Nursing Theory in Practice

Nursing Theory in Practice

            Nursing is a sensitive field as it involves taking care of people’s lives at their weakest. Nursing theories and models come in to help in making sense of the activities that are carried out during nursing practice. Most of the theories and models aim at equipping nurses with the knowledge that is required for better nursing outcomes and quality care. One of the most common nursing models is the theory developed by Jean Watson. Watson’s theory of care brings together concepts that develop a model to address several issues that arise in the field of healthcare. Watson attempts to shift the perspective of nursing from medical administration to caring. A case is presented to show the applicability of Watson’s model in nursing and its relationship to other nursing theories. Generally, Watson’s model aims at making the nursing experience more involving and fruitful. The application of Watson’s model in a clinical case brings out the role of nursing care in the healthcare field and explains how nursing is not only about the administration of drugs but also the provision of care.

I once encountered a clinical experience that has since changed my perception concerning nursing. The case involved a lady who was struggling with infertility issues. Generally, infertility issues are rare in the nursing field because people choose to solve their issues at the gynecologist’s center, and nurses are rarely involved. Only serious cases get to the extent of needing a nurse’s intervention. Also, most people are afraid of explaining personal health matters to nurses and prefer to talk to personal doctors. The moment I read the client’s note from her doctor, I knew that she needed serious attention because matters to do with fertility require more than medical intervention. The psychological aspect of infertility and the social impact on the lady’s family could have been the reason for her decision to come out for treatment. The lady had gone through the invitro-fertilization process but failed after the first attempt.

Fertilization treatment is a complicated procedure because the patient cannot be certain as to whether or not the procedure will be successful. Most procedures become successful after a series of retreatment attempts, and the patient’s psychological ability is crucial. Patients have been said to fail in the processes if emotional distress is allowed to take toll on them. Therefore, nurses come in to take care of the patient’s wellbeing and prepare them for the retreatment process. Some of the reasons behind emotional distress may be that the patient gives up, feels worthless, or even feels neglected. My client had failed in the first attempt and needed preparation for retreatment (McEwen & Wills, 2017). I could see that the lady was distressed and was not ready for retreatment. I, therefore, developed a care plan to help the lady accept the initial results of the failed attempts and prepare her for retreatment. The retreatment, however, had to consider several factors such as the most convenient time as well as the lady’s psychological readiness. Therefore, the case presents an effective study for the application of Watson’s theory of human care in preparing a lady who has failed in the first attempt to undergo fertility treatment.

Watson’s theory of human care considers the two paradigms of human and nursing. The human paradigm defines a patient as a human being and that any decisions concerning their health should consider the physical, self, environment, nature, and the larger universe (Pajnkihar, McKenna, Štiglic & Vrbnjak, 2017). According to Watson, a patient cannot be treated as an object, and that nursing is more than the medical recommendations needed to cure the patient. Generally, a patient should be comfortable while receiving nursing care, and the environment should e developed to help in the overall recovery procedure. Besides, nursing incorporates a humanistic approach in the handling of patients and their conditions. Watson attempts to create a balance between the patients’ health and the experience that they have already gone through. Therefore, Watson’s model best fits the case of the infertile lady owing to its people-oriented nature and the creation of a balance between patients’ health and human experience.

The concepts incorporated in Watson’s model lead to its effectiveness in applying to the case of the infertile lady’s case. The major concepts of Watson’s model are human beings, society, nursing, and health. Generally, the lady depends on the four concepts to be successful in the potential retreatment. First, the society plays a crucial role in determining the feelings of belonging or neglect by the lady. For example, a society that expects all ladies to have children exerts pressure on infertile ladies and could force ladies into depression. However, a nurse may not have control on the perspectives held by the society and should therefore consider dealing with the patient. The lady can be trained to take her situation as a challenge that will make her grow stronger after successful retreatment. The human being aspect is also applicable in this case. The lady is expected to have human feelings of despair since she desperately needs to bare children. Watson’s model requires that she should be valued, understood, and helped in achieving her goals.

Moreover, the nursing aspect plays a central role in ensuring that the other concepts are applied effectively. Watson’s model treats nursing as a profession based on experiences that help in developing a caring individual. All the transactions by the nurse are expected to ethically help the lady towards overcoming any possible challenges. Also, the health of the lady comes in handy in addressing her issue. The lady’s body, soul, and spirit are needed to e in harmony so that she can manage to accept the results and go for retreatment. Besides, the major challenge with the lady is balancing the perceived self and the experienced self. Furthermore, Watson’s model is related to other theories that hold similar perspectives on nursing. Henderson’s theory by Virginia Henderson, for example, holds the position that nursing is holistic. Also, Orem’s theory concentrates on the care of the patient rather than medication and is similar to Watson’s model (Zaidouni et al. 2019). Watson Model also borrows from Swanson’s theory of caring and gives priority to the patient’s care. The three theories are related in that they advocate for patient care and pay little attention to medical administration, similar to Watson’s model.

In sum, the application of Watson’s model in a clinical case brings out the role of nursing care in the healthcare field and explains how nursing is not only about the administration of drugs but also the provision of care. The psychological aspect of infertility and the social impact on the lady’s family in the case could have been the reason for her decision to come out for treatment, and Watson’s model is efficient. Watson’s model requires that the lady should be valued, understood, and helped in achieving her goals. Generally, Watson’s model best fits the case of the infertile lady owing to its people-oriented nature and the creation of a balance between patients’ health and human experience.