The Ten Caritas Processes | Dr. Jean Watson

Summary

The speaker delves into the theory of human caring, highlighting the Ten Caritas Processes as universals of caring. These processes, when internalized, can enhance confidence and professionalism in nursing. Starting with self-care, the speaker emphasizes the importance of loving-kindness towards oneself to foster compassion towards others. Each process builds upon the previous, from authentic presence to environmental influence, culminating in embracing the unknown and miracles in patient care. The talk aims to provide nurses with a shared language to articulate their caring practice.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The Ten Caritas Processes are universal aspects of human caring that can be practiced and articulated in nursing.
• 🌱 Practicing Caritas Processes can enhance confidence, professionalism, and provide a shared language for nurses.
• 🌈 Caring starts with self, emphasizing the importance of self-care and loving kindness towards oneself.
• 🎯 The first Caritas Process is about offering loving kindness and equanimity to oneself as a foundational practice.
• 💖 The heart is central to expressing compassion and love, with the heart sending more messages to the brain than vice versa.
• 🌐 Authentic presence is crucial for enabling faith and hope in patients, influencing their healing outcomes.
• 🤝 Developing authentic, trusting relationships is built upon self-sensitivity and authentic presence.
• 🌱 The ability to allow for the expression of both positive and negative feelings contributes to healing.
• 🛠 The nursing process is elevated to a creative problem-solving approach, focusing on solutions rather than problems.
• 📚 Education in nursing is personalized, focusing on the subjective meaning and inner life world of the patient.
• 🌿 The environment is seen as an extension of the nurse's presence, with the potential to be healing or harmful.
• 🙏 Meeting basic needs is considered a sacred act, to be performed with dignity and compassion.
• 🔮 The 10th Caritas Process acknowledges the unknowns in healthcare, inviting humility and openness to miracles and mysteries.

Q & A

What are the Ten Caritas Processes and why are they significant in the context of human caring?

The Ten Caritas Processes are considered universals of human caring, representing the essence of caring practices. They are significant because they provide a shared language and framework for practitioners to articulate their caring actions and being, enhancing confidence, professionalism, and the ability to communicate their practice effectively.

How does the concept of language play a role in the existence and recognition of nursing as a profession?

In the script, it is mentioned that 'if you don't have your own language, you don't exist.' This highlights the importance of having a distinct language to describe the profession's unique contributions. For nursing, having a language to articulate the practice of caring is crucial for visibility and recognition in the healthcare field.

What is the first Caritas Process and why is it foundational to the other processes?

The first Caritas Process is about offering loving kindness and equanimity to oneself. It is foundational because it emphasizes self-care and compassion, which are essential for practitioners to be able to extend compassion and care to others effectively.

How does the practice of loving kindness towards oneself contribute to the care of patients and colleagues?

Practicing loving kindness towards oneself cultivates compassion, which in turn allows for a more compassionate approach to caring for patients and colleagues. It is suggested that self-compassion enables a deeper level of empathy and understanding in professional relationships.

What is the role of the heart in the Caritas Processes, particularly in relation to the singing bowl?

The heart is considered the center for compassion and love, with the script mentioning that the heart sends more messages to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. The singing bowl, calibrated to the heart, is used to energetically communicate these higher vibration feelings, emphasizing the importance of the heart's role in the caring process.

How does the authenticity of a nurse's presence impact a patient's faith and hope?

Authentic presence, as described in the second Caritas Process, enables the faith and hope in a patient's outcome. By being genuinely present and compassionate, nurses can support patients in maintaining a positive outlook, which is supported by research on the role of faith, hope, and belief systems in health outcomes.

What is the significance of developing authentic, trusting relationships in the context of the Caritas Processes?

Developing authentic, trusting relationships is crucial as it forms the basis for effective care. It is tied to the ability to be sensitive to oneself and others, and it is essential for creating a safe space where patients feel seen, heard, and valued, which is a key component of the caring process.

How does allowing for the expression of both positive and negative feelings contribute to a patient's healing process?

Allowing for the expression of both positive and negative feelings, as outlined in the fifth Caritas Process, contributes to healing outcomes by providing patients with an outlet to externalize their internal struggles. This can lead to new insights and a better understanding of their experiences, which is a part of the therapeutic process.

What is the transformative aspect of the nursing process as described in the sixth Caritas Process?

The sixth Caritas Process elevates the nursing process beyond problem-focused care to a more creative and solution-oriented approach. It encourages nurses to engage in a co-creative process with patients, focusing on self-care, self-knowledge, and self-treatment, which can lead to more holistic and empowering care experiences.

How does the educational role of nurses differ when informed by the Caritas Processes?

Informed by the Caritas Processes, the educational role of nurses shifts from didactic teaching to a more relational and subjective approach. It involves working from the patient's frame of reference, engaging them in understanding what they need to know, and facilitating a deeper, more meaningful learning experience.

What is the significance of the environment in the Caritas Processes, and how does it relate to the nurse's role?

The environment, as discussed in the eighth Caritas Process, is significant because nurses are seen as the environment through their energetic presence and compassionate actions. They create a healing environment not just through physical surroundings but also through their attitudes and interactions, which can greatly impact the well-being of patients and colleagues.

How does the tenth Caritas Process invite humility and openness to the unknown in nursing practice?

The tenth Caritas Process emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the limits of knowledge and being open to mysteries and miracles. It invites nurses to approach patient care with humility, recognizing that there are aspects of the human experience that cannot be fully explained by traditional medical science, and to be present with patients in their experiences.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Introduction to Caritas Processes

The speaker begins by expressing enthusiasm for teaching about the theory of human caring, emphasizing the Ten Caritas Processes as universal aspects of caring. These processes, though often practiced unconsciously, can be consciously applied to enhance confidence, professionalism, and articulation of one's practice. The speaker highlights the importance of having a shared language in the nursing profession, which is crucial for visibility and communication within the field. The first Caritas Process is introduced as self-care through loving kindness and equanimity, which is foundational for extending compassion to others. The speaker suggests that nurturing this self-compassion is essential for personal and professional well-being, and it can be practiced systematically or in the moment through mindful pauses and breathing exercises.

05:03

🌱 Cultivating Sensitivity and Compassion

Paragraph 2 delves into the importance of self-awareness and sensitivity, which are necessary for developing compassion towards oneself and others. The speaker discusses the ongoing journey of self-improvement, both personally and professionally, to enhance one's ability to offer caring. The fourth Caritas Process is introduced as the development of authentic, trusting relationships, which is built upon self-sensitivity and presence. The speaker emphasizes that these processes are not linear but serve as guides to sustain and remind practitioners of their actions and being in any given moment. The fifth Caritas Process focuses on allowing the expression of both positive and negative feelings, which contributes to a patient's healing outcomes by helping them externalize and gain new perspectives on their experiences.

10:05

🌈 Advancing Nursing Practice through Caritas

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the evolution of nursing practices through the Caritas Processes. The sixth process involves a creative approach to problem-solving, moving beyond traditional nursing models to engage patients in their own self-care and healing. The seventh process highlights the educational role of nurses, emphasizing a relational and subjective approach to teaching rather than didactic instruction. The eighth process focuses on the environment, where nurses are seen as the healing environment through their energetic presence and compassion. The ninth process is about meeting basic needs with dignity and reverence, treating these acts as sacred. The tenth process encourages humility and openness to the unknown, including miracles and mysteries beyond traditional medical explanations. The speaker concludes by summarizing the Ten Caritas Processes as a guide for practice, education, and personal and professional development, with a promise of further discussion on their application in clinical practice.

Keywords

💡Caritas Processes

The Caritas Processes refer to ten fundamental practices that encapsulate the essence of human caring in the context of nursing and healthcare. These processes are seen as universal and serve as a framework for practitioners to provide compassionate and professional care. In the script, the speaker emphasizes their importance in articulating nursing practice and enhancing the visibility of nursing as a vital health profession.

💡Authentic Presence

Authentic Presence is the ability to be fully present and engaged with another person in a caring and compassionate manner. It is highlighted in the script as a critical aspect of the Caritas Processes, where the nurse's genuine engagement can help instill faith and hope in patients regarding their health outcomes. The speaker illustrates this by discussing the impact of a nurse's presence on a patient's emotional state and healing journey.

💡Loving Kindness

Loving Kindness is the practice of cultivating compassion and tenderness towards oneself and others. It is the foundational Caritas Process mentioned in the script, emphasizing the importance of self-care for nurses as a prerequisite for extending care to patients. The speaker suggests that nurturing self-compassion enables nurses to be more compassionate towards their patients and colleagues.

💡Equanimity

Equanimity, in the context of the script, refers to the mental state of being calm and even-tempered, especially in difficult situations. It is linked to the practice of Loving Kindness as a way for nurses to maintain balance and provide consistent care regardless of the emotional turmoil they may encounter in their daily work.

💡Self-Care

Self-Care is the act of taking actions to maintain or improve one's own health and well-being. The script underscores the necessity for nurses to prioritize self-care to sustain their ability to provide compassionate service. It is presented as a professional and personal commitment that is essential for the well-being of both nurses and their patients.

💡Compassion

Compassion is a deep awareness of and sympathy for the suffering of others, coupled with a desire to alleviate it. In the script, compassion is a central theme, with the speaker discussing how nurses can cultivate compassion for themselves to better serve their patients. It is integral to the Caritas Processes and the overall mission of nursing.

💡Trusting Relationships

Trusting Relationships are those founded on mutual confidence and reliance. The script highlights the importance of developing such relationships in nursing, where the nurse's ability to be sensitive and authentically present with patients fosters an environment of trust. This is crucial for patient satisfaction and successful healthcare outcomes.

💡Basic Needs

Basic Needs, as discussed in the script, refer to the fundamental requirements necessary for an individual's well-being, such as food, shelter, and healthcare. In the context of nursing, addressing these needs with dignity and compassion is seen as a sacred act, reflecting the reverence with which nurses should approach their caregiving role.

💡Humility

Humility is the quality of being modest and respectful, recognizing one's limitations. The script mentions humility as a key aspect of the 10th Caritas Process, where nurses acknowledge the mysteries and unknowns in healthcare and remain open to奇迹 and the unexplainable. This attitude allows for a deeper connection with patients and a more holistic approach to care.

💡Bioactive

Bioactive, in the context of the script, describes a caring relationship that is life-giving and nurturing. It contrasts with 'biocidic,' which implies a harmful or toxic interaction. The speaker uses this term to emphasize the positive impact that a caring and compassionate nurse can have on a patient's healing process.

💡Nursing Process

The Nursing Process refers to a systematic approach to patient care that involves assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. In the script, the speaker discusses how this process is elevated within the Caritas framework to focus on creative solutions and patient empowerment, moving beyond merely addressing problems to co-creating healing experiences with patients.

Highlights

Introduction to the theory of human caring and the Ten Caritas Processes as universals of human caring.

The importance of language in articulating nursing practice and the invisibility of nursing without a shared language.

The first Caritas Process emphasizes self-care through loving kindness and equanimity towards oneself.

The significance of the heart as a communicator of compassion and love, and its role in self-compassion.

The necessity of a professional and personal commitment to self-care for effective caring in nursing.

The second Caritas Process focuses on being authentically present to enable faith and hope in others.

The role of prayer, faith, hope, and belief systems in patient outcomes.

The third Caritas Process involves maturing sensitivity to one's own feelings and emotions.

The connection between self-sensitivity and compassion towards others.

The fourth Caritas Process is about developing authentic, trusting relationships with patients.

The importance of patients' perception of trust in their healthcare provider for a positive hospital experience.

The fifth Caritas Process allows for the expression of both positive and negative feelings, contributing to healing.

The impact of nurses' presence on patients' feelings and the potential for either enhancing or detracting from care.

The sixth Caritas Process involves a creative approach to the nursing process, focusing on solutions rather than problems.

The seventh Caritas Process highlights the educational role of nurses, emphasizing a relational approach to teaching.

The eighth Caritas Process discusses the environment as an extension of the nurse's energetic presence and its impact on healing.

The ninth Caritas Process is about meeting basic needs with dignity, humility, and compassionate service.

The tenth Caritas Process encourages humility and openness to the unknown, including miracles and mysteries in patient care.

Upcoming book on nurses' experiences with miracles in patient care.

The Ten Caritas Processes as a guide for nursing practice, education, and personal and professional development.

Transcripts

I'm delighted to continue some of the teaching about the theory

of human caring and the essence of it, which I mentioned before.

Has the language of the ten.

Ten Caritas Processes

these Ten Caritas Processes

are actually considered universals of human caring.

When you are.

Practicing caring, this is what you're.

Actually doing and this is the way in which you are being.

But you may not be aware of it.

So by giving language and voice and action to these ten.

To these Ten Caritas Processes

You can actually be more

confident, you can be more poised.

You can be more professional.

You will have the ability to articulate your

Practice and have a shared language.

And it is a reminder for.

All of us that we're in this very hectic postmodern world which is acknowledging.

If you don't have your own language, you don't exist.

And nursing being the.

Largest health profession in the world

And yet largely we've been invisible.

Because we don't have our language.

To describe to the.

Public or to our other professional colleagues

what caring is in relation to our daily practice.

So these Ten Caritas Processes

Provide you with a language and a shared way

in which you can communicate and articulate your professional practice

So the starting point

as I mentioned before

has to do with. You.

You are the ultimate instrument.

We are the human instrument.

We are the light in the institutional darkness.

But caring starts with self.

And fulfilling these

Values that bring us to this field in the first place that we have a

Responsibility to offer to the public

But how in the world

Do we sustain these humanistic, altruistic values of compassionate service.

If we do not take. Care of ourselves first?

So the very first Caritas Process has to do.

With offering loving kindness and equanimity to love with.

Yourself, loving kindness and tenderness to yourself

first, and cultivating this as a daily practice

Hospitals that are doing this work.

They may take a whole

Month just for the nurses to engage.

In systematic attention to the practice of.

Loving kindness and equanimity and kindness.

Gentleness, tenderness with themselves

so we can have.

Compassion for self.

Therefore, we have compassion for our colleagues

We have compassion for our

Patients and for the families and

All the emotional turmoil that we go through in our daily life.

So the first Caritas Process has to do with.

That foundational starting point.

And in the.

Earlier sequence, I actually started with the singing bowl

Which is calibrated to the heart, because the.

Heart vibration actually energetically

Communicates these

Higher vibration feelings of

Compassion and love from our heart.

Our heart actually sends more messages to the brain

than the brain sends to the heart

so if we don't have a.

Practice of compassion for ourselves in our heart center.

We actually can be unkind to ourselves.

We can be unkind to other people without even intending that to be the case.

So this takes a professional commitment.

And a personal commitment

to adhere to and cultivate.

The practice of loving kindness with yourself.

This can be done in the instant

It can be done in a systematic way

It can be done on the on the floor in the moment that you're actually.

Practicing by pausing.

And breathing into this space

So that's the very First Caritas Process

The Second Caritas Process has to do

With your ability to be authentically present

To another person

And in that.

Authentic presence, in this heart centered.

heart centered awareness

This kindness, this compassionate space.

You actually are helping that person.

To enable the faith and hope about their outcome.

We know there's a great deal of research.

On the role of prayer, faith, hope, religion and.

Belief systems and value systems.

The meaning a condition

Has for a person or is contributing

To their outcome and how they engage.

In this process for themselves.

So by your presence, your authenticity.

Your ability to be there and

Hold that space

You actually are enabling the faith and hope for that other person.

So that's the Second Caritas Process

The Third Caritas Process has to do.

Again back to you and your ability to mature and be

Sensitive to yourself

And your own feelings and emotions

It's like.

Honoring the complexities of our personality,

even those parts that we may not like, but we know that.

This is part of who we are.

So we bring light into our own shadow side

as well as understanding that.

This is an.

Ongoing life journey for all of us

To learn to be more sensitive to ourselves.

So that we can be more

Sensitive to another person.

This is highly related to the compassion.

If we are able to have.

Sensitivity and kindness and compassion.

With ourselves.

Then we're able to be more sensitive and.

Have compassion to the other person.

And this is a lifelong.

Journey that we take both personally and professionally as we continue to offer

and be accountable for offering and being

Essence of.

This caring theory and offering caring

to the World.

The Fourth Caritas Process has to do.

With developing authentic, trusting relationships.

Without the first two or three processes, you.

Can't develop an authentic, trusting, helping relationship with another person.

So they all build upon each other.

Although these are not a linear sequencing of these processes.

It's like a conscious start.

You're holding the whole field in any given moment.

But these are guides.

That help you to sustain.

And be reminded

of what you're actually doing and how you are being in a given moment.

so the ability to develop.

Authentic, trusting relationships.

Is tied to your ability to.

Be sensitive to yourself its tied to.

Your ability to have an authentic presence.

It's tied to your ability to.

Have these

Sustaining values of loving,

Kindness and compassion for yourself.

So the.

Patients themselves have often told us.

That having a trusting relationship with.

Your practitioner is one of the most important.

Ingredients of their experience in a hospital.

And whether they've had a successful outcome.

So you can see how important this is.

The Fifth Caritas Process has to.

Do with

Expressing

And allowing for positive and negative feelings.

Research has shown that if you can allow.

A person to express both positive.

And negative feelings,

you actually are contributing to healing outcomes for that person.

It actually is helping them to express themselves.

To take those.

Anger of that fear, that anxiety, that tension.

That's confusing

Them in their inner mind and put it into.

An outside form so they can see themselves.

They can hear themselves differently.

They can begin to have new meaning for their own experience.

So this too, is part of the process of

Number five of allowing for.

The expression of positive.

And negative feelings.

This, too, is part of some of the classic research that's.

Been done about patients experience of.

Human caring from nurses.

This is classic research that was.

Done in Iceland.

But it's universal.

In that some patients describe some of their nurses as.

Actually making them feel worse.

So you can see how this.

Caring moment and your.

Presence, In that given moment

can either help somebody feel better or make them feel worse.

It can be unkind and.

Unsuccessful in terms of.

Helping them with their health and healing.

So this work has shown to that

Some nurses describe.

Some patients describe.

Their nurses as making.

Them feel cold or uncared for or robotic.

So this moves.

From some of the terminology of being.

Toxic or.

Biocidic to something that's referred to as.

Bioactive. Which is a more classic.

Caring relationship with a patient to what's referred to as biogenic.

The biogenic field is.

Where you have this loving kindness, compassion experience.

With the patient in a given moment and the biogenic moment.

And this process of being present in.

That way is life giving and life.

Receiving for both the patient and for.

You as the nurse.

So this too, is part of.

Developing that trusting.

Helping relationship and is a continuation of all.

Of these Caritas Processes together.

The Sixth Caritas Process has to do.

With what we all know and love and have learned about the nursing.

Process, except it takes the nursing process to.

An entirely different level moving beyond just problems.

Because we know now in our.

New science that if you focus.

On problems, you're going to have a bigger and bigger

focus on that problem is going to get bigger and bigger.

So this is an opportunity for us to use the.

Creativity.

our gifts and talents in.

Ways that we can be creative.

Use multiple ways of knowing we actually can engage in a creative.

Process of solutions.

Seeking it moves us into.

New models of coaching.

And counseling.

Patients on self-care, on self-knowledge, on self treatment

So you can actually participate and have the patient engage in their own

creative process.

Along with you.

So you're co-creating this caring process together.

The Seventh Caritas Processes has to.

Do with the educational role that nurses have always played.

But now. It's not just.

Didactic giving people information and health teaching in the traditional way.

It's about working with that person's.

Subjective meaning, their inner life world and what they are understanding.

So you work from their frame of reference, not your frame of reference.

And this moves to.

To a very relational, caring moment.

With that person.

In the teaching process so that you can actually engage them

in the understanding of what they need to know at that point in time.

The Eighth Caritas Process

has to do.

With the environment.

So in this one it.

Becomes very important to understand that

ultimately we are the environment.

Because our energetic presence, our ability to have compassion.

Loving kindness.

Authenticity

presence.

Consciousness

intentionality

A Caritas consciousness in that moment with that person.

Holding space for them to be seen, to be heard, to know they matter.

That becomes part.

Of understanding

that we become the healing environment we can be in the most beautiful.

Magnificent hospital setting

the most modern in the world.

And if you have.

Practitioners who are biocidic.

You're going to have a very unhealthy environment.

For yourself and for our practice and.

For our patients and our communities.

So the Eighth Caritas Process

Is really important because we are creating the environment

we are re-patterning the environment,

we are the energetic environment, we are the light in the institutional.

Darkness for our humanity.

The Ninth Caritas Process has to.

Do with their basic needs.

If there's any one thing that nurses are involved in is taking care of patients.

With assisting them with their basic needs.

But in this consciousness

in this theory, we really are very reverential

and understanding that these basic needs have to be responded

to with fullness of dignity, with humility, with compassionate.

Service, to these to these others, that this becomes a sacred.

Act that we offer to the best of what is

needed for that person at that time that they cannot do.

For themselves.

So this becomes.

A very important basic foundational physical need

of which we are embedded and grounded in the caring theory through.

These basic physical care acts as sacred acts.

The 10th Caritas Process has to.

Do with not knowing all the answers.

It invites humility.

It invites an unknown ways that are already.

Present for.

People's experiences.

For example, we increasingly see miracles.

And mysteries and.

Unknowns that cannot be explained

in a traditional Western modern

medical eye's view of humanity or of medical science

These are phenomena that are.

Human experiences across.

Time that millions of people have reported that we have to be open to.

So the 10th Caritas Process has.

Just been opened to

and allowing for mysteries and miracles and staying within the other.

Person's experience so.

That miracles can indeed happen.

We'll have a new book coming out shortly in the next month or two.

On nurses experiences of having miracles.

With their patients.

So this is a.

Summary of the Ten Caritas Process.

as a brief overview.

But with.

These Ten Caritas Processes, as you.

Become familiar with them, you will see.

That they can serve as a guide for your practice.

For your education, and for your own personal and professional development.

So I'm going to stop at this point.

And I will be doing a continuation of another series

that will follow in terms of application and

implementation in clinical practice