In the history of nursing theory, there have been many prominent persons whose ideas are still relevant today. Among the most famous approaches there are the ones created by Callista Roy, Florence Nightingale, Dorothea Orem, and others. The scholarly works of these professionals allowed many healthcare workers of the past and present to arrange their caring process in the most successful and efficient way. Jean Watson is another outstanding nursing professional on whose work this paper will focus.
Jean Watson’s theory of human caring is one of the most popular and valuable methods of nursing. In Watson’s approach, such fundamentals as spiritual care, kindness, equality, and friendliness are outlined as the essential aspects of nursing care (Watson, 2013). The theory introduced by Watson is based on ten Caritas that include such aspects as sustaining altruistic values, practicing a sympathetic attitude towards others, establishing caring relationships, and giving patients the necessary support and hope (Watson, 2013).
All of these and some other aspects of the theory are related to my personal philosophy. I consider caring as the utmost purpose of nurses’ professional duties. Thus, it is impossible for me not to agree with Watson that nurses should be loving, helpful, attentive, and sympathetic. I entirely understand my responsibility as a nurse to help people who have health problems and require encouragement. That is why my philosophy aligns with Watson’s theory, and I respect this professional very much.
The major reason why I selected this video to watch was that I wanted to enrich my knowledge of Watson’s work. Being a follower of this theorist’s ideals, I never miss an opportunity to get to know something new about her. There were some things that surprised me about the video. Firstly, I was enchanted with Watson’s manner of speaking and the way she was talking about her work. It seemed that she was caring even about describing her work (“Jean Watson — A theory of human caring,” 2012).
Secondly, I found out that Watson started her education and career, not in the sphere in which she then became popular. In the video, Watson mentioned that she had begun studying at an institution that did not even have “any academic community” (“Jean Watson — A theory of human caring,” 2012). Thus, I was impressed even more by this woman’s desire to learn despite obstacles. She had to enter another school to pursue her dream, and I think that by doing so, she set a great example for thousands of people.
Another issue that pleasantly surprised me was the attitude of Watson’s husband to his wife. He mentioned that Jean Watson “has this incredible ability to use every day, every moment in a positive way” (“Jean Watson — A theory of human caring,” 2012). Such relationships within a family are rather rare nowadays, and it was nice to see that a person that is so busy and dedicated to her work does everything possible to spend some time with her family.
I would definitely recommend this video to other students because it carries valuable information on Watson’s theory as well as inspires people to strive for their goals and ideals. The value of the video is in its containing so much professional and personal data on one of the most famous nursing theorists. I was even more inspired by Watson’s work upon watching the film, and I would like my peers to share my feelings.
References
Jean Watson — A theory of human caring [Video file]. (2012). Web.
Watson, J. (2013). The theory of human caring: Retrospective and prospective. In Smith, M. C., Turkel, M. C., & Wolf, Z. R. (Eds.), Caring in nursing classics: An essential resource (pp. 237-242). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.