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Human Flourishing and the Nursing Process

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Submitted By mountainmom3
Words 878
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Healing the Mind, Body, and Soul through Caring:
Bridging the Science of Nursing and the Human Spirit
Verity A. Becher
Pueblo Community College, Southwest Campus

Introduction
Nursing is as much science as it is a study in the human condition. Combining caring and the notion of human flourishing allows the nurse sharpen her understanding of patients’ needs by observing and understanding herself (Husted & Husted, 2008). A nurse is able to better anticipate the needs of her patients by noting similarities and differences between the two of them. With caring in the nursing corner, even under less-than-ideal conditions, one can still create havens of hope, nourishment, and the possibility for flourishing (MacCulloh, 2011).
When one thinks of nursing, one cannot help but automatically think of caring. What is caring? What is caring in the context of providing nursing care for another human? Fundamentals of Nursing defines caring as a universal phenomenon that influences the way we think, feel, and behave in relation to one another (p.1298). Breaking the definition down into its individual parts tells us that, as nurses, we are responsible for the emotional (feel), mental (think), and physical (behave) well-being of patients during a time when they cannot fully care for themselves in one or all of these capacities. How decisions and actions move a human life from a state of lesser perfection (well-being and flourishing) to a state of greater perfection, or how our decisions can prevent life from moving from a state of greater perfection to a state of lesser perfection (Husted & Husted, 2008) is the underlying ethical definition of caring; we are here to help others get healthy and stay healthy – or as much as possible.
When one thinks of the word flourishing, one often thinks about flowers knee high in the meadow or how bacteria is flourishing in

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