Before a significant philosophy of nursing can be developed, the meaning of caring must be evaluated to illustrate how it serves as part of the fundamentals of nursing and how it contributes to Watson’s Philosophy Model of Caring. Caring as the Core of Nursing The word “caring” is virtually impossible to be defined because its meaning is abstract and significantly subjective to each person. As pain is a human emotion that cannot be perceived the exact same way by every individual, caring is conveyed and experienced in a myriad of different perspectives. However, human beings associate caring with feelings of showing and expressing concern and kindness to others (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2018). Because nurses are those who obligate themselves …show more content…
With the presence of disease, Watson’s model of caring requires that nurses should consider the uniqueness of a patient and strive to preserve the patient’s dignity and holistic being (Lachman, 2012). In the field of health care, medical professionals such as physicians, scientists, and pharmacists work to eradicate the biological aspect of disease by devising treatment plans, collecting pertinent data, and preparing medications. These professions do not place the mental, spiritual, and emotional aspects of disease in center of their practice for patients. On the other hand, nurses play a critical role in addressing their patients holistically rather than only biologically through their ability to convey transpersonal caring through therapeutic communication and establishment of rapport. Watson emphasizes that nurses have a mission to help people achieve a greater level of self-actualization and harmony by establishing a therapeutic relationship with their patients (Friberg & Creasia, 2016). In a nurse-patient relationship, the value of caring is at its optimal level when the patient has achieved stability as a holistic being and when the nurse relays caring as a genuine passion for people, not a task-oriented