Accessibility Tools

Nursing

The Philosophy and Science of Caring

by Jean Watson

Paperback Price $27.95

Buy Now


"[A] sophisticated treatment of an important issue for all in the healing professions. I was . . . particularly drawn to [the] descriptions of the needs of the ill person and the decision-making process in relationship to those needs."

—Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., director of the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University

"The basic premise of [this] book, that nursing is the science of caring, will stand the test of time. [This book] is already considered the definitive source and the classic."

—Em Olivia Bevis, R.N., M.A., F.A.A.N., Professor, Georgia Southern College

 

In the evolution of the nursing profession, the phrases nursing care, therapeutic care, caring for others, and related expressions are used by nurses to describe their professional service to others. Members of our society have different thoughts and role expectations about these phrases in relation to the kind of care they receive from nurses. Furthermore, these expressions hold different meanings for nurses in their various care-giving roles, such as to individual clients, families, and community groups they serve. Care-giving and care-receiving roles of nurses have different sets of expectations and behaviors. It is well, there, that members of the nursing profession begin systematically to clarify the diverse functions and cultural values related to the concepts of care, caring, and nursing care.

The concept of care is probably one of the least understood ideas used by professional and nonprofessional people, yet it is probably one of the most important concepts to be understood by human groups. It is a word with multiple social usages in the American culture, and has other meanings in other world cultures. The terms care, caring, and nursing care have both symbolic and functional meanings as they are used by caregivers and care-recipients. Nursing care also has a general, special meaning to nurses, and is often taken for granted in nurses' thoughts and action patterns. It is time that we study the implicit and explicit meanings associated with the concepts of care and caring so that we can reduce their ambiguities. Furthermore, the humanistic, scientific, and linguistic meanings related to nursing care and caring behaviors in any culture remain a most fascinating area of study for nurses.

Dr. Jean Watson has been recognized as a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing, its highest honor. She is Distinguished Professor and Dean Emerita, University of Colorado Denver, College of Nursing Anschutz Medical Center campus, where she held the nation’s first endowed Chair in Caring Science for sixteen years. She also founded the original Center for Human Caring in Colorado. She is founder and director of the nonprofit organization Watson Caring Science Institute (www.watsoncaringscience.org). Watson is a widely published author and has received many awards, including fourteen honorary doctoral degrees from around the world. Her theory of human caring and model of caring science are used across the globe.

University Press of Colorado Logo

Details

  • Paperback Price: $27.95
  • Paperback ISBN: 978-0-87081-154-8
  • Publication Year: 1991
  • Discount Type: Short
  • Author: by Jean Watson
  • ECommerce Code: 978-0-87081-154-8
  • Get Permissions: Get Permission

Related Titles

Browse Related Titles Tagged Under:

University Press of Colorado University of Alaska Press Utah State University Press University of Wyoming Press