Theory of Caring Tammy Radford East Tennessee State University Nursing Theory Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring is a middle range theory which “focuses on the human component of caring and the moment to moment encounters between the one who is caring and the one who is being cared for, especially the caring activities performed by nurses as they interact with others”. According to Watson, “caring is central to nursing practice and promotes health better than a simple medical cure”. Nursing theories improve patient care, patient outcomes and communication between nurse and patient. Major Concepts The major concepts of Watson’s Theory of Human Caring are the person and their well-being, environment and nursing care. This theory contains spiritual components that move both the nurse and the patient and lets them relate on a deeper level and rise above the moment. Watson sees caring as the single most important quality that nursing has to offer, yet caring has taken on less importance than any other area of nursing. Watson defines ten components …show more content…
The theory becomes much more complex when entering the area of existential- phenomenology, and nurses may lack the education to supply the appropriate groundwork. This theory also lacks research as very few studies have been done to support the theory and more study is needed to evaluate results. Critics also doubt the usefulness of this theory in today’s healthcare setting where the aim of care is to deliver the best quality for the lowest price. Nurses may have difficulty providing individual personal and spiritual relationships when acuity levels are high and when nurse-patient ratio is high. In spite of the change in acuity of healthcare today, Watson claims that this is all the more reason to adopt a caring model in nursing as this vital nursing concept is being jeopardized by such a