Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jean Watson
An American nursing scholar born in West Virginia, currently living in Colorado Earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing psychiatric-mental health nursing and holds her Ph.D. in educational psychology and counseling from the university of Colorado At the University of Colorado, Dr. Watson currently holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Nursing and the Murchinson-Scoville Chair in Caring Science, the nations first endowed chair in Caring Science, based at the University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing since 1999. Founder of the Center for Human Caring in Colorado. http://www.millionnurseproject.org/index.html Featured in numerous national videos on nursing theory and the art of nursing. Recipient of several national and international honors and awards, including The Fetzer Institute Norman Cousins Award, in recognition of her commitment to developing; maintaining and exemplifying relationship-centered care practices. Served as author /co-author of over 14 books ranging from empirical measurements of caring to new postmodern philosophies of caring and healing.
Carative Factors
Serve as a guide for the core of nursing Comprised of 10 elements:
1. Humanistic-altruistic system of value 2. Faith-Hope 3. Sensitivity to self and others 4. Helping-trusting, human care relationship 5. Expressing positive and negative feelings 6. Creative problem-solving caring process 7. Transpersonal teaching-learning 8. Supportive, protective, and/or corrective mental, physical, societal and spiritual environment 9. Human needs assistant 10. Existential-phenomenological-spiritual forces (Watson, 1988b, p. 75)
depends on: - The nurses moral commitment in protecting and enhancing human dignity as well as the deeper self - The nurses caring consciousness communicated to preserve and honor the embodied spirit, therefore not reducing the person to a moral status of an object - The nurses connection and having the potential to heal since experience, perception, and intentional connection are taking place
beyond the objective assessment to show concern toward the persons subjective/deeper meaning of their healthcare situation. Involves mutuality between the two individuals involved
http://www.nursing.ucdenver.edu/faculty/jw_connections.htm Examples of Watsons Theory used in research: http://www.nursing.ucdenver.edu/faculty/references.htm Nurses are able to evaluate their use of the caring theory by this patient survey: http://www.nursing.ucdenver.edu/faculty/articles/CaringFactorScale.pdf
Nurses should treat patients as holistic beings (body, mind and spirit) with a positive regard. Nurses should promote health through knowledge and intervention, and
Caring occasions/moments should transform both the patient and nurse, as they are linked together.
emotions
1. never pass judgments, provide all patients with the same respect and level of care. 2. instill hope in the mothers that they will be able to care for their babies and return to their normal state of health. 3. discuss the patients perceptions and feelings towards their birthing/parenting experiences. 4. provide a trusting relationship where the patient feels that you are committed to helping them. Advocate for the patient. 5. enable the patient to discuss positive and negative feelings concerning her current healthcare/home situation. 6 & 7. use creativity during teaching opportunities and holistic treatments involving pain management. 8. ensure that their environment is comfortable and enables them to get rest. Ensure that the patients home environment is safe for mother and baby upon return. 9 & 10. help patients reach harmony (mind, body, spirit) through holistic and caring modalities. Promote mother-infant bonding. Assess patients support system.