Watsons Theory of Caring Essay -- Nursing

Watson’s Theory of Nursing We live in a fast moving environment with longer tiring days. When we are ill we go to the doctor’s office or emergency room and expect fast and reliable service. Data is collected that is measuring satisfaction from the service and, of course that data helps to improve the service. Companies keep track of statistics, like income, housing, children, and cars. I also like numbers and statistics, and like the idea that everything can be measured and have a number associated with it. However, I am wondering if everything can be quantified. Can we reliably measure happiness, love, and care of one person for another? Attempts are made to quantify happiness in some countries, Bhutan and Great Britain, to name a few. Consider health care, we are counting admissions, discharges, hospital-days, and patient satisfaction scores, but this statistic does not reflect how a patient feels. How often was the patient scared, depressed and lonely in his statistical hospital room somewhere betwe en his admission and discharge? Did anyone care about this person? Watson's theory of caring concentrates on human aspect of nursing and gives nurses opportunity to connect and to care for patients. Background of Watson’s Theory of Caring Watson admits that her original intent was not to create a theory; she was only trying to solve some conceptual and empirical problems with nursing education, practice, and research. Her 1979 book, Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring, was, in fact, an essay on nursing (Watson, 1999). Over 30 years, from 1979 to 2008, Watson develops and finalizes her Theory of Caring. She starts with her textbook for an integrated nursing curriculum at the University of Colorado. The theory starts wi... ...e. Easier, of course, to perform assigned task, but we know that in human interaction and especially in health care many more factors affect the outcome but not just well performed task. Watson’s theory gives a special attention and concentrates on the humanistic aspect of nursing. Works Cited Alligood, M. R., & Tomey, A. M. (2006). Nursing theory: Utilization & application (3rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Cross, P. (1981). Adults as learners . Washington, DC : Jossey-Bass, a subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons . Watson, J. (1988). Nursing: Human science and human care. New York: National League for Nursing. Watson, J. (1999). Nursing: Human science and human care: A theory of nursing. Sudbury, MA: NLN Press, Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.