Watson's Theory of Human Caring and a Caring Moment
Kelly S. Matthews
NUR/403
June 8, 2015
Jacqueline de Paulis
Watson's Theory of Human Caring and a Caring Moment
Caring is a feeling that all nurses should possess. We provide care to our patients on a daily basis. As nurses we have a caring heart, we have a yearning to put the needs of our patients first in order for their experiences to be positive. As a nurse I have shared many caring moments with my patients and their families. I have been there to help many of my patients through difficult times and happy times. I believe we cross paths with certain people for a reason, some people enter or lives to fulfill a purpose and a plan. Many times in caring for our patients, they are actually providing healing and caring for us. Many times we question thing that happen in our lives and feel that we’re being punished, when God is just using us to help others heal.
As I look back over my nursing career I have shared many caring moments with my patients. I always strive to treat all my patients with respect and dignity. One particular moment that always stands out with me is one while I was working on a busy labor and delivery unit. This particular day I was caring for a young laboring mother, whose story was far from a happy one. She was pregnant for the second time and was in her second trimester when she was told that her baby no longer had a heartbeat. Her doctor informed her that she would need to go to report to the hospital to be induced to deliver her baby. She was devastated! This was her second miscarriage and she wanted a baby more than anything in the world. Her and her husband had been trying for several years to conceive and had been successful two times, but they both ended due to a miscarriage. She was sent over from her doctor’s office for induction and she was so upset. As I went in an introduced myself and informed her that I would be her nurse, she just began to cry. I attempted to console her, but I knew that she needed to express her feelings. What many of my co-workers and patients didn’t know, was that I had recently had a miscarriage. My husband and I found out we were expecting our third child and although we never discussed having a third child we had accepted it and we were happy. But at around eleven weeks I begin to bleed and cramp and my doctor informed me that there was no heartbeat and I was having a miscarriage. So this was a loss that I chose to keep private except for those close to me. So when my patient begin to break down, I just lost it. I could hold back the tears any longer. She looked up at me and even though I should have been consoling her, we were consoling each other. Without me saying anything she looked up at me and asked me how long had it been since my miscarriage. In this interaction we immediately formed a bond. So many times when you’re caring for patients or families going through something we’re quick to say I understand, when really we don’t. But in this instance we had both suffered similar losses and this brought us closer. I continued to care for her during her laboring and she eventually delivered her baby. She informed me that she didn’t know if she was going to want to see her baby or hold her. I informed her that whatever decision she and her husband chose I would be there to support her. Once she delivered her baby she looked up at me and asked “what should I do?” I looked her in the eyes and I asked her to make whatever decision that would give her and her husband peace. In the end she chose to spend some quiet time with her baby before she allowed staff to take her away.
In school we read and learn about many theorists who have made great contributions to nursing. They all provide great attributes to nursing and the nursing has benefitted from their works and research. Nursing is a field that is constantly changing and evolving to ensure that patients are cared for with