Theoretical Framework

Nursing is a unique discipline, shaped by its own concepts and practices. The defining

distinctions are framed by what is commonly known as nursing theory. Nursing theories are

organized, knowledge-based concepts that essentially define the scope of nursing practice. This

scope would include what constitutes nursing, what nurses are typically tasked with, and the

reasons why these tasks are in place.

This study anchors on Jean Watson’s theory of Human Caring.   The caring theory is a

theoretical framework developed by Jean Watson to help enhance nursing practice, management,

education and research. Watson believes that health professionals make social, moral, and

scientific contributions to humankind and that nurses’ caring ideal can affect human

development.  Caring goes beyond just caring for a patient but also caring for oneself.  Nurses

and patients should share caring moments that become bigger than either the nurse or the patient,

and the nurse potentiates healing by involving their own humanity. In these "caring moments"

life is transcended, and the moment becomes part of both the patient and the nurse's life. 

Watson’s philosophy and science of caring is concerned on how nurses express care to

their patients. Her theory stresses humanistic aspects of nursing as they intertwine with scientific

knowledge and nursing practice. She contends that caring regenerates life energies and

potentiates capabilities, is central to nursing practice, and promotes health better than a simple

medical cure. Watson also emphasizes that nurses should care for themselves to be able to care

for others in promoting health, preventing illness, caring for the sick, and restoring health.

Caring is a mutually beneficial experience for both the patient and the nurse, as well as all health

team members.

Another theory by Daniel Goleman on the Emotional Intelligence states that EI is a

cluster of skills and competencies, which are focused on four capabilities: self-awareness,

relationship management, and social awareness. This study considered the mixed models and

the ability model. Mixed models conceptualize EI as a conglomeration of characteristics,

including empathy, motivation, persistence, optimism, and social skills. Mixed EI is typically

measured through self-report instruments, and it overlaps extensively with personality traits and

measures of emotional/psychological well-being. The ability model, in contrast, defines EI as the

integration of several capacities: “the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express

emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to

understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote

emotional and intellectual growth”. Ability EI is assessed in adults using the Mayer-Salovey-

Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) which assesses each of the four abilities

(“branches”) of perceiving, facilitating, understanding, and managing emotions. MSCEIT scores

show a positive relationship with various domains of daily life, including mental and physical

health, social functioning, and academic and workplace performance.

The theories mentioned above lead the researchers to appropriately design the research

structure of the study in order to accomplish the specific objectives or answer the specific

problems.

Conceptual Framework

Nursing Care

According to Jean Watson the metaparadigm concepts in nursing includes the person or

human being, health, and nursing. She referred human being as a valued person in and of him or

herself to be cared for, respected, nurtured, understood and assisted; in general, a philosophical
view of a person as a fully functional integrated self. Human is viewed as greater than and

different from the sum of his or her parts. Health, meanwhile, is defined as a high level of overall

physical, mental, and social functioning; a general adaptive-maintenance level of daily

functioning; and the absence of illness, or the presence of efforts leading to the absence of

illness. And nursing as a science of persons and health-illness experience that are mediated by

professional, personal, scientific, and ethical care interactions.

She devised 10 caring needs specific carative factors critical to the caring human

experience that need to be addressed by nurses with their patients when in a caring role. Watson

explains that the carative factors refer to how interventions are associated to the human care

process. As the nurse has interaction with the patient, the carative factors become actualized. She

further explains that higher levels of caring can occur between different nurses and different

experiences.

Watson’s 10 carative factors are: (1) forming humanistic-altruistic value systems, (2)

instilling faith-hope, (3) cultivating a sensitivity to self and others, (4) developing a helping-trust

relationship, (5) promoting an expression of feelings, (6) using problem-solving for decision-

making, (7) promoting teaching-learning, (8) promoting a supportive environment, (9) assisting

with gratification of human needs, and (10) allowing for existential-phenomenological forces.

The first three factors form the “philosophical foundation” for the science of caring, and the

remaining seven come from that foundation.

The structure for Jean Watson's science of caring includes ten carative factors.  These concepts

were adapted for Watson's theory based on the assumptions that were both stated and implicit

within her theory

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman’s five components of emotional intelligence covered Emotional self-

awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Social skills. The first is Self-awareness

which refers to the capacity to recognize and understand emotions and to have a sense of how

one’s actions, moods and the emotions of others take effect. It involves keeping track of

emotions and noticing different emotional reactions, as well as being able to identify the

emotions correctly. Self-awareness also includes recognizing that how we feel and what we do

are related, and having awareness of one’s own personal strengths and limitations. It is

associated with being open to different experiences and new ideas and learning from social

interactions.
 Second is Self-regulation, this aspect of EI involves the appropriate expression of

emotion. Self-regulation includes being flexible, coping with change, and managing conflict. It

also refers to diffusing difficult or tense situations and being aware of how one’s actions affect

others and take ownership of these actions. Third, is Social Skills which refers to interacting well

with other people. It involves applying an understanding of the emotions of ourselves and others

to communicate and interact with others on a day-to-day basis. Different social skills include –

active listening, verbal communication skills, non-verbal communication skills, leadership, and

developing rapport. The fourth component is Empathy which refers to being able to understand

how other people are feeling. This component of EI enables an individual to respond

appropriately to other people based on recognizing their emotions. It enables people to sense

power dynamics that play a part in all social relationships, but also most especially in workplace

relations. Empathy involves understanding power dynamics, and how these affect feelings and

behavior, as well as accurately perceiving situations where power dynamics come into force. The

last is Motivation, when considered as a component of EI, refers to intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic

motivation means that an individual is driven to meet personal needs and goals, rather than being

motivated by external rewards such as money, fame, and recognition. People who are

intrinsically motivated also experience a state of ‘flow’, by being immersed in an activity. They

are more likely to be action-oriented, and set goals. Such individuals typically have a need for

achievement and search for ways to improve. They are also more likely to be committed and take

initiative.

In view of the 5 components of Emotional Intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation,

social skills, empathy, and motivation, Nurses should possess these components of emotional

intelligence to be able to deliver nursing care.

https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/what-is-nursing-theory/#:~:text=This%20theory%20is

%20built%20on,of%20mental%20illnesses%2C%20including%20schizophrenia

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caring/#:~:text=Nursing%20is%20defined%20by%20caring,of%20Jean%20Watson's%20Caring

%20Science.&text=By%20actively%20engaging%20in%20caring,ability%20to%20heal

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