This research investigated the transformative and extraordinary experiences of nurse healers. The broad aim of the research was to promote the role of the healer in nursing by providing data on the experiences specific to nurse healers’ evolution as healers. The research was theoretically informed by van Manen (1990, 1984) and utilised hermeneutic phenomenology. Van Manen’s emphasis on writing as the key element of phenomenology in lived experience research was employed to bring forth a sense of lived immediacy and aesthetic colour essential to phenomenological understanding. The thesis was also theoretically aligned with the conceptual model of nursing as a caring-healing profession, developed by Jean Watson (1999, 1990a, 1988, 1985a). In particular, this research drew on Watson’s explicit connection of nursing with healing and nursing practice with transformational, transpersonal and esoteric insights. There were eleven nurse (nine women and two men) participants in the study. All participants identified strongly as healers. Selection was based on how long, and important to the individual was their commitment to being a healer. The data collection method used was semi structured interview with a predominant focus on storytelling. The overarching theme of ‘Walking Two Worlds’ was identified, and within that five essential themes were uncovered: (1) Belonging & Connecting; (2) Opening to Spirit; (3) Summoning; (4) Wounding & Healing Journey; and (5) Living as a Healer. Implications for nursing discussed include the need for the profession to provide support to nurse healers as they encounter challenging experiences and to allow for ontological flexibility regarding the esoteric aspects of human/spiritual experience revealed by this research. Further the need to extend the understanding invoked by healing beyond the obvious and opening vistas into experience which have been previously repudiated by domineering, narrow and spirit-denying powers in our society is also discussed.

This research investigated the transformative and extraordinary experiences of nurse healers. The broad aim of the research was to promote the role of the healer in nursing by providing data on the experiences specific to nurse healers’ evolution as healers. The research was theoretically informed by van Manen (1990, 1984) and utilised hermeneutic phenomenology. Van Manen’s emphasis on writing as the key element of phenomenology in lived experience research was employed to bring forth a sense of lived immediacy and aesthetic colour essential to phenomenological understanding. The thesis was also theoretically aligned with the conceptual model of nursing as a caring-healing profession, developed by Jean Watson (1999, 1990a, 1988, 1985a). In particular, this research drew on Watson’s explicit connection of nursing with healing and nursing practice with transformational, transpersonal and esoteric insights. There were eleven nurse (nine women and two men) participants in the study. All participants identified strongly as healers. Selection was based on how long, and important to the individual was their commitment to being a healer. The data collection method used was semi structured interview with a predominant focus on storytelling. The overarching theme of ‘Walking Two Worlds’ was identified, and within that five essential themes were uncovered: (1) Belonging & Connecting; (2) Opening to Spirit; (3) Summoning; (4) Wounding & Healing Journey; and (5) Living as a Healer. Implications for nursing discussed include the need for the profession to provide support to nurse healers as they encounter challenging experiences and to allow for ontological flexibility regarding the esoteric aspects of human/spiritual experience revealed by this research. Further the need to extend the understanding invoked by healing beyond the obvious and opening vistas into experience which have been previously repudiated by domineering, narrow and spirit-denying powers in our society is also discussed.

This research investigated the transformative and extraordinary experiences of nurse healers. The broad aim of the research was to promote the role of the healer in nursing by providing data on the experiences specific to nurse healers’ evolution as healers. The research was theoretically informed by van Manen (1990, 1984) and utilised hermeneutic phenomenology. Van Manen’s emphasis on writing as the key element of phenomenology in lived experience research was employed to bring forth a sense of lived immediacy and aesthetic colour essential to phenomenological understanding. The thesis was also theoretically aligned with the conceptual model of nursing as a caring-healing profession, developed by Jean Watson (1999, 1990a, 1988, 1985a). In particular, this research drew on Watson’s explicit connection of nursing with healing and nursing practice with transformational, transpersonal and esoteric insights. There were eleven nurse (nine women and two men) participants in the study. All participants identified strongly as healers. Selection was based on how long, and important to the individual was their commitment to being a healer. The data collection method used was semi structured interview with a predominant focus on storytelling. The overarching theme of ‘Walking Two Worlds’ was identified, and within that five essential themes were uncovered: (1) Belonging & Connecting; (2) Opening to Spirit; (3) Summoning; (4) Wounding & Healing Journey; and (5) Living as a Healer. Implications for nursing discussed include the need for the profession to provide support to nurse healers as they encounter challenging experiences and to allow for ontological flexibility regarding the esoteric aspects of human/spiritual experience revealed by this research. Further the need to extend the understanding invoked by healing beyond the obvious and opening vistas into experience which have been previously repudiated by domineering, narrow and spirit-denying powers in our society is also discussed.

Thesis advisor: Jane M. Flanagan / Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences of Watson’s Theory of Human Caring Caritas Process Three: Cultivation of One’s Own Spiritual Practices and Transpersonal Self, Beyond Ego-Self. Background: There is currently an inadequacy of spiritual care provided to patients and families in the ICU despite a significant articulated need. Nurses report discomfort with and a lack of preparation in providing spiritual care competently. Nurses with strong personal spiritual development are more likely to report comfort with spiritual caregiving and provide spiritual care. Watson’s Theory of Human Caring Caritas Process Three; Cultivation of One’s Own Spiritual Practice and Transpersonal Self, Going Beyond Ego-Self makes explicit the primacy of relationship between nurse spiritual development and transpersonal spiritual nursing care. However, the nature of spiritual development of nurses in the ICU remains unknown. Methods: A qualitative descriptive methodology with directed content analysis applying Watson’s Caritas Process Three was used to analyze data for this study. Results: Ten ICU Nurses provided evidence of the experience of Caritas Process Three. Five themes were identified in the analysis of data: Caritas nurses vary in their ability to move beyond ego-self, Personal spiritual practices serve as a barrier and/or facilitator to nurses’ ability to provide spiritual care, Critical illness as experienced by patients and families provided the opportunity for nurses to explore spirituality with other, The care environment serves as a barrier and/or facilitator to nurses’ personal spiritual growth, and Cultivation of spiritual practice and spiritual identity is integral to a life-long process of consciousness evolution. Conclusions: The findings of this study extend and inform Caritas Process Three of Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Nurses in this study provide evidence for the primacy of personal spiritual development for the delivery of spiritual and transpersonal care for patients in the ICU. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

This thesis shows how to test the fit of a data set to a number of different models, using Watson’s U2 statistic for both grouped and continuous data. While Watson’s U2 statistic was introduced for continuous data, in recent work, the statistic has been adapted for grouped data. However, when using Watson’s U2 for continuous data, the asymptotic distribution is difficult to obtain, particularly, for some skewed circular distributions that contain four or five parameters. Until now, U2 asymptotic points are worked out only for uniform distribution and the von Mises distribution among all circular distributions. We give U2 asymptotic points for the wrapped exponential distributions, and we show that U2 asymptotic points when data are grouped is usually easier to obtain for other more advanced circular distributions. In practice, all continuous data is grouped into cells whose width is decided by the accuracy of the measurement. It will be found useful to treat such data as grouped with sufficient number of cells in the examples to be analyzed. When the data are treated as grouped, asymptotic points for U2 match well with the points when the data are treated as continuous. Asymptotic theory for U2 adopted for grouped data is given in the thesis. Monte Carlo studies show that, for reasonable sample sizes, the asymptotic points will give good approximations to the p-values of the test.

Background: Previous research shows that it is common for people with dementia to have sleep disturbances as a result of several different physical, mental, environmental and pharmacological factors that cause complex consequences for the person with dementia. These sleep disorders are for example, insomnia during the night, drowsiness during the day and circadian rhythm disorders. Sleep is a prerequisite for recovery and sleep disturbances lead to a disturbed sleep. Pharmacological treatments for dementia and sleep disturbances have a deficient effect and side effects. The nurse needs increased competence about which non-pharmacological nursing measures reduce sleep disorders and promote sleep for people with dementia. Aim: The aim is to create an overview of which nursing interventions promote sleep for people with dementia. Method: A literature review according to Friberg (2017) with six quantitative articles, five qualitative articles, and one article with mixed methods that constitute the result of this thesis. Results: The results show several nursing measures to promote sleep for people with dementia based on four categories; the importance of the environment to promote sleep, the importance of regular routines to promote sleep, promote sleep through physical activity and promote sleep through touch. Conclusion: The non-pharmacological nursing measures presented in the results are effective in promoting sleep for people with dementia. The nurse needs to be creative and open to new evidence-based nursing measures that promote sleep for people with dementia and to individualize nursing measures. / Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning visar att det är vanligt förekommande att personer med demens har sömnstörningar till följd av flera olika fysiska, psykiska, miljömässiga och farmakologiska faktorer som orsakar komplexa konsekvenser för personen med demens. Dessa sömnstörningar är till exempel sömnlöshet under nattetid, dåsighet på dagen och dygnsrytmstörningar. Sömnen är en förutsättning för återhämtning och sömnstörningar leder till en störd sömn. Farmakologiska behandlingar mot demens och sömnstörningar harbristfällig effekt och biverkningar. Sjuksköterskan behöver en utökad kompetens om vilka icke-farmakologiska omvårdnadsåtgärder som minskar sömnstörningar och främjar sömnen för personer med demens. Syfte: Syftet är att skapa en översikt över vilka omvårdnadsåtgärder som främjar sömnen för personer med demens. Metod: En litteraturöversikt enligt Friberg (2017) med sex kvantitativa artiklar, fem kvalitativa artiklar och en artikel med mixad metod som utgör resultatet i detta examensarbete. Resultat: I resultatet framkommer flera omvårdnadsåtgärder för att främja sömnen för personer med demens utifrån fyra teman; miljöns betydelse för att främja sömnen, betydelsen av regelbundna rutiner för att främja sömnen, främja sömnen genom fysisk aktivitet och främja sömnen genom beröring. Slutsats: De icke-farmakologiska omvårdnadsåtgärderna som presenteras i resultatet är effektiva för att främja sömnen för personer med demens. Sjuksköterskan behöver vara kreativ och öppen för nya evidensbaserade omvårdnadsåtgärder som främjar sömnen för personer med demens samt att individanpassa omvårdnadsåtgärder.