Health and well-being in early adolescents using Rogers' science of unitary human beings

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of perceived field motion and human field rhythms to perceived health status, health conception, and well-being in early adolescents to determine which health-related variables are most compatible with Rogers' science of unitary human beings. The sample of 142 early adolescents responded to the study instruments in classrooms. The correlations between perceived field motion and each of the other variables were statistically significant, and increased in magnitude from perceived health status to health conception to well-being. These results give credence to Rogers' evolving philosophical belief that the term well-being is more compatible than health in her science.     

Caring and the science of unitary human beings.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the ambiguity surrounding the concept of caring through situating it within one conceptual system, the Science of Unitary Human Beings. An analysis of the dialogue on caring in nursing is presented. A process of concept clarification was developed to examine points of congruence between existing literature on caring and theoretical niches expressing similar meanings in the Science of Unitary Human Beings. The process resulted in the synthesis of five constitutive meanings of caring in the Science of Unitary Human Beings: manifesting intentions, appreciating pattern, attuning to dynamic flow, experiencing the infinite, and inviting creative emergence. Narratives were developed to ground the abstract meanings in concrete human experience.     

Philosophical issues in the Rogerian science of unitary human beings

In the Rogerian science of unitary human beings, the requirements for meaning and evidence are problematic. Four-dimensionality, a major building block, is postulated to be nonspatiotemporal, nonlinear, and not predictable through knowledge of the parts. A problem arises primarily because the Rogerian system also presents "verification of concepts" as the means of testing "fit" with the real world. Evidence usually understood in the criterion of verifiability in the logical empiricist tradition is specifiable through physicalistic terms under particular three-dimensional conditions. What are the consequences if integral (phenomenologic) evidence is taken as the criterion of meaning in the Rogerian conceptual system?     

Caring science and the science of unitary human beings: a trans-theoretical discourse for nursing knowledge development

BACKGROUND: Two dominant discourses in contemporary nursing theory and knowledge development have evolved over the past few decades, in part by unitary science views and caring theories. Rogers' science of unitary human beings (SUHB) represents the unitary directions in nursing. Caring theories and related caring science (CS) scholarship represent the other. These two contemporary initiatives have generated two parallel, often controversial, seemingly separate and unrelated, trees of knowledge for nursing science. AIM: This paper explores the evolution of CS and its intersection with SUHB that have emerged in contemporary nursing literature. We present a case for integration, convergence, and creative synthesis of CS with SUHB. A trans-theoretical, trans-disciplinary context emerges, allowing nursing to sustain its caring ethic and ontology, within a unitary science. METHODS: The authors critique and review the seminal, critical issues that have separated contemporary knowledge developments in CS and SUHB. Foundational issues of CS, and Watson's theory of transpersonal caring science (TCS), as a specific exemplar, are analysed, alongside parallel themes in SUHB. By examining hidden ethical-ontological and paradigmatic commonalities, trans-theoretical themes and connections are explored and revealed between TCS and SUHB. CONCLUSIONS: Through a creative synthesis of TCS and SUHB we explicate a distinct unitary view of human with a relational caring ontology and ethic that informs nursing as well as other sciences. The result: is a trans-theoretical, trans-disciplinary view for nursing knowledge development. Nursing's history has been to examine theoretical differences rather than commonalities. This trans-theoretical position moves nursing toward theoretical integration and creative synthesis, vs. separation, away from the 'Balkanization' of different theories. This initiative still maintains the integrity of different theories, while facilitating and inviting a new discourse for nursing science. The result: Unitary Caring Science that evokes both science and spirit.     

The human science basis of psychiatric nursing: theory and practice

Psychiatric nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) have begun to reattend to people with 'serious and enduring mental illness'. At the same time research in the USA and UK has refocused much of its attention on neuroscientific theories and models of serious mental illness. Psychiatric nurses are being encouraged to consider the value of biomedical explanations of serious illness, such as schizophrenia, and to accomodate these theories and models in the practice of nursing. This paper will examine the challenge of the biomedical approach for the continued development of psychiatric nursing theory and practice. It is proposed that psychiatric nursing needs to develop further its own 'proper focus', if it is to survive as a key player in the health care field of the 21st century.     

Utilizing Rogers' Theory of Self-Concept in mental health nursing

The work of mental health nurse is interactive in nature, the priority of which is the effective development and maintenance of a therapeutic relationship with clients This field of nursing bases its practice on theories from many schools of thought in order to provide clients with the highest quality of care One such theory is that of Carl Rogers whose practice as a psychotherapist was based on his Theory of Self-Concept This paper examines the development of the Theory of Self-Concept from the works of Cooley, Mead, Allport and Rogers and relates to the therapeutic alliance between a primary nurse and a client who has been medically diagnosed as being 'depressed' The implications for practice are considered and some of the difficulties of utilizing Rogers' theory on an in-patient unit are explored The paper emphasizes the need for nurses to be aware of the use of such theories in order to enrich the care that clients receive It also highlights the need for nurses to be aware of their own 'self when working with clients, a state that can only be achieved if the nurses themselves have adequate clinical supervision and an environment which is supportive of such work     

Using reflective practice in frontline nursing

Reflection on practice is a key skill for nurses. Engaging in regular reflection enables practitioners to manage the personal and professional impact of addressing their patients' fundamental health and wellbeing needs on a daily basis. This article briefly reviews the theoretical background underpinning the idea of reflective practice. A simple, three-step model for practical reflection is presented, which is based on theory and grounded in practice. The three-stage cycle is illustrated with a fictional clinical example to show how this reflective method can make a difference in busy practice settings.     

Using therapeutic touch in nursing practice

This article is an introduction to "therapeutic touch" and its implications for nursing. A case study provides an example of how therapeutic touch was used with an individual who fell from a ladder and injured his elbow. A brief history and assumptions that support the practice of therapeutic touch are discussed. Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings, a nursing theory, provides a theoretical basis for therapeutic touch. The method developed by Kunz and Krieger involves four phases and each of these is identified and described. General uses for therapeutic touch are presented and a variety of research studies validate the practice of therapeutic touch in nursing. Resources are provided for those who may be interested in learning more about therapeutic touch.     

Using videorecordings in pediatric nursing practice

This article explores the innovative uses of videorecordings in pediatric nursing practice. Social learning theory and primary nursing concepts provide the conceptual orientation. Creative uses of videorecordings include: enhanced family education; continuity of care through caregiver modeling and staff communication; audiovisual progress recording; and potential behavioral development in the pediatric client. Suggestions regarding technical aspects of videorecordings in the clinical area may facilitate videorecording application.