Imogene King

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast nursing theorists from the four categories which are identified by Meleis as: Needs, Interaction, Outcome and Caring. (Meleis, 2012, Chapter 9) I have chosen Faye Abdellah, Imogene King, Myra Levine and Jean Watson as the grand theorists that I would like to explore for this study in contrast and comparison. This decision was made, in part, due to the fact that all of these theorists were born and educated in the twentieth century and I felt that their theories might be more applicable to my nursing practice. The information contained in the tables was obtained from several sources in an

A nursing theory that has influenced my professional nursing practice is Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. In this theory she addresses how nurses care for their patients. Caring is the essence of the nursing profession and is a relationship formed between the nurse and the patient. In Watson’s theory she believed that caring could assist the patient to gain control in their own health care, become educated, and in the end find health. Watson focused on the patient’s mind, body, and soul and this is the aspect of her theory that I try to use in my professional practice. As a new nurse straight out of nursing school I focused more on protocols and procedures to make sure I was doing everything right. My patients had good outcomes but I was amazed when I started thinking about the patient as a whole and not just thinking about the illness they had and how to treat it. Many times just treating the patient’s

I have read and utilized some of the following theories from some classic nursing theorists

King’s Theory of Goal Attainment was proposed in the 1960s and published in 1981. It was derived from her conceptual system which presented in 1968, and incorporates the concept of self, perception, growth, development, time, interaction, communication, role, and coping. The Theory of Goal Attainment is a practice methodology based on the nurse and patient setting goals together, and the nurse assisting the patient to meet these goals they set for their health (Caceres, 2015). These interactions between the nurse and patient are the process in which the professional relationship develops, mutual goals are set, and actions are planned to achieve these goals. It is an interaction-transaction process and is based on the nursing

Description of Theory: Ida Orlando developed the theory that nurses are people who act deliberately. “Orlando’s theory is a reflective practice theory that is based on discovering and resolving problematic situations. If the problem is not discovered, it cannot be solved. The centrality of the patient is ever present when using Orlando’s theory (Schmieding, 1983).”

The two theories that have helped to form my personal perspective on nursing are Erickson; and Rogers. Helen Erickson’s model is based on caring for an individual patient based on their own unique needs and perspective (Nursing Theories and Models, 2017). Erickson’s model took concepts from several other theorists such as Maslow, Padget, Seyle, and Lazarus and combined them to create a nursing model that takes care of each individual patient based on their needs ( Reed, 2017). This theory helps me to be more cognizant of the individual needs of my patient, not all patients regardless of disease process are the same. Each patient may have different underlying factors or circumstances that affect their health and current situation. Rogers’ theory is broader, viewing nursing as both an art and science, promoting health and wellbeing to patients regardless of where they are (Nursing Theories and Models, 2017). The science of nursing involves the knowledge and research of nursing, and the art is applying that science for the betterment of the patient. This theory views an individual as part

Imogene King was the Midwestern, twentieth century nursing theorist that developed the conceptual system and theory of goal attainment and transactional process. Although not without controversy, her theory has been the spring board for some middle range nursing theories and nursing education programs. This theory is particularly intriguing to individuals who are goal driven and will be explored in detail in the following paragraphs.

Imogene King developed her nursing theory on the basis that the nurse and the patient, “work together to achieve the goals in the continuous adjustments to stressors”. Dr. King received her master’s degree in science in nursing from St. Louis University in 1957. She was a professor at the University of South Florida. Dr. King’s nursing theory is based on three levels of systems: individual or personal, group or interpersonal and society or social. Dr. King was inducted in the American Nurses Association’s Hall of Fame and the Florida Nurses Association Hall of Fame. She died at the age of 84 on December 24, 2007.

Imogene King is a very influential nursing theorist. King was a master’s prepared registered nurse and she also received an honorary doctorate from Southern Illinois University (Messmer, 2000). She worked many years as a nurse educator; preparing the future of nurses for their profession. During her time working as an educator, she also wrote three books relating to her nursing theory (Alligood, 2014, pp.261-263). It is my belief that her work will be used for many more years in nursing practice.

“The basic concept of the theory is that the nurse and patient communicate information, set goals together, and then take actions to achieve those goals. It describes an interpersonal relationship that allows a person to grow and develop in order to attain certain life goals. The factors that affect the attainment of goals are roles, stress, space, and time” (Nursing Theory, 2011).   King desired to advance the profession of nursing by developing a framework and theory that can be understood and used by all nurses, in any situation. She not only developed the theory but she always remained active in the profession and availed herself to nursing students around the clock to aid with their knowledge and application of the theory right up until her sudden death in 2007.

The Human Becoming Theory guides nurses in their practice to focus more on the quality of life. Rosemarie Rizzo Parse was the famous nursing theorist who came up with the theory as it stems from her values and believes. Rosemarie Rizzo Parse was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Castle Shannon with her close and supportive family. Her mother was a homemaker and was a member of the local church. Her father worked as a lamplighter, until he became a manager of Castle Shannon. Parse also had an older sister, who was a nurse, and a brother. Her family heavily emphasized education and arts while growing up (Eichelberger & Sitzman, 2011). Rosemarie was an excellent student and succeeded at anything she did. I believe that her upbringing of her supportive family who profoundly stressed the importance of education and her sister who became a nurse had a huge impact on why Rosemarie Rizzo Parse decided to become an educator, advocate, and an aid in the career of nursing. She went on to become a very successful women who actively influenced many people across the country (Eichelberger & Sitzman, 2011).

Ida jean Orlando was the proponent of the theory. She described the theory as a deliberative process of nursing pertaining relational behavioral characteristics of communication. From experience, the interactive sessions of the nurses and patients, whether verbal or non-verbal are inclusive of perceptions, belief and feelings. According to the theory, there are expectations that the nurses and patients are supposed to keep up (Basavanthappa 2007).

Theories have been a fundamental part of nursing since the early stages of the profession. When nursing was a new discipline, theorists began to determine the theoretical basis of practice.Nursing theories were used to define the person receiving nursing care, the goal or purpose of nursing, nursing intervention, and the role of the nurse (Im & Ju Chang, 2012, p. 2) There was a change in focus from nursing education to nursing research during the theory era which was in the mid 1970’s to 1980’s. At the early stage of nursing discipline, nursing theorists tended to develop ideas mainly from their experience and intuition in education or

I found this theory particularly interesting because I think it is patient centered in a unique way; other theories point out what the nurse can do to offer themselves to a patient. This theory draws attention to all the many layers of a person and health is more than just the absence of illness. Humans are complex beginnings and this theory, by Rosemarie Parse, reminds us that nursing is a science and an art. I know for myself, I can become lost in tasks and I have to remind myself that each patient is a person that came from a completely different walk of life.

Theories have become part of nursing practice due to increased research, desire for more knowledge and need to have an effective nursing practice system. The field of nursing is complex and requires theoretical explanations and descriptions of nursing phenomena. The nursing practice is moving to a more patient-centered approach. This is to ensure the positive patient outcome. Virginia Henderson theory of basic needs is one of the theories that encourage the involvement of patients in improving their health conditions. The fourteen components of needs as explained in theory empower the patient to take charge of their health recovery and maintenance process.