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Transpersonal Caring Relationship
Copyright@ Joyce Reder
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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
AJBSR.MS.ID.000631
Opinion
Joyce Reder*
Department of Nursing, Saginaw Valley State University, USA
*Corresponding author: Joyce Reder, Department of Nursing, Saginaw Valley State University, USA.
To Cite This Article: Joyce Reder. Transpersonal Caring Relationship. Am J Biomed Sci & Res. 2019 - 3(1). AJBSR.MS.ID.000631.
DOI: 10.34297/AJBSR.2019.03.000631
Received: May 09, 2019 | Published: May 16, 2019
American Journal of
Biomedical Science & Research
ISSN: 2642-1747
www.biomedgrid.com
Introduction
The enduring values and beliefs that brought me to nursing
include a desire to have purpose in my life. This means I want to
know that I did not waste my time on earth. Another belief is that
every person deserves to be cared for by compassionate caregivers.
My compassion for others comes from my belief in all people being
children of God. My religious values are the most important beliefs
I hold. Faith gives people a reason for everything they do. I believe
we will be judged by God at the end of our time on earth and I want
to be worthy of redemption. Caring for those who are sick or can-
not care for themselves is, in my opinion, helping to do God’s work.
Hopefully this work will assist in my being judged favorably.
This work is also valuable to society. Civilized societies take
care of their members who are disabled, ill, and handicapped. Nurs-
blood. They sometimes bear the brunt of angry and hopeless out-
bursts caused by illness. They witness patient’s lives ending and
sometimes are there when parents lose their children to accidents
and disease. These tasks are part of the needs of society. These val-
ues and beliefs I bring to every nursing situation.
According to Parker & Smith [1], nursing’s metaparadigm con-
sists of four domains. These domains are nurse, person/s, health,
and environment. Insights gained regarding these realms include
that we are all connected. Our humanness and the fact that we live
our lives in societies and not as solitary beings help us to have em-
pathy and compassion for others. According to Watson (1985), this
ethic and mission to society—its raison d’être for the public.” [1].
I am realizing more profoundly as I acquire higher education and
with maturity that we are cosmically connected through a belief in
all the suffering you witness. Without faith and the belief that there
is something worthwhile waiting for us after we die, this profession
could become very discouraging.
The transpersonal caring relationship is part of the nursing phi-
losophy used in my practice setting. This theory becomes stronger
with the wisdom that comes with age and with years of experience
working with patients, some of whom had untreatable conditions.
Even as a young nurse, however, I was concerned with my patient’s
holistic well-being and not just the physical dimension of their care.
An example of this is a patient I cared for at a long-term acute care
hospital in 1997. Jeanie was in her late sixties. She had had diabetes
for many years and her kidneys had failed, and she now needed di-
alysis every other day. She was in the hospital because she recently
had a stroke leaving her paralyzed on the right side. She had also
developed a pressure ulcer on her coccyx secondary to her immo-
bility and incontinence.
Jeanie had been married to a man for over forty years, but he
had passed away several years earlier. She had no children. In the
several weeks she was a patient at this facility, she never had a vis-
itor. Jeanie endured several pokes to assess her blood glucose level
every day and painful daily dressing changes for her wound. She
tried to put on a brave face when painful procedures had to be com-
pleted and she never complained. She rarely used the call bell and
was very kind to all her caregivers. She did not speak well due to
the paralysis caused by the stroke, but she could be understood. As
I got to know Jeanie, I began to request her for my patient on the
nights that I worked. As the days went by, I could see Jeanie’s health
was declining and that she was losing the will to live. I asked her
if I could read to her. She requested I read certain passages from
existence. She was always very grateful, and I read to her whenever
I could.
One night when I came in for my shift, I was informed by her
day nurse that Jeanie had refused to go to dialysis and had stated
she would not go any more. Jeanie and I discussed this that night
and she made me understand that she was aware of the conse-
quences of the decision. We read the Bible several more nights and
Jeanie seemed to be at peace. Then one night when I came on for
my shift, I learned that Jeanie had passed away. I felt sad and that I
would miss her, but I also felt that I might have helped her just with
my presence and caring about her. This experience improved me as
a nurse. Our relationship went beyond nurse/patient to transper-
sonal. I also felt like this experience helped me as a person. It made
me feel as though I serve a valuable purpose in the world.
References
1. Parker ME, Smith MC (2010) Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice.
Jean Watson’s theory of human caring, (3rd edn), Davis Company,
Philadelphia pp. 1-565.
