Watson's Theory of Caring: Implications for Nursing Practice Report

This report delves into Jean Watson's Theory of Caring, elucidating its core tenets and application within the nursing profession. The theory emphasizes the integration of humanistic aspects with scientific knowledge to guide nursing practice, focusing on promoting health, preventing illness, restoring health, and enhancing the quality of life for patients. It underscores a holistic approach to patient care, considering the individual's unique characteristics, environment, health status, and the role of the nurse. The report outlines Watson's carative factors, which are central to patient care, and the hierarchy of human needs, from basic physiological requirements to self-actualization. It describes the nursing process as a structured approach, including assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation. The theory defines the person as a unique, integrated being and health as the congruence between mental, social, and physical functions. Nursing is portrayed as a blend of science, professionalism, and ethics that addresses human health and illness, with the environment shaping professional behavior. The report concludes with a discussion of the theory's practical application, particularly in guiding nursing interventions and prioritizing patient needs to improve health outcomes. The student indicates they will use the theory as a foundation for their future practice as a nurse practitioner, using it to inform care plans and interventions.

Running head: WATSON’S THEORY OF CARING 1
Watson’s Theory of Caring
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Watson’s Theory of Caring
Watson developed the theory of caring to explain how the humanistic aspects of nurses
relate to scientific knowledge and the nursing profession. It describes how nurses care for
patients by promoting health, prevention strategies, restoration of health, and improving quality
of life (Clark, 2016). The theory explains the holistic approach to be the best way to care for a
patient, based on knowing the person, the environment, the health status, and the nursing
profession. The theory explains the carative factors that ought to be the center of the nurses in
patient care and also described the human needs in hierarchy form beginning from the most
essential requirements to be addressed; nutrition, ventilation and elimination purposes, functional
needs; sexuality and activity, integrative needs of affiliation and achievement then lastly the need
for self-actualization (Pajnkihar, Štiglic, & Vrbnjak, 2017). Patient care is guided by the steps of
assessment, planning care, nursing intervention, and lastly evaluation.
The theory defines the concept of a person by stating that a person is not only viewed as a
system made of sub-systems but is considered uniquely. A person is a fully integrated entity that
should be cared for and protected into his best well- being. Health is addressed as not just the
absence of ailment in a person, but the congruency between the mental, social, and physical body
function (Nikfarid, Hekmat, Vedad, & Rajabi, 2018). It is the harmony between how the body
perceives a situation and the experience. The theory explains nursing to be a collection of
science, professionalism, and ethics that mediate human health and illness. The environment is
described as the basis of the behavior of professional culture in the caring of patients.
Watson’s theory of caring qualifies as a theoretical framework since it explains, extends
challenges the existing knowledge concerning patient care. It beats the available assumptions

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such as; carative factors lead to human needs satisfaction. The theory is drafted in a logical
manner where the framework is derived from carative elements that have a basis in assumptions.
The assumptions are in turn intertwined with the human needs hierarchy. The theory is based on
philosophy and morality, which is the center of focus in the nursing profession (Willis, & Leone-
Sheehan, 2017). The phenomena of health and illness aspects are drawn to develop the
framework. In the application of the theory, holistic approach towards patient care is the best
method to a human being in providing better health than the mere use of medicine. In improving
the quality of patient outcome, the use of the theory ensures nurses to consider patient needs, and
the appropriate caring strategy.
In my future nurse practitioner role, I will use the theory as a basis for rationale in
nursing interventions when patient health is involved. I will use the theory as a baseline of
drafting patient care beginning following the steps from patient assessment, drawing a plan of
care, intervention, and evaluation. I will also use the theory to determine priority patient needs
while planning patient care. I will also apply the theory as a basis to explain the effect of the
environment, the person in self, the nursing profession, and one's health.

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References
Clark, C. (2016). Watson’s human caring theory: Pertinent transpersonal and humanities
concepts for educators. Humanities, 5(2), 21.
Nikfarid, L., Hekmat, N., Vedad, A., & Rajabi, A. (2018). The main nursing metaparadigm
concepts in human caring theory and Persian mysticism: a comparative study. Journal of
medical ethics and history of medicine, 3(2), 11.
Pajnkihar, M., Štiglic, G., & Vrbnjak, D. (2017). The concept of Watson’s carative factors in
nursing and their (dis) harmony with patient satisfaction. PeerJ, 5(1), 2940.
Willis, D. G., & Leone-Sheehan, D. M. (2017). Watson’s Philosophy and Theory of
Transpersonal Caring. Nursing Theorists and Their Work-E-Book, 4(1), 66.