Patient-care in Watson’s and Nightingale’s Nursing Theories

Comparing Concepts In Nursing Theories

Find a concept within Watson’s Theory of Caring and a similar concept within any other nursing theory.  Compare the two concepts for similarities and differences. Illustrate how a person reading about a theory can be influenced in their understanding of a theory if they have a different definition of a concept than the author.

Patient-care in Watson’s and Nightingale’s Nursing Theories

Jean Watson and Florence Nightingale developed theories that focused on the caring of patients. While the care of patients is a wide concept that encompasses many parameters, the two theorists approached it from almost similar perspectives. Nightingale’s theory elaborates on how the immediate environment of the patient impact on their health (Alligood, 2013). On the other hand, Watson’s theory elaborates on the impact of the relationships between nurses and the patients and how it affects patient care and health outcomes. This paper elaborates on the similarities and differences of patient caring in the two theories, as well as the impact of a reader having a different definition of a concept on their understanding of a nursing theory.

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In the two theories, the focus is put on the patient with the main target who should be at the center of nurses’ attention. Nightingale expounds on the manipulation of the patient’s immediate environment in order to provide the patient with the most suitable conditions for healing (AliSher et al., 2019). This includes ensuring proper air circulation and regular changing of beddings. Watson explains that it is important for nurses to be close to their patients as this helps to improve health outcomes (AliSher et al., 2019). The main differences in the concept of caring in the two theories, however, are the fact that caring of patients is elaborated from different perspectives. While Watson insists on nurse-patient relationships as the most important aspect in patient caring, Nightingale considers the environmental factors to be of central significance to a patient’s health (Alligood, 2013).

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A person needs to have a clear understanding and definition of a concept in a manner that is in concert with the author’s in order to understand what the author is talking about. Difference in understanding of concepts between the reader and the author may lead to misunderstanding. This is because different concepts can be defined differently or approached and effected differently. The reader might therefore need to skim through a theory before taking a deep reading in order to get an idea of what the writer is talking about.

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In conclusion, it is clear that patient care is a concept that is covered in both Watson’s and Nightingale’s theories. The concept is similar in the two theories in the emphasis put by the theorists on patient care. The difference in the two theories as far as patient caring is concerned is the approach that the two theories emphasize on. It is also clear that a reader and an author must have a shared understanding nd definition of a concept if the reader is to fully understand an author’s nursing theory.

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