Kristen Swansons Theory of Caring - Essay Example

? Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring Kristen Swanson’s Theory of Caring Introduction Middle range theories can be applied in the field of nursing to take care of patients, families and communities at large. This paper will use a scenario common in the maternity department, in hospitals. The scenario is of a nurse who is taking care of a 42 year old female patient. The patient suffered a fatal loss of her first child after undergoing amniocentesis to evaluate for trisomy 21. The patient gets very upset and says that it is her own fault that she lost the baby. This is because she got amniocentesis performed when she would have just accepted the pregnancy. The patient feels so guilty and does not know how to live with herself. Using Kristen Swanson’s theory of caring, this paper will discuss the above scenario to illustrate how the nurse should address the situation. The theory of caring Kristen Swanson is the Dean of the school of nursing and a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina at the Chapel Hill. Swanson got famous for her theory of caring. She developed the theory with intent of helping pregnant women who lose their pregnancy. The theory suggested that, in a situation where a nurse demonstrates that they care about a patient, the effect is as necessary to the patient as it could be had the nurse provided clinical activities to the patient (Grove et al, 2013). The clinical activities include preventing infections and administering medications. In the theory, Swanson referred to four phenomena that entail the field of nursing. These according to the theory are nursing, patient, health and an environment. The theory defined nursing as the informed caring of the well being of other people. It further defined patients as individuals who are in the process of becoming. The theory entailed five processes that should be followed when providing care to the patient. The five processes included knowing, being with, doing for, enabling and maintaining belief. The theory highlighted that each woman gets valued and treated as an individual while each midwife gets wholly committed to woman-centered care. Swanson described ‘knowing’ as the process of trying to understand a situation as it is in another person’s life. According to the process of knowing, one should not try to assume or conclude how another person feels without the evidence (Gottlieb, 2013). It should be evidence-based. The process involves getting information from the patient through personal experiences narrated by the patient as well as thorough testing done on the patient. The process of ‘being with’ according to the theory involves being there for or with the woman. The nurse should be in a position to be there for the woman. They should be able to provide the physical, psychological and emotional support to the woman. In order to achieve this, there should be effective communication between the woman and the nurse. The nurse should listen to the woman’s needs. Being with, according to the theory does not only entail being by the woman’s side physically. It also includes protecting and valuing her ideas. This can be achieved through accounting for every action taken in midwifery with evidence (Gottlieb, 2013). The third process according to the theory entails ‘doing for’. Doing for involves doing what the woman could have done to herself if she was in a position to do so. It involves identifying those activities that the woman cannot currently do for herself because of the situation that she is currently (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). This process can be viewed as the art of midwifery. It, therefore, comprises of all those activities undertaken by the nurse or midwife with an intention of making sure the woman has a successful delivery. The fourth process is enabling. This process can be described as the acts of trying to facilitate other people achieve what they wish in their life. It entails giving people power to do what they wish. In midwifery, the process involves making it available to a woman the range of choices that she can choose from in relation to their pregnancy. The woman gets to be fully informed. To achieve this, midwives have a duty of ensuring that they get aware of all the relevant guidelines. Similar to the other processes, the guidelines should be evidence-based. The fifth process entails ‘maintaining belief’. This is one of the most vital processes. The process calls for the fulfillment of the expectations held by the woman with realities. However, it is worth noting that these expectations can only be fulfilled if only they are realistic. Through maintaining belief, the midwife does all that they can to help the woman’s expectations come into a reality (Smith et al, 2013). This involves a series of evidence-based steps that the midwife undertakes. Under normal circumstances, the expectation of the woman is to have a healthy birth. The midwife should be able to realize that the process of having a healthy birth is not only physical but also spiritual. It, therefore, calls for well guided steps that make it a reality. Application of the theory The theory of caring can be applied in the above case. The woman can be seen to be regretting having had an amniocentesis test carried out on her. In order to address the guilt that the woman is going through the nurse should be able to provide the five processes of care to the woman. The nurse should get to know the situation that the woman is. The nurse should also be there for the woman. The nurse gets to provide the woman with all the support that she may require at the moment so as to recover from the guilt of having had lost her child. The process of ‘doing for’ seems unlikely in this case considering that the woman has already lost her child. The nurse can, however, try to enable the woman achieve whatever her expectations are in the future. This includes any future delivery. The nurse can also undertake to provide the woman with the relevant information on the types of medical operations associated with pregnancy. The information provided should include the risks that involve each operation. This serves to give the woman a guided decision in the future. Lastly the nurse should maintain the belief in the woman that they can still have another child. This can be done through a series of medical advice provided to the woman. Conclusion Middle range theories play a vital role in administration of health care services, in the field of nursing. The theory of caring has, for a period of over two decades, been applied in this field providing a broad range of benefits to pregnant women. The theory clearly illustrates the various processes that should be incorporated during pregnancy. The theory can further be used in other departments within the nursing field. This can be drawn from the fact that care can be needed in virtually all the departments of nursing. References Gottlieb, L. (2013). Strengths-based nursing care: Health and healing for person and family. New York: Springer Pub. Co. Grove, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2013). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier/Saunders Peterson, S. J., & Bredow, T. S. (2009). Middle range theories: Application to nursing research. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Smith, M. C., Turkel, M. C., Wolf, Z. R., & Watson Caring Science Institute. (2013). Caring in nursing classics: An essential resource. New York: Springer Pub. Read More