Assessing and Measuring Caring in Nursing and Health Sciences: Watson’s Caring Science Guide

Kathleen Sitzman, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, Distinguished Watson Caring Science Scholar, is a professor of undergraduate nursing science at East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina. Previous to her current position, she held dual appointments at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, as the director of the Bachelor of Integrated Studies Program and faculty in the School of Nursing. She was inducted into the Academy of Nursing Education in 2015 and into the American Academy of Nursing in 2016. Dr. Sitzman has been a nurse since 1983 and has used her extensive experience to produce scholarly work that contributes to the nursing profession and body of knowledge on international, national, state, community, and local levels. She has been principal or co-investigator on 10 research projects, several of which focused on nursing students' perception of caring online. She has received numerous awards for her scholarship, mentorship, and teaching, including the Jean Watson Award for outstanding scholarship in caring science from the International Association for Human Caring (2007-2008). Dr. Sitzman has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and has coauthored four books: Understanding the Work of Nurse Theorists: A Creative Beginning, second edition (2011), A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras, second edition (2014), Caring Science, Mindful Practice, first edition (Springer Publishing, 2014), and Watson's Caring in the Digital World (Springer Publishing, 2017). She is a member of the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, and the International Association for Human Caring. Dr. Sitzman has been generous with her skills and expertise by serving on a wide variety of health-related service projects. Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, is a distinguished professor emerita and dean emerita of the College of Nursing at the University of Colorado, Denver. She is the founder of the Center for Human Caring in Colorado, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and past president of the National League for Nursing. Her current activities include founder and director of Watson Caring Science Institute, a nonprofit international organization, committed to furthering caring science in the world. Dr. Watson has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing and psychiatric-mental health nursing with a PhD in educational psychology and counseling. She is a widely published author and recipient of several awards and honors, including an international Kellogg Fellowship in Australia, a Fulbright Research Award in Sweden, and 1140 honorary doctoral degrees, including 1 honorary international Doctor of Science award, from Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, British Columbia, Quebec and Canada, Turkey, and Colombia. Clinical nurses and academic programs throughout the world use her published works on the philosophy and theory of human caring and the art and science of caring in nursing. Dr. Watson's caring science/philosophy theory is used to guide new models of caring and healing practices in diverse settings worldwide. At the University of Colorado, Dr. Watson held the title of distinguished professor of nursing, the highest honor accorded its faculty for scholarly work. In 1998 to 1999 she assumed that nation's first endowed chair in caring science based at the University of Colorado. In 2013, Dr. Watson was inducted as a Living Legend, by the American Academy of Nursing, its highest honor. Her work continues through the Watson Caring Science Institute.