Nursing Theorist
Nursing Theorist
One nursing theorist that to this day is still helping evolve nursing as a whole is Jean Watson. Watson was born in the 1940s in West Virginia. She got her first RN Diploma in 1961 from Lewis-Gale School of Nursing in Roanoke, Virginia. After, she went on to achieve multiple degrees at the University of Colorado. They include her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science (MS) in psychiatric mental-health nursing with a minor in psychology, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in educational psychology and counseling (Nursing Theory, 2013, ¶1). “Caring is the essence of nursing,” a quote by Watson, can summarize what her theory is all about.
Watson’s theory involves the philosophy and science of transpersonal care, meaning that care and compassion are incorporated into all aspects of the nursing process to give a patient. This holistic approach of “transpersonal caring looks for deeper sources of inner healing to protect, enhance and preserve a human’s dignity, humanity, wholeness, and inner harmony” (Potter, 2013, p. 81). Watson designed a model of 10 carative factors that all help play a role into promoting care before cure. She thought that by expressing care to patients, it allows them to make a connection with the nurse. Forming this connection creates trust which allows for a healing environment at all levels for both the patient and nurse. This theory establishes communication and allows education of patients and all involved with the patient to promote health and eliminate illness. And it also brings together the art and science aspects of nursing together as a whole.
Today in nursing there have been significant advancements in technology and treatment. These advancements also directly affect how the nurse applies and communicates care to a patient. Making a connection between a nurse and patient can be interrupted by the place of a machine monitoring the patient, instead of the nurse....
