MILTON MAYEROFF (Gazmen and Jainar)

DESCRIPTION OF NURSING THEORIST

MILTON MAYEROFF

The 1971 book On Caring by American philosopher Milton Mayeroff (1925-1979) provides a detailed

description and explanation of the experiences of caring and being cared for. Although he drew on

several major themes from the history of the notion of care, he took the idea of care in new, personalist

directions. Mayeroff s book is a philosophical essay that at the same time shares some of the

characteristics of the care of soul’s tradition, inasmuch as Mayeroffs purpose was to show how care

could help us understand and integrate our lives more effectively.

To care for another, according to Mayeroff, is to help the other grow, whether the other is a person, an

idea, an ideal, a work of art, or a community; for example, the basic caring stance of a parent is to

respect the child as striving to grow in his or her own right. Helping other persons to grow also entails

encouraging and assisting them to care for something or someone other than themselves, as well as for

themselves (1971).

The caring relationship is mutual: The parents feels needed by the child and helps him or her grow by

responding to the child's need to grow; at the same time, the parent feels the child's growth as bound

up with his or her own sense of well-being. Caring, Mayeroff says, is primarily a process, not a series of

goal-oriented services. For example, if the psychotherapist regards treatment as a mere means to a

future product (the cure), and the present process of therapeutic interaction is not taken seriously for its

own sake, caring becomes impossible (1971).

According to Mayeroff, caring entails devotion, trust, patience, humility, honesty, knowing the other,

respecting the primacy of the process, hope, and courage. Knowledge, for example, means being able to

sense "from inside" what the other person or the self-experiences and requires to grow. Devotion, which

gives substance and a particular character to caring for a particular person, involves being "there" for the

other courageously and with consistency. But caring does not entail "being with" the other constantly:

That is a phase within the rhythm of caring, followed by a phase of relative detachment (1971).

Caring involves trusting the other to grow in his or her own time and way. There is a lack of trust when

guarantees are required regarding the outcome of our caring, or when one cares "too much." One who

"cares" too much is not showing excessive care for the other so much as deficient trust in the other's

process of growing (Mayeroff, 1971).

METAPARADIGM OF THE THEORY

This research is intended to explore the way to apply the concept of caring in nursing education.

In particular, the authors examined the concept based on Mayeroff's work. During the past two decades

in the United States, the "Curriculum Revolution" shifted the paradigm from a content-driven

curriculum to one that emphasized transaction and interaction with caring as a core concept

. M. Mayeroff asserts that the primacy of caring is to help the other grow. A teacher should know a

student personally and adjust her/his behavior to response of the student. She/he can believe that the

student will develop her/his potential. If faculty effectively, organized the curriculum to offer the

environment of interaction students could learn caring as a nurse through their daily activities. Also a

teacher is able to play a role model for caring. In Mayeroffs vision, moral values are inherent in the

process of caring and growth. When cared for, one grows by becoming more self-determining and by

choosing one's own values and ideals grounded in one's own experience, instead of simply conforming

to prevailing values. Mayeroff’s moral approach to care is that of an ethic of response: He emphasizes

the values and goods that are discovered in caring, and the fitting sort of human responsiveness to self

and other that these engender. Care-related responsibilities and obligations—such as those that derive

from devotion to one's children—arise more from internal sources related to character and relational

commitments than from external rules (1971). When caring engages one's powers sufficiently, it has a

way of ordering the other values and activities of life around itself, resulting in an integration of the self

with the surrounding world.

The conviction that life has meaning corresponds with the feeling of being uniquely needed by s

omething or someone and of being understood and cared for. Mayeroff concludes that the more

deeply we understand the central role of caring in our own life, the more we realize it is central to the

human condition (1971). Mayeroffs idea that care is central to the human condition reaches back

through several philosophers to the Myth of Care, while his rich descriptions of the nature and effects

of care set the stage for an ethic of care in the contemporary healthcare setting.

MODEL OF THE MILTON MAYEOFF'S THEORY

“Milton Mayeroff’s Conception of Caring “

Milton Mayeroff says caring is ‘helping the other grow’, and the ‘other’ in Mayeroff’s views might not

necessarily be a person, but could also be an idea, or a physical object (like a work of art).

When you truly care for another person, you are not using that person to satisfy your own needs; and

you are doing more than just wishing them well, or liking, comforting, or merely being interested in

what happens to that person. As Mayeroff says, you are helping them to grow, to progress in some way.

Caring, then, is a process, a way of relating to someone that involves development, not an isolated

feeling or a momentary relationship.

Mayeroff proposes that caring consists of the following ‘ingredients’ (by the way, the words in quotation

marks are taken from his book)

Knowing – ‘I must understand the other’s needs and … be able to respond properly’, and ‘I must know

.. what my own powers and limitations are’. Knowledge can be explicit (able to be put into words) or

implicit (can’t be verbalized).

Alternating rhythms – ‘moving back and forth between a narrower and a wider framework’, at times

focusing on the detail, at others on the wider picture; sometimes doing, sometimes doing nothing;

always watching and seeking feedback on those actions/inactions.

Patience – ‘I enable the other to grow in its own time and in its own way … giving the other room to

live … ‘the patient man enlarges the other’s living room, whereas the impatient man narrows it’.

Honesty – in everyday language, honesty is often taken to mean not being dishonest. Here, it means

‘being open to oneself’ and to others, seeing others as they really are and myself as I really am. ‘I must

be genuine in caring …. I must “ring true”’.

Trust – ‘Caring involves trusting the other to grow in its own time and in its own way …. Trusting the

other is to let go; it includes an element of risk and a leap into the unknown, both of which take

courage’.

Humility – ‘… there is always something more to learn’ … including learning from the client, and from

our mistakes. ‘Humility also means overcoming pretentiousness.’ ‘Through caring I come to a truer

appreciation of my limitations as well as my powers … and I can take pride in the successful use of my

powers.’

Hope – ‘ … not to be confused with wishful thinking.’ Hope in Mayeroff’s view should be based on

present and realistic possibilities, and so ‘rallies energies and activates our powers’. Through caring, the

carer instils hope into the relationship. ‘Lack of hope … eats away any sense of worthiness, and therefore

anything for which I would want to take a stand.’

Courage – a carer needs courage because, as with any relationship, this is largely a journey into the

unknown.

In Mayeroff’s view, caring plays a much bigger role in our lives than you might think. The experience

of caring can ‘shape us’, and help create order and stability in our own lives. Caring and being cared for

can give meaning to our lives.

In a caring relationship, the carer focuses attention on the person being cared for in a selfless way, and

becomes absorbed in the process. By using the ‘ingredients’ of caring described just now, the carer also

grows and gets closer to realizing their own potential. So, if we accept what Mayeroff is saying, it is

through caring for someone or something that we grow as human beings (or to use Mayeroff’s term,

we ‘self-actualise’). Mayeroff presents this process as a universal one – i.e. it applies to us all.

However, professional caring presents special challenges. The basic processes will be the same

wherever they occur, but professional care takes place in more controlled and formalised settings, and

is subject to explicit legal and ethical guidelines with which you will be familiar. While spontaneity must

be preserved in all relationships, those we form as professional carers can’t be left to chance. Effective

carers are able to understand and explore the boundary and interaction between the professional and

the personal aspects of care and to achieve a balance between the two. Reaching this level of

expertise and wisdom requires carers to be open and reflective about their own practice, and to assist

one another (and so help colleagues to grow). (You will find that Reflective Practice is covered in

another section.)

Of course, it would be unrealistic to imagine that caring always goes smoothly or that each of the

‘ingredients’ can be applied in any absolute sense. As Mayeroff writes:

‘The caring parent, the caring teacher, the caring friend, the caring writer, all have their bad days as well

as their good days; there are ups and downs in caring.’

I am sure most of you would agree with that statement - none of us is perfect, after all. But we should

try to ensure our failures and flaws stay within the boundaries of genuine caring, and not use ‘ a bad

day’ as an excuse.

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THE THEORY

Mayeroff's Caring

1685 Words Nov 26th, 2013 7 Pages

Mayeroff’s Major Ingredients of Caring Related to Coaching Soccer

This essay explains how Milton Mayeroff’s “Major Ingredients of Caring,” in his book, On Caring, relates

to coaching soccer. There are eight “ingredients” that Mayeroff discusses in his book that all relate to

becoming a successful coach. If a coach analyzes and considers each ingredient, he can deeply develop

his skill as a caring trainer and guide of the players in his charge. Mayeroff’s basic principle is that when

a person cares about someone else, the person being cared for will grow. In order for a coach to be

successful, he needs his players to grow; therefore he needs to care about all the players on his team.

A mindful coach will take into …show more content…

“Knowledge” is not the only ingredient that leads a coach to be a successful one. Alternating rhythms is

defined as “…the rhythm of moving back and forth between narrower and wider framework” (p. 22),

and is the second ingredient that Mayeroff discusses in regard to caring. While coaching soccer, the

coach needs to understand that not all players will learn at the same pace or in the same way. The

alternating rhythm ingredient reflects the fact that different tactics are needed for different players. A

coach is a teacher: when someone does not understand a concept, a new way is determined in order

for the student to comprehend the concept. Soccer is an interactive sport that requires a lot of practice

to acquire the many moves and tricks that make a soccer player effective. For instance, if a player does

not understand a coach through a visual example of a specific play during a corner kick, the coach needs

to develop another technique to teach the player the specific play .The same thing goes for a play or a

kick. A defender needs to know how to take the ball from the opposing team, and then implement

offensive skills. If a coach does not teach this in a coherent manner, the player will not be able to grow.

It is up to the coach to aid the player to acquire knowledge of the task he is assigned to. Close supervision

, guidance and sound advise makes the student master his given nursing responsibilities.

DISCUSSION ON HOW THE MAYEROFF THEORY USED IN RESEARCH STUDIES

Mayeroff's nursing theory seems to be a very humane, kind and very caring way of dealing with the

student nurses as evidenced by how he stressed the need to adapt to their level of thinking, mood and

style in the nursing field. The relationship between the instructor and the student should be on a level

that there's a harmonious and friendly relationship between them. Teaching the nursing theory is like

acting as a good coach in a game. If the coach develops a nice working environment with his subject,

chances are, the learner would be as good or better than his teacher, according to the Greek philosopher

Plato.

  Nursing is not just administering the drug to the patient too, but there should be genuine love and

affection between the practitioner and the patient to create a synergistic healing effect. Then, the medical

atmosphere would be better and nice.

GAZMEN, KRISTINE KATE Q.

JAINAR, ROSEMARIE J.

BSN II NIGHTINGALE

REFERENCES:

https://www.barnardhealth.us/medical-ethics/milton-mayeroff-a-personalist-vision.html

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1577044.On_Caring

https://freeessay.com/essays/milton-mayeroff-s-on-caring

https://caringrelationships.wikispaces.com/What+is+Caring%3F?responseToken=624f5e2fde9d372eabb1d28134067490

http://greatthoughtstreasury.com/author/milton-mayeroff