Analysis of the Theory of Human Becoming in Nursing Practice

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the human becoming nursing theory, emphasizing its principles, applications, and challenges within the healthcare setting. It explores the theory's focus on patient-centered care, empathy, and the nurse's role in synchronizing with the patient's experiences and desires. The essay contrasts this approach with the conventional biomedical model, highlighting the importance of the environment and existential perspectives. It discusses the characteristics of a human becoming nurse, including empathy, compassion, and situational analysis. The strengths and weaknesses of the theory are evaluated, including its applicability to various nursing situations and its limitations in certain contexts. Challenges related to the implementation of the human becoming theory in practical healthcare systems are also addressed, such as knowledge gaps, empowerment issues, and resource constraints. The essay also incorporates a case study to illustrate the practical application of the theory in end-of-life care. Finally, it suggests integrating the human becoming theory with other grand nursing theories for comprehensive patient care, including pharmacological interventions, psychological counseling, and promoting acceptance and self-actualization. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to patient care, particularly in situations where death is near.

Running head: THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

1THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
The nursing model of human becoming theory allows the nurse to become
synchronized with the patient’s desires, rhythm and visions about his own recovery. The
human becoming theory is contradictory or rather an alternative to the conventional bio
medical approach of treatment which focusses on ‘treating the problem’. The concept of
environment plays a crucial role for the patient is a part of environment (Phelan et al., 2015).
The human becoming theory (Monsen, Ket al., 2017) takes into consideration – a patient
centered care from an existential perspective. The attending nurse must think ‘alike’ with the
patient, aligning with cognitive processes of the patient and bring a shared decision (Gjerberg
et al., 2015) into practice. This transformative theory helps in co-creating treatment
environments that is individualized for the patient and together, the patient and nurse can
synchronize rhythms together and transcend the therapeutic experience. Based on the case,
the nurse would feel the void left in Ben with the death of his wife Anne and their daughter
who has died earlier. Based on the experience, of such a tensed and sad situation – the nurse
must be able comprehend the cycle of continuous infinite growth through different difficult
spheres of life and to transcendent with the every going rhythmic flow of life, death and
universe is the true act of ‘human becoming’. Moreover, Ben’s reflection of his own
impressions about the softness, kindness and enthusiasm for life that his wife was gifted with
would definitely stir the nurse from within, making her more insightful towards the
understanding of life. This is how Ben’s reflective words and Anne’s death would make the
attending nurse actualize Parse’s theory of human becoming.
There are certain characteristics – both innate and skillfully developed, which are
required distinctively to practice as a human becoming nurse. Empathy – the foremost quality
(which allows the nurse to feel everything her patient is feeling) is the first vital step in
thinking ‘one and alike’ with the critical patient. A sincere ‘union’ of mental states with the
patient through compassion, kindness, reflection and sincere understanding as if the patient,

2THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
environment, the nurse is ‘one and all’ is another salient characteristic of a human becoming
nurse. Situational analysis, decision making and giving personal unselfish contribution to the
recovery of the patient are critically essential traits of a human becoming nurse.
Autonomy(Wade, 2019)., integrity and totality(Alghamdi, 2016) are the three important
nursing principles practiced together with profound and complete sincerity is cardinal in the
transcending the patient treatment process and realizing the assumptions of ‘human’,
‘becoming’ and ‘human becoming’. The strengths of humans becoming nursing is that is
very distinct from other bio- medical approaches, it provides various ways of research
methodologies and it creates a practice framework for other approaches. This nursing theory
allows the ‘treatment process’ to be looked, analyzed and altered from a different perspective.
The ‘amount’, ‘quality’ and ‘style’ of treatment can be shifted to a rhythmic, experiential and
rhythmic mechanism of human-universe process. The disadvantages of this nursing theory is
that it cannot be utilized in nursing diagnoses, the results of findings cannot be quantified or
compared to other bio medical or nursing efficacy researches. Only nursing with specific
behavioral traits can engage in this human becoming approach. Although human becoming
nursing is applicable to chronic, terminal, degenerative cases but it cannot be used
therapeutically in an emergency medical care. Overall, it can be practiced in conjunction with
existent other nursing theories for better treatment outcome.
There would be challenges if human becoming nursing has to be incorporated
systemized practically in every healthcare setup. The main challenge would be the
‘knowledge gap’ (Mohamad & Akram, 2018) between doctors and nurses, as is the present
scenario. To take up human becoming approach, the nursing education has to be diversified.
Secondly, the autonomic reach of nursing community is very limited in every community and
nation and ‘human becoming nursing’ asks for lot of nurse-empowered approach (Van et al.,
2015) Nursing, unfortunately is regarded as second level care and not a collateral of medical

3THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
treatment, hence, empowerment gap would be a big challenge if the ‘approach’ in discussion
has to be bought into a serious global practice. Acute and emergency situation, discussed
above, is a dynamic scenario where socio-philosophical nursing approach would not be fit for
patient care. The other challenges would be raised patient care expense, infrastructural
expense(Aanestad et al., 2017) because the environment might be modified to better the
patient’s transcendental experience(Jong et al., 2017.) . Lastly, to deliver such an expert level
psychosocial service to the patients – the nurse services would cost more and hospitals
management might not be able to pay it. The last challenge is to impart such an exquisite and
difficult behavioral and psychological training to each and every nurse in each and every
hospital. Lastly, to standardize and validate such a critically abstract approach would be a
huge barrier and so would be the assessment of its effectiveness.
Parsey’s theory of transcendence involves a continuous process of learning and
realization in a human- universe rhythm of existence. The development comprises of a
continual social, spiritual, psychological consciousness widening as one passes through
stages of age in a span of life to death. Anne’s death which left Ben completely desolated
because his daughter has died earlier and now with the loss of his wife, he had nobody else to
live for. This experience of the nurse who was present between Ben and Anne’s at that
agonizing hour when Anne left Ben from an earthly plane and the way Ben described the
personified stars up above in the sky – must be self-transcending for the attending nurse. She
must carry in this great experience with her and grow on a consciousness plane further in
order to treat future end of life issues in a more autonomic and patient centered way. Along
with this case’s experience, she must learn to endure more and learn to handle future cases in
a more ‘human’ way than just a ‘nurse’s’ way.
The grand nursing theory can be applied other than ‘human becoming theory’ because
it provides a broad range of conceptual frameworks to accommodate various nursing

4THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
interventions. Grand nursing theory includes general, non-specific and abstract interventions
and can be used in variety of health institutions (Smith & Parker, 2015). The plan of care that
incorporates both the nursing theories should be actually beneficial to an end of life care
patient. A pharmacological intervention with pain management is mandatory to counter any
sorts of pain induced sufferings at the end of life. The idea of a patient centered care in this
scenario is to improve and sustain the quality of life while making the patient feel ‘better’
psychologically in these last moments. A psychological counseling, empathy, rapport
building and kindness above all, is the principle of choice because that is how the attending
nurse can help the patient feel better. Compassion, positive thinking and transcendental
approaches along with medication, sleep and relaxation can always make the patient ‘accept’
his life’s stage and reality in a more enduring and positive way which is the desired final
outcome of ‘human becoming nursing. A nursing counseling, sanitary and hygiene
management along with promotion of recreation activities, music therapy, behavioral
reinforcement and guided visual imagery (Costa & Barnhofer 2016) are certain way of
cutting the ‘sufferings’ from its source. Acceptance and self-actualization should be promoted
in the patient as an abstract intervention to help the patient cope with the pathological
situation better. Letting the patient eat, do things as per his or her wishes at the end of life is
an important illustration of the fact that a ‘human approach’ can replace a ‘biomedical
approach’ under special circumstances when death is near and possible. The approach and
interventions must shift from typical nursing care to a more abstract philosophical care to
help brighten the last feeling of ‘life’.

5THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
References:
Aanestad, M., Grisot, M., Hanseth, O., & Vassilakopoulou, P. (2017). Information
Infrastructures within European Health Care. Working with the Installed Base.
Springer.
Alghamdi, M. G. (2016). Nursing workload: a concept analysis. Journal of nursing
management, 24(4), 449-457.
Costa, A., & Barnhofer, T. (2016). Turning towards or turning away: A comparison of
mindfulness meditation and guided imagery relaxation in patients with acute
depression. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy, 44(4), 410-419.
Gjerberg, E., Lillemoen, L., Førde, R., & Pedersen, R. (2015). End-of-life care
communications and shared decision-making in Norwegian nursing homes-
experiences and perspectives of patients and relatives. BMC geriatrics, 15(1), 103.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.
Jong, M. C., Boers, I., van Wietmarschen, H. A., Tromp, E., Busari, J. O., Wennekes, R., ...
& Vlieger, A. M. (2019). Hypnotherapy or transcendental meditation versus
progressive muscle relaxation exercises in the treatment of children with primary
headaches: a multi-centre, pragmatic, randomised clinical study. European journal of
pediatrics, 178(2), 147-154.
Mohamad, A., & Akram, S. (2018). The Role of Clinical Instructor in Bridging the Gap
between Theory and Practice in Nursing Education. International Journal of Caring
Sciences, 11(2), 876.

6THEORY OF HUMAN BECOMING
Monsen, K. A., Le, S. M., Handler, H. E., & Dean, P. J. (2017). We Can Be More Caring: A
Theory for Enhancing the Experience of Being Caring as an Integral Component of
Prelicensure Nursing Education. International Journal for Human Caring, 21(1).
Phelan, S. M., Burgess, D. J., Yeazel, M. W., Hellerstedt, W. L., Griffin, J. M., & van Ryn,
M. (2015). Impact of weight bias and stigma on quality of care and outcomes for
patients with obesity. Obesity Reviews, 16(4), 319-326.
Van Bogaert, P., Peremans, L., de Wit, M., Franck, E., Timmermans, O., & Havens, D. S.
(2015). Nurse managers' perceptions and experiences regarding staff nurse
empowerment: a qualitative study. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1585.
Wade, G. H. (2019). Perceptions of instructor caring behaviors, self-esteem, and perceived
clinical competence: A model of the attitudinal component of professional nurse
autonomy in female baccalaureate nursing students (Doctoral dissertation).