Can Someone Be a Nurse Without Jean Watson??

Nurses General Nursing

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  • by Q.
    Specializes in LDRP; Education.

You are reading page 7 of Can Someone Be a Nurse Without Jean Watson??

Q.

2,259 Posts

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

Renee, I agree with and understand everything you are writing, but in all reality, if nursing is to be recognized as a profession, we need to have some type of identity that is more meaurable than just caring or clairvoyance. Unfortunately those types of characteristics aren't respected in the science community.

Whether we have a theory or not, or even if we have a theory to NOT have a theory, it will hopefully be a method to help define what nursing is.

Glad2behere

209 Posts

Suzy,

Somebody has to do the heavy-lifting!

I am thrilled that you are undertaking this...it is something that desperately needs to be done.

I remember one really good instructor from school, there were several, but she really sold me on this concept of competence. Her philosophy was competence breeds leadership. When I was doing so poorly in nursing theory, I never will forget her comment.

"I can see you are not going to make the adjustment to group therapy, good. We need some real leaders!"

So you go gal!

live4today, RN

5,099 Posts

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
originally posted by susy k

renee, i agree with and understand everything you are writing, but in all reality, if nursing is to be recognized as a profession, we need to have some type of identity that is more meaurable than just caring or clairvoyance. unfortunately those types of characteristics aren't respected in the science community.

whether we have a theory or not, or even if we have a theory to not have a theory, it will hopefully be a method to help define what nursing is.

:) i couldn't help but smile as your comments took me into another whole realm of life........motherhood......and the stay at home mom. :chuckle

humor me for a minute while i type what i was just reflecting on.....using your words.....thanks:

..............if motherhood is to be recognized as a profession, we (as moms) need to have some type of identity that is more measurable than just caring or clairvoyance. unfortunately those types of characteristics aren't respected in the science (working world) community.

whether we have a theory or not, or even if we have a theory to not have a theory, it will hopefully be a method to help define what motherhood is.

thanks for taking me back to a very crucial point in history when women were fighting to be recognized as having a career...any career........that of being fulltime mothers who were raising tomorrow's generation of scientist, nurses, doctors, lawyers, ministers, teachers, computer nerds, and so forth.....even raising more career-moms who took their jobs as fulltime moms just as seriously......theory or no theory......as any woman working in the workforce was trying to do under all that pressure.

your words rang so strong to me as another analogy of life that i had lived........i happen to be experiencing many different changes in my fifty year young life right now.....so forgive me while i digressed on your words there.

i'm not mocking your desire to build a nursing theory, but as a woman who has lived so much in life, theories....as such....apply to many phases of a person's existence.....and more power to those who want a "theoretical role model" to look up to.

as for me.......the best example of what a good nursing role model is are the many wonderful "seasoned" nurses who i have had the blessed opportunity of being precepted by......along with my own very long previous work experience.....and my own experience with a long term marriage and the raising of three children that added much to my character and persona....enabling me to give the best me i could to others.....especially to my patient population, and my former coworkers. that's really all the "theory" that i want and need.

thanks again for allowing me to digress here and reflect on one stage of our history that fought hard to arrive at the point where we women are today........now we aren't fighting to be recognized as "stay at home moms".....now we are fighting to just be recognized period in the working world.......especially that of professional nursing, or whatever a woman's occupational title happens to be today.....outside of motherhood, wifehood, friendhood...etc.

i close in saying.......you go girl......and build that theory that will speak to your heart as a nurse.....and the hearts of all those nurses who seek to find a certain "theorist's thinking process" as their nursing role model. i wish you nothing but the best in your endeavors as a nurse, and as one who feels so strongly as you do about a subject that is obviously very passionate to you. :kiss :nurse:

WashYaHands

455 Posts

As can be seen by many posters, you don't have to be knowledgable about any nursing theory to be a good nurse. Everyone has their own personal belief about what nursing is and why we do things a certain way. There are really no wrong answers. Theories exist to explain and define abstract concepts. If you put 50 nurses in a room and asked each one to answer the question, "what is caring?" you'd probably get 50 different answers. The only difference between Jean Watson and those 50 nurses is that Jean Watson looked at the concept of caring and published a theory about it. Bottom line is...I dont think about theories when I'm working and most of the time the medical aspect of care is the priority. I've enjoyed reading the posts and appreciate sharing of personal beliefs of what nursing is and how we can better explain and measure what we do.

Suzy, I believe I read that you are in a MSN program with an education focus. There is a book, written by Jean Watson and Olivia Bevis, titled "Toward A Caring Curriculum". Please don't slap me! lol. Great thread, I've enjoyed it.

Linda

oops, had to edit my spelling, behold the dink theory!

Q.

2,259 Posts

Specializes in LDRP; Education.

Maybe I am having a DOH moment, but I couldn't follow you Renee.

I don't think you can compare motherhood to a professional nurse, and even if there are similarities, I'm not sure I want them compared. I am not a mom and I have no desire to be one at this point. I am a nurse though and have read about theories that I simply don't agree with.

The point is that there are theories out there, whether you actively use them in practice or not is not really the issue. Most theories are written after observing nurses anyway. The point is that most of the theories that are out there are, to me, useless, with the exception of Orem. I feel like that I want to overturn or disprove Watson.

I firmly believe nursing has not advanced to a level that we crave because of feminist theories that are still hanging out there.

Q.

2,259 Posts

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by WashYaHands

. There is a book, written by Jean Watson and Olivia Bevis, titled "Toward A Caring Curriculum". Please don't slap me! lol. Great thread, I've enjoyed it.

Eeek! :eek:

Ya, I already know whole curriculums are built on Watson and Neuman. Yikes.

And we wonder why we don't seem to attact men to the profession. :rolleyes:

live4today, RN

5,099 Posts

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

Susy k said:

"Maybe I am having a DOH moment, but I couldn't follow you Renee."

Renee replies:

You will one day, Susy k......that's IF you ever become a Mom. ;)

Susy k said:

"I don't think you can compare motherhood to a professional nurse, and even if there are similarities, I'm not sure I want them compared. I am not a mom and I have no desire to be one at this point."[/b]

Renee replies:

Yes, a mother most certainly can compare the life-long career of motherhood with ANY profession......INCLUDING nursing. ;) However....you won't understand this until you become a mom yourself.

No sweat! Carry on.........:nurse:

OK but really...How often do we use some of the theory we have learned, other than policy, guideline and clinical treatment "how-to" when we practice nursing? I can't even say on an administrative nursing level it is used. :confused:

hpyrn

32 Posts

I dont know i once had a patient that had molested his step daughter and when about to be arrested shot himself in the stomach so he could come to the hospital instead, i rather enjoyed in a sick kind of way changing that bandage and hearing him moan in pain, opps didnt i give you that pain med before i did this-hmm i really meant to!!! But for the most part i think a certain kind of person becomes a nurse, most of us figure it out without any one writing it in a book and the ones that dont find a different way to use their education. nuff said

rncountry

405 Posts

Jim, absolutely fantastic article! After the first couple paragraphs I thought about when I was a nursing student just before graduation. There was a lecture by a guest speaker that we all had to attend, our regular lectures were over, clinicals were over, but we could not graduate unless we went to this last lecture. I settled in expecting some wonderful knowledge from a PhD nurse, instead we got a lecture on how to fluff aura's. I literally was holding my sweater over my mouth trying to stifle my laughter because I was afraid that I would not graduate if anyone knew how hard I was laughing. It did not help that my friends on either side of me were practicing fluffing my aura while listening to the lecture. I absolutely could not believe that anyone thought this was relevent to what we would be doing in real life. Or that anyone believed this woman could see aura's. We were told anyone could develop the ability and what colors meant what illness and then how to move the hands in order to help heal that illness. Alrighty then!

I have patients I don't even like, let alone care for like my family. I do however care about how I perform my job, and care about whether I do it well.

Suzy I hope you write something that means something to real nursing. I look forward to reading it. If anyone can do it, you can.

Q.

2,259 Posts

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

Yes, a mother most certainly can compare the life-long career of motherhood with ANY profession......INCLUDING nursing. ;) However....you won't understand this until you become a mom yourself.

No sweat! Carry on.........:nurse:

Well then you've proven my point. Nursing tries so hard to make itself distinct from any other medical/scientific/health care profession, when really, we carry qualities that are no different than any other profession.

And as a nurse, I can care just as much about my job as a computer programmer about a major project.

That's why Watson's theory bugs me.

live4today, RN

5,099 Posts

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

I don't know about proving any points, Susy.....I really never try to get into competitive point proving. I only speak what I have lived already,,,,,or live now.....and I view a profession as something that a person works hard to attain whether or not someone else takes pride in the work of that one individual.

I have many professions in my fifty year old life. One is motherhood (3 daughter ages: 26...28...32.....and a 17 year old stepson).

A profession.......TO ME......comes about in the way one approaches what they set out to do. Supposedly, our country was founded on Free Enterprise...which I believe in wholeheartedly. So to define a theory for each person's passion that becomes their "profession" in life.......is really an individual thing.......IMHPO. ;)

Nighty night! It's late here in TX......for this granny......so taking my NON-theoretical self to beddy bye! Sweet dreams everyone, and may you all have a great start to your work week. :kiss :nurse:

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