Posted: March 24th, 2023

Grand Nursing Theorist: Jean Watson

According to McEwen and Willis (2014), the Jean Watson theory falls under the grand nursing category because it focuses on three crucial nursing aspects, including interactive process, human needs, and unitary process. Notably, the theory focuses on the transpersonal caring, which exists between the patient and the nurse. In the book Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring (1979), Watson indicated carative factors as the central and fundamental aspects of a patient’s care (Caruso, Cisar, & Pipe, 2008). In Jean Watson’s model, the nurses are encouraged to offer services that would assist them in their evolution of consciousness to gain more satisfaction in work and life (Smith, 2004). Her theory comprised specific carative factors that are aimed at providing a basis for the nursing discipline established for compassion and understanding.

On the other hand, the four critical metaparadigms of nursing include health, person, nursing and the environment. Jean Watson’s theory focused on health, nursing, and person concepts. In addition, the model is made up of some fundamental assumptions, which form the basis of the method of caring. One of the assumptions states that caring is easily practiced and demonstrated interpersonally, indicating that personal contact is vital for caring to occur. Therefore, caring must incorporate carative factors for the fulfillment of the various human needs. Besides, active caring is significant in the promotion of family, individual growth, and health. Caring is more inclined to “healthogenic” as opposed to curing. It is worth noting that caring can contribute to the overall wellness for both the patients and their families. Jean Watson has used these assumptions in the development of her theory of human caring.