Jean Watson Caring Science

morphed · Jul 15, 2010

I am a Christian, and I feel it should be ok to refuse to get this training about Jean Watson's "theory" if I don't believe in it.

What does your religion have anything to do with this? Unless your hospital is forcing religious acts upon you, go to the seminar and start incorporating what it taught you into your day at work.

PetiteOpRN · Jul 15, 2010

There have been several threads here about her theories. I really don't know enough about her, but what I have read seems a little "out there."

If I were in your shoes (and I am a Christian too), I would go and listen. They might not convince me of anything, but if you go then you can make a decision for yourself about whether or not it is appropriate to apply some parts to your nursing practice. And if you sit there and think, "Well, I don't really agree with her reasoning, but I do agree that it is good to listen to patients, and that might even be something that I can improve on as a nurse" that's great.

It might be uncomfortable, but so are many things in life. Maybe hearing it will help challenge your own beliefs and make them stronger. Good luck, I look forward to hearing what you think.

anurseatlast · Jul 15, 2010

The nursing school I went to idolized Jean Watson. We talked about her carative factors ALL the time. Really, it seemed to me that her theory is mostly about thinking about how we interact with our patients and how we can best meet their emotional needs as well as physical. It did not seem too "out there" to me (at least that I remember - it was a few years ago) and I am pretty conservative. Just because you go to the training doesn't mean you have to do anything that goes against your personal beliefs. You might find that it just reinforces valuing each person - somethiing that is definitely in line with Christian priciples.

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Jul 15, 2010

Please come back to allnurses and post afterwards. :)

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 15, 2010

I definitely agree with the others. Go to the class and see for yourself what you are being asked to do as an employee. If you find that it conflicts too much with your personal beliefs, then you can start looking for another job. But you might find that what you will be asked to do will not conflict with your personal beliefs. You'll never know until you go to the class.

You'll need to either find a way to reconile your beliefs with the caring priniciples that your hospital is adopting or find another job. It doesn't have to be an exact match, but you have to be able to reconcile it in your mind. I have worked for 2 Catholic hospitals in my career -- and I am not Catholic.

MA Nurse · Jul 15, 2010

After looking at her website, it just sounds so new age and occult-like. And why would she be in the Mary Baker Eddy library? that woman is the founder of a religion that hardly believes in medicine. Very odd IMO. I will probably go and just roll my eyes.

mamamerlee, LPN · Jul 15, 2010

So much for open-mindedness, and the curiousity of learning something new.

I do not roll my eyes when being exposed to new ideas. And every religion started out as a 'cult'. If you work in a diverse culture you can appreciate many different belief systems without adhering to them. Some of them predate Christianity - and may have something to offer you.

MA Nurse · Jul 15, 2010

So much for open-mindedness, and the curiousity of learning something new.
I do not roll my eyes when being exposed to new ideas. And every religion started out as a 'cult'. If you work in a diverse culture you can appreciate many different belief systems without adhering to them. Some of them predate Christianity - and may have something to offer you.

I can choose not to be interested in mysticism

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 15, 2010

Use the same manners you would use if you were invited to a friend's wedding at a place of worship that is not of your religion.

fungez · Jul 15, 2010

Well, I'd never heard of Jean Watson before now. Learn something new everyday, right?

I agree, she sounds like a nut. And I think hospitals are motivated by purely pragmatic reasons to pay for something like this. If they can convince us we are caring angels of mercy, it'll distract us from demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Florence Nightingale never whined about her low call-back pay, did she? No, she was too noble and selfless.

Personally, I'd go. Seriously, you might learn something new. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And if it were me, I'd educate myself before I went and challenge the speaker. I'd love to do this with the Studer Group.

"So, Quint, I keep hearing about how these hourly rounding logs have proven to reduce falls and call light use. Yet I can only find one study, and it was sponsored by your group. Couldn't that be considered research bias?"

OR

"Well, Quint, I personally believe that calling patient care "customer service" is ultimately counterproductive. We are caregivers and healers, not customer service reps. What's your response to that?

So, go. If they bring up mysticism and crystal healing, tell them that violates your personal beliefs and insults your intelligence, and see how they respond. And if they don't it won't be an issue and you'll have earned some extra money and maybe a free meal, too.

Pookafert · Jul 15, 2010

When has nursing been all about "medical" care? Doctors care for the medical aspects. We as nurses have to adapt their orders to the individual needs, support systems and beliefs by incorporating these into the process often involving very little "medicine".