History of Nursing Theories

Florence Nightingale

defined nursing in her “Environmental Theory” as “the act of utilizing the patient’s environment to assist him in his recovery.” In the 1950s, there is a consensus among nursing scholars that nursing needed to validate itself through the production of its own scientifically tested body of knowledge.

Hildegard Peplau

introduced her Theory of Interpersonal Relations that emphasizes the nurse-client relationship as the foundation of nursing practice.

Virginia Henderson

conceptualized the nurse’s role as assisting sick or healthy individuals to gain independence in meeting 14 fundamental needs. Thus her Nursing Need Theory was developed.

Faye Abdellah

published her work “Typology of 21 Nursing Problems,” which shifted the focus of nursing from a disease-centered approach to a patient-centered approach.

Ida Jean Orlando

emphasized the reciprocal relationship between patient and nurse and viewed nursing’s professional function as finding out and meeting the patient’s immediate need for help.

Dorothy Johnson

pioneered the Behavioral System Model and upheld the fostering of efficient and effective behavioral functioning in the patient to prevent illness.

Martha Rogers

viewed nursing as both a science and an art as it provides a way to view the unitary human being, who is integral with the universe.

Dorothea Orem

stated in her theory that nursing care is required if the client is unable to fulfill biological, psychological, developmental, or social needs.

Imogene King‘s

Theory of Goal attainment stated that the nurse is considered part of the patient’s environment and the nurse-patient relationship is for meeting goals towards good health.

Betty Neuman

in her theory, states that many needs exist, and each may disrupt client balance or stability. Stress reduction is the goal of the system model of nursing practice.

Sr. Callista Roy

viewed the individual as a set of interrelated systems that maintain the balance between these various stimuli.

Jean Watson

developed the philosophy of caring, highlighted humanistic aspects of nursing as they intertwine with scientific knowledge and nursing practice.