Reolalas, Mariane Joy T.

November 3, 2022

BSN- 1D Theoretical Foundation of Nursing

The Theorist

“We are the light in institutional darkness, and in this model we get to return to the

light of our humanity.”

(Jean Watson, 2012)

Margaret Jean Harman Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, is an American

nursing professor and nurse theorist who grew up in Welch, West Virginia. Watson

has authored 11 books, co-authored 9 books, and published numerous articles in

nursing and medical journals. All of her works have contributed to the development of

nursing care, especially in this modern generation, leaving a prominent impact that is

very worthy and helpful for the progress of nursing.

One of the promising theories, the "Theory of Human Caring/Transpersonal

Caring" paves the way for guiding and nurturing capable and potential nurses as

providers of love and care, which is a highlight of the theory as nurses are defined by

caring. A nurse engaging with patients with a heart of healing tends to provide care

that enables them to optimize their patients' ability to heal from within. The theory is

the philosophy that nurses are more than merely nurses; they are nurses who seek to

provide the best possible care for each individual patient. Furthermore, she also

described a transpersonal caring relationship in which plays a foundational role in

understanding her theories. It was referred to as a "special kind of human care

relationship", a union with another person that relates to the whole person and their

being. A nurse must build an admirable relationship by connecting with their patient

through the flow of an integrated mind, body, and soul. The development and
maintenance of the transpersonal relationship is actualized through the application of

the 10 caritas processes that guide the relationship and set the foundation for the

caring-loving relationship essential to nursing practice (Watson, 2008).

In line with the track I am on, this theory enables me to understand nursing

care in this modern world. Her theory provides a new perspective on the nature of

people's capacities and even characteristics as caring beings. Similarly to the

transpersonal relationship, the importance of honoring an "I-thou relationsip" between

a nurse and an individual patient to comprehend effective ways of providing care and

optimal healing for the sick. As generally defined, theory is a group of imaginative

knowledge, ideas, and experiences that were made as a guide for the present or future

nurses along with their succeeding generations, which provides understanding for an

effective healing and curing, and illuminates a phenomenon in humanity.

 REFERENCES

Authored Book (Section 10.2)

M. R. Aligood (2018). Nursing Theories and Their Work, Nineth Edition.

Elsevier Inc, Book Aid International.