Being in the nursing profession for over 15 years, I recognize that nurses seldom stop and pause to take time for ourselves or just enjoy being in the moment. Perhaps that is why I asked to be cleared two days after having a pacemaker placed so I could still make my scheduled speaking engagement at the International Association of Human Caring (IAHC). With a smile, and bit of hesitation, Dr. Alimohammad said, “are you serious?” He could see it in my eyes how important this opportunity meant to me, and then with a sigh, he said, “if you go with your wife, promise to take it easy, and do not lift anything over 10 pounds, you can go.” “Oh yes, thank you,” I said, “no problem, consider it done!!” So, on May 29, 2018, two days after my last health scare, my wife and I once again boarded a Southwest airplane, setting off to the 39th annual IAHC conference held in beautiful Minneapolis Minnesota.
As a first-time attendee I was excited for the opportunity to present and learn from some of the most amazing and caring nurses from around the globe. The other reason I was pushing to attend was that after a rigorous peer review, my abstract titled, The Business and Science of Caring: Experiences and Perceptions of a Nurse Entrepreneur, was accepted by the IAHC committee to present at the 2018 IAHC conference. This was also a wonderful opportunity to share my story of why and how our organization decided to choose and implement Dr. Jean Watson’s theory into its daily business operations. It was also a wonderful opportunity to meet Dr. Watson in person! Upon my arrival, I found out that Jean had an overlapping conference that would prevent her from attending this year’s IHAC conference. To this effect, it wasn’t meant to be so I would need to wait for another opportunity. As nurses, we have many nursing theorists to emulate and adopt into our practices. Dr. Watson is the theorist that resonates with me, as her ideas focus on transforming traditional healthcare economics to caring economics. This is especially important, as nursing is one of the few caring sciences in the world. My desire and passion to disseminate her theory was also fostered from my interactions and frequent dialog with fellow nurse collogues/mentors, Darrice Kelly MS, RN, Lisa Flack DNS, MS, RN and Debra Wolff RN, PCNP, DNS.
Watson (2006) cautioned against the emergence of healthcare systems and practices lacking human caring values. Addressing this decline, she offered a solution that helped our organization tie in economics to professional ethos, emphasizing that the two principles, often considered antithetical, can be balanced and integrated for individual and public good. Further, she issued a call to create systems grounded in caring theory guided by strong ethical and moral practices. The period was also marked by nurse entrepreneurism in consulting and practice-based businesses (Wilson, Whitaker, Whitford, 2012), many of which followed a typical business model informed by economic and business theory.
For my presentation, my work was centered on the integration of Watson's Caring Science (2008) into the value structure of a nurse-owned and nurse-operated staffing business that developed during this period and steadily evolved over the next eleven years into a socially responsible, caring business. In the beginning of sharing my presentation, I paused briefly, to reflect on my experiences prior to this event and then happily smiled at the audience before speaking. At that moment, I realized this presentation wasn’t going to be what I originally rehearsed or planned. It was then that my story started to unfold with each slide. As my words flowed effortlessly and centered on why I became a nurse and then to back to discussing how and why I became nurse entrepreneur, I explained how Watson’s theory is finely interwoven into every aspect of our organization’s vision and mission. As I continued to share and explain my path much like others in this world, I explained this was truly my calling as I was propelled by the multitude of caring experiences and events throughout my life, which drew me into the wonderful art and science of both nursing and business. I also shared my beliefs by ways of knowing, a concept identified by Carper (1978), or that “aha” moment when we discover the meaning of understanding a phenomenon that can’t be easily explained by one’s words.( Paraphrased from Web Excelsior College). For me, that happened by the many workings of the universe and divine interventions that propelled me into nursing while having visions of creating a socially responsible business focus on making a lasting impact on patient care, the nursing profession, and the communities we serve.
Lastly, in summarizing my take away at the IAHC is that I learned new ways of knowing and how others adopted Dr. Watson’s theories into their work. I also identified different paths on how to harness and use the Caritas Processes into my work. This came by way of listening to other presenters’ stories which required the audience to pause and be present in that moment. Finally, I ended the presentation by asking everyone to listen to their heart beats for a few seconds and take a few deep breaths. In those brief seconds of time, I felt the sensation of a renewed awaking and deep appreciation for the opportunity to be surrounded by so many caring and loving nurses from around the world. As the silence lifted, a buzz started to fill the room as warm smiles and questions filled the air.
-David Theobald, MS, RN, CSP (CEO and President of Stat Staff Professionals)
References
https://life.excelsior.edu/nursing-the-ways-of-knowing/
Ray, M., Turkel, M (2012). A transtheoretical evolution of caring science within complex systems. International Journal for Human Caring, 16(2), 29-39.
Watson, J. (2006). Caring theory as an ethical guide to administrative and clinical practices. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 30(1), January/March, 48-55.
Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring (rev. ed.). Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
Wilson, A., Whitaker, N., Whitford, D. (2012) Rising to the challenge of health care reform with entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial nursing initiatives. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 17(2). DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol17No02Man05