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Moving Towards the Future




"This book is to help me, other nurses, and the public to remember, rediscover and understand that the feminine caring-healing energy of nursing, as sacred archetype, can be hopeful, and hoped for, paradigm for a new/old cosmology for health care and healing, so necessary at this point in human history" (Watson, 1999, p.6).

Watson reconstructs the assumptions that underlie the transpersonal caring-healing paradigm in "Postmodern Nursing and Beyond" (1999). This reconstruction focuses on spiritual growth, for both the nurse and the client. Development of a caring relationship is a conscious act that focuses on the preservation of human integrity and promotes self- awareness. A caring relationship requires the nurse to be authentic and competent. These attributes aid in the evolution of human wholeness (Watson, 1999).



Watson identifies two competencies for nursing practice within the postmodern era.

1. A deep respect for the processes of health and healing. This encompasses a reverence for existence in the universe (Watson, 1999).

2. Caring is a way of being and requires the sharing of one's energy with others (Watson, 1999).