demands the staff look into the computer for her father’s history. He has been admitted to the same hospital seven times over the last six months. The family appears exhausted. They are snappy and demeaning towards the staff. At one point the daughter refuses a physical assessment for her father. She states â€Å"He’s tired. That’s enough† As the primary nurse I offer the daughter a chair and a cup of coffee. She graciously accepts the beverage and takes a seat. She looks up and states â€Å"I’m so tired. I can’t do this anymore. He is here every week. What am I doing wrong? â€Å" I sit down beside her and reassure her that she has done nothing wrong. She looks up and says nothing. I continue to explain that her father is very sick and needs more attention than before. She agrees but still appears overwhelmed. We continue to speak for over thirty minutes. She confesses to leaving her job to take care of her increasingly ill father. She has now been caring for him for the last eight months, without help. She only qualifies for an aide for six hours a day, which would not allow her to work full time. She is now financially drained. Upon arrival the next morning I discuss the scenario with the social worker and case manager. Later that evening a family meeting is arranged. Although slightly reluctant the daughter agrees to allow her father to be placed in a rehabilitation center. She knows she can no longer care for him at home anymore. She is willing to do what is best for him. The staff reassures her that she is not giving up, but rather doing what is right for her father and herself. In the above scenario I applied the Jean Watson theory in providing care to the critically ill patient and the family. My treatment went beyond the technical aspect of nursing care. It ventured into the psychosocial, emotional, as well as spiritual role of the nurse. The patient’s daughter needed emotional support and guidance. She was overwhelmed, therefore was not able to function to her full capacity, hindering her father’s care. In order to provide a safe and healthy environment for the patient upon discharge the care-giver responsibilities needed to be re-evaluated. The care provided during the patient’s length of stay was not limited to the patient, but to all involved in the patients care. Watson’s theory helps incorporate ones underlying strengths to assist in practice. It allows the healing environment to encompass the patient, family and all other components that are involved in returning the patient to an optimum level of health.