Imogene King

Introduction

Nursing theory provides the basis for the definition and determination of the boundaries and goals involved in therapeutic activities. As such, nursing theory is key to the description of the nursing phenomenon, as the occurrences, events and process involved. The diversity of the nursing theory allow the nurses to address specific nursing concerns by taking into consideration the different scopes. This paper focuses on Imogene King, as one of the pioneer theorists in nursing, and the proposition of the Goal Attainment Theory. The rationale for the selection of this theorist and her theory of Goal attainment theory is based on the fact that Imogene King sought to find ways of improving the health outcomes of the patient and life goals by focusing on the interpersonal relationship between the nurses and the patients, thereby playing a critical role in advancing nursing practice and training (King, 1992). Imogene King’s theory focuses on the interpersonal and dynamic relationships between the nurses and the patients with a view of improving the quality of life, wellness and life goals of the patient. The theory is based on the assumption that the basic focus of nursing is human beings, mainly the patient. The interpersonal relationship between the nurse and the patient in terms of collaboration and communication during the process of treatment such as sharing of information, setting goals of attaining patient’s health outcomes, and ultimately taking action for accomplishment of the set goals is vital in effective treatment. The attainment of patient’s life goals is determined by factors such as stress, roles, time and space. As such, this theory is key to addressing important problems in the contemporary nursing field. 

Description of the theorist 

Imogene King was inspired to develop a conceptual model for nursing with a view of improving the quality of life of the patients. The theorist was born on January 30, 1923 in West Point Iowa (Aligood & Tomey, 2010). Her career in nursing started as a staff nurse, and progressed to serve different roles in the nursing field including nurse administrator, nurse educator, and professor alongside other numerous roles and jobs in her nursing career. She died in St. Petersburg, Florida on December, 2007 (Aligood & Tomey, 2010). Imogene King played major roles in influencing the nursing field as she perceived that the nursing field was evolving as a profession and nurses were becoming increasingly critical of the contemporary dimensions of the role of nursing in the medical field. Inspired to develop a nursing theory that deviated from the systems theory in terms of promotion of interaction in the context of practice, King commenced her work in the development of the nursing theory that was grounded on the conceptual framework of promotion of nurse-patient communication and interaction. In the mid-1960s she developed a conceptual model of nursing theory where the basic components was the idea that human beings were an open system that should freely interact with the environment in the healing process. Her work is considered to be both a nursing theory and a conceptual framework used in addressing of specific problems in the nursing field (King, 1992).