Western Governors University

• C304 PROFE 304

• RGP1 — RGP TASK 1: PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY April D. Hoare Western Governors University C304 Professional Roles and Values Rachel Lull August 31, 2021 2 RGP1 — RGP TASK 1: PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY A: Nursing Theory Jean Watson’s theory of human caring is the nursing theory that has most influenced my goals and values as a nurse. This theory states that humans are holistic beings that are greater than the simple sum of their parts. It also says that caring is a transpersonal relationship between the nurse and the patient that allows for healing and empowerment. There are 10 “carative” factors involved in Watson’s theory that describe the source of caring and how caring manifests itself in the nurse-patient relationship. In short, the theory of caring is a holistic theory that examines the nurse-patient relationship from many different aspects. (Jacob & Cherry, 2019) As already mentioned, Watson’s Caring Theory views humans as much more than simply a person with specific medical needs, such as a broken leg resulting from a car accident. The patient is seen as a holistic being with physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs. In addition, the nurse-patient relationship is seen as critical to the healing process. By holistically viewing the patient, the nurse quickly notices more issues than simply the physical injuries resulting from the accident. For example, if the patient was at fault for the accident, he might be struggling with feelings of guilt. Maybe there are now relationship issues or financial stress. All these things affect the healing process, and a nurse guided in professional practice by the tenets of Caring Theory can provide the most excellent care of her patients. I view my nursing practice as very holistic, considering the patient’s entire circumstances as much as possible. For example, when I did hospice nursing, in addition to standard end-of-life physical symptoms that were frequently present, patients and their families were often dealing with other issues as well. These might include finding closure or healing family relationships. Sometimes, the patient or family had unresolved spiritual