Utilizing the language of Jean Watson's caring theory within a computerized clinical documentation system

The healthcare facility described in the following article is part of an eight-hospital organization that adopted Watson's Theory of Caring as part of their nursing philosophy. According to Watson, this theory is an attempt to find and deepen the language specific to nurse caring relations and its many meanings. Yet during the implementation of the theory within the setting described, it was noted that there was no mechanism in the current documentation system for clinical nursing staff to document the patient experience using any language specific to the theory. Nursing members recognized an opportunity to develop a new context in charting during an extensive clinical documentation system upgrade. A discussion of the steps taken and the results within the clinical documentation system supporting the newly adopted caring philosophy are summarized here.