Can Someone Be a Nurse Without Jean Watson??

[Q.]

Ok now, as I delve back INTO nursing philosophy and theories, I come across, again, the theories of Jean Watson that have been hailed as the greatest thing since polyurethane IV bags - The Caring Theory of Nursing.

Personally, I have never been a fan of Watson, only because I feel that she OVERemphasized the caring aspect, and, in my opinion, dumbified nursing - hence, the ad campaign in the late 80's "If Caring Were Enough, Anyone Could Be a Nurse." Watson threw a fit when she saw this.

As nursing evolves to a more technically challenging field, requiring more acute assessment skills, and as the

"How Women Know" movement which has shaped nursing education for the last decade or so has become archaic, wondering what your thoughts are on if someone can be a nurse and NOT subscribe to the caring theory. Can one be a competent nurse and NOT care about her patients any more deeply than simply getting the job done?

Watson's theory goes a bit deeper than simply "caring" - more so than "caring" about any other job. But "caring" as far as honestly caring about the patient as you would your mom or dad.

Do you think someone CAN be an effective nurse WITHOUT having so much an emphasis on loving her patients?

[greenfiremajick]

Edit: Go me for dredging up a 7 year old post!

I certainly hope I can be a nurse without Jean Watson. Because i have never heard of her.

Sure you have to care about your patients to some degree, otherwise you probably wouldn't suffer through the worst the nursing profession has to offer. But i don't buy into any sort of "all you need to be is all-caring" approach.

Those nursing "theories" have got to be the biggest waste of educational time. I couldn't even quote you a nursing theory since its all a bunch of bunk in my opinion. Not a true scientific theory at all.

Hey, I'm really glad this was brought up, as it was one of the issues I pondered in regards to whether or not I should finally make the move towards applying for NS. I go between thinking that nurses should have empathy, or not. To me, the most empathic nurses are like falling star--they burn out quickly. Then there are the nurses that see nursing as a job that involves only technique, thoroughness, and competency of skills, etc.

Finally, there are those that possess both; empathy and competency.

Maybe a combination of the 2, well-balanced and performed, would be the preferred method.........That's the personal conclusion I've come to, at any rate. You don't need to personally care about every patient, just about the human being. I'll let you know if I feel any differently through and after NS!!

[shynurse]

I am just a student and have no real life experience to answer this question confidently but i believe that in some instances it may be necessary to detach yourself emotionally from your client. To care for a client as a family member may intefer with the task @ hand, however i do think that as nurses we should care for the individual with respect, diligence and morality.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Jean Watson never heard of her for years and now I see she is rearing her head and having an impact on nursing in a couple of hospitals in Arizona. I am afraid I feel she is just a revamp of what we all know but it is cool to quote her.

I wonder when the last time she put on her scrubs and did a day looking after a floor full of patients

[ShiphrahPuah]

My theory instructor said that "most of these theories are crap." When we got to Jean Watson, my instructor literally said "Just know she cared. She cared... a lot. Next." :-)

In my opinion, I don't even know why some of these theories are given any mention at all. They make nursing seem like a brainless joke.

Who was that crazy lady that thought you could "channel" good vibes into your patients through hand motions? Whack job. I would literally LOL if I saw a nurse doing that. Patient's need dilaudid to feel good vibes - not some crazy nurse waving her hands in the air.

JomoNurse, I LOVE this. I wish I had your theory instructor!

[november17, ASN, RN]

This lady actually came up in a class discussion one time when I was in nursing school. Several of my fellow students spoke up and were speaking in class about how women are better nurses because they care more. Obviously, because they are women, they had some deep well of caring, that I, as a male, do not have access to. According to them, women are compassionate while men are not. The nursing instructor didn't say a word.

I was the only male in my class, and I just sat there mortified.

While I certainly think her theory is useful to the art of nursing, I don't think think it adds 2 drops of anything to the science of it.

Just my opinion.

[november17, ASN, RN]

I wonder when the last time she put on her scrubs and did a day looking after a floor full of patients

I don't think scrubs were probably invented yet back then.

[E.R. Rookie]

If I cared about my patients like I care about my family I would be emotionally drained. Which would lead to burn out pretty quickly. I do my job and have a lot of respect for my profession as well as other nurses. What amazes me is when a nurse is downright nasty to another nurse. Why don't we seem to care about each other? After all we are in this together.

[talaxandra]

This lady actually came up in a class discussion one time when I was in nursing school. Several of my fellow students spoke up and were speaking in class about how women are better nurses because they care more. Obviously, because they are women, they had some deep well of caring, that I, as a male, do not have access to. According to them, women are compassionate while men are not. The nursing instructor didn't say a word.

I was the only male in my class, and I just sat there mortified.

While I certainly think her theory is useful to the art of nursing, I don't think think it adds 2 drops of anything to the science of it.

I think that's ridiculous! Some of the best nurses I've ever worked with have been men, and some of the best nurses I've worked with haven't Cared (in the Watsonian touchy feely way) about their patients at all. Convere=sely, one of the worst nurses I've ever worked with was all about the caring and communing but seven kinds of useless, especially in an emergency.

Plus, if all these students were so invested in caring they'd have noticed that their congratulating themselves based on no attribute or skill but the fluke of gender was closing out one of their own - you. I'm so sorry you had this experience.

I don't think reinforcing identity roles based on gender is helpful, useful, relevant or even accurate. Some men are capable of deep caring, some women aren't, and neither has much to do with whether or not one's a good nurse. I agree about the art of nursing versus the science of it, too.

I know this thread's 7 years old but clearly still controversial.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

This lady actually came up in a class discussion one time when I was in nursing school. Several of my fellow students spoke up and were speaking in class about how women are better nurses because they care more. Obviously, because they are women, they had some deep well of caring, that I, as a male, do not have access to. According to them, women are compassionate while men are not. The nursing instructor didn't say a word.

I was the only male in my class, and I just sat there mortified.

While I certainly think her theory is useful to the art of nursing, I don't think think it adds 2 drops of anything to the science of it.

Just my opinion.

I hear from patients pretty regularly that male nurses are more compassionate, gentler, and more competent. It isn't true, by the way, no matter how nice it is to hear. I do think not many little boys grow up thinking, I want to be a nurse, someday, then get into it and find it wasn't what they expected. Guys who get into nursing have made a conscious choice to swim against the current, which may tend to filter out the guys who don't have what it takes. Still, the process of becoming a nurse is hard, and women who succeed in becoming nurses have also overcome considerable adversity to do so.

An argument could be made that since guys are less attuned to their emotions, they're able to be a bit more detached, and maybe less inclined to bring their personal problems to work. Sounds plausible on paper, but it also doesn't hold up in the real world. I try hard to stay centered and not let problems at home interfere with my job. Well, I usually don't have a lot of problems at home, but that has more to do with being 53 than being male. As you get older, your life gets more settled, usually. And I also try hard not to get so emotionally invested in my patients that I can't be effective. Some of their stories are very sad, and I feel sad for them. Some are PITAs, and they annoy me, but I don't hate them. Sometimes--maybe all the time--they have fairly good reasons for being PITAs, and while that's not my fault, I can try to understand. But part of what it takes to stay on an even keel is being attuned to my emotions. And one of the things I most enjoy about working with the women I work with is that they're strong. A good nurse has to be able to access his feminine side and her masculine side.

I interpret the feedback I get from patients to be that they are more likely to notice a male nurse who cares. It's something they don't really expect, and it sticks with them. Similarly, they're more apt to notice the occassional female who doesn't care. The ones who are smart, dedicated, and compassionate get taken for granted, because they're following the stereotype. The occassional male who acts like a jerk--well, that's no surprise, so it doesn't attract as much attention.

I dunno. You can theorize all day long. What I've actually seen is that the very best nurses I know are almost all women. Women who've been nurses for decades. The handful of males I've seen with decades of experience are also damned good nurses. Most of the worst nurses I've seen have also been women, but the very worst of all was a male. Most of the male nurses I've known have been decent, caring, competent guys working their way toward expertise. So are most of the females. Pick any type of nurse you want, and most of them are female. Geez, I'm feeling a bit outnumbered.

I can't think of a guy on my unit I would want to be my nurse, but only because I am a nurse, so the last think I want is for someone to be my nurse. If you need someone to be your nurse, you're sick, and that sucks. But if I had to have a nurse, any guy on my unit would be fine. I can think of a couple of gals I wouldn't feel so confident with, but that's out of a much larger sample. 100% of five guys is a much smaller absolute number than 95% of fifty gals (which, I believe, would be 47.5 gals, neatly accounting for two I wouldn't trust and one I'm not sure about.)

In conclusion, I have no conclusions about male nurses vs. female nurses, except that they do have us fairly severely outnumbered. Well, that, and I do stand by my belief that if there were more male nurses, there would be a lot less stress and only slightly higher patient mortality. But as far as the poster's classroom discussion, I will say that if engineering school was no more relevant to engineering than nursing school is to nursing, I'd be typing this by candlelight and walking to work. (Although, the engineers I've known have also said they didn't know diddly until they'd been on the job awhile...)

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

I have worked with a manager who thinks she is Jean Watson but in reality she was nothing like what JW preaches.

[Karynica, RN]

Who is Jean Watson? I graduated 15 years ago as an RN and haven't a clue who she is.

[tferdaise]

Jean Watson is a nursing Theorist, in most ADN programs, Nursing Theory isn't a class that is tought, that is taught in BSN programs. Each BSN program follows a certain nursing theory, all hospitals follow a certain nursing theory. My BSN program follows Dortha Orem.

Who is Jean Watson? I graduated 15 years ago as an RN and haven't a clue who she is.