IMOGENE KING: BIOGRAPHY AND THEORY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Imogene King (1923-2007) was a pioneer in the development of nursing theory. Her Goal Achievement theory proved to be effective, which is why it has been included in all study books in this field. Thanks to putting into practice the concepts developed in this theory, nursing gained much more value in the field of medicine.

Thanks to this theory based on Betty Neuman's general systems theory and on some theories of Sigmund Freud's psychology, millions of students in this area have been able to learn a more effective nursing concept. This field was not highly valued at the time Imogene lived, but her contributions changed the role nurses play in patients' health.

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There were other women who greatly influenced the nursing field, such as Martha Rogers or Yade Abdellah, but the weight of the statements and evidence provided by Imogene went even further.

Biography

Imogene King's theories have become so important that her private life has taken a back seat, so little is known about it. She was born on January 30, 1923 in West Point, Iowa, and passed away on December 24 in St. Peterbursgo, Florida.

She graduated from basic nursing studies at St. John's Hospital of Nursing in St. Louis when she was 22 years old. Between 1948 and 1957, she obtained her bachelor's degree in nursing education and a master's degree from the University of St. Louis.

Later, in 1961, he received a doctorate from one of the most prestigious universities in the world: Columbia University in New York. Imogene was clear that nursing was the path she wanted to take, not just out of obligation, but out of a vocation. It was this vocation that led her to do her research and the development of her most recognized theories, managing to change the world of nursing.

While working as an associate professor at Loyola University in Chicago, she began doing research to develop her theory.

On the other hand, it created a conceptual framework with which to obtain a Master in Nursing, something that until then was only possible with 'more important' university degrees.

In 1971 he published his first document: Toward a Theory for Nursing: General Concepts of Human Behavior. Ten years later, in A Theory for Nursing: Sistem, Concepts and Process, she refined and expanded these ideas in which she unveiled her open systems framework.

Throughout her life she was able to hold various positions: teaching, coordinating and nursing. Surely the knowledge obtained in these tasks together with her in-depth studies helped her greatly to develop her theory.

Imogene King's theory

What Imogene King tried to do with her theories was far from explaining the concept of nursing, as it was very clear. Her work focused on interactive systems theory in nursing and goal achievement theory.

Therefore, it was based on several fields related to the nurse-patient environment that gave a turn to this profession.

Health

King defines health as the dynamic cycle of the life cycle. Therefore, when health fails, there is an interference that reduces the quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to make internal or external changes that help achieve good health that leads to an optimal life.

Nursing and care

In this field, Imogene King highlights in a special way the excellent relationship that must exist between patient and nurse, defining it as a process of action, reaction, interaction and transaction.

Although this theory encourages the patient to share their perceptions, the burden falls on the nurse, who is responsible for complying with all possible information and putting her knowledge into practice in order to restore the patient's health.

Of course, if the patient's perceptions and satisfaction are optimal, the goals set forth in King's theory will have been achieved. By achieving equality between both opinions and feelings there will be a fruitful transaction.

Therefore, each one plays a role, working together, but each one from the position that corresponds to him. It is the nurse who contributes her skills and specific knowledge about health, and it is the patient who determines how the professional has carried out her work.

Patient

You have to see the patient from a real perspective: a person with emotions and needs, but also with the ability to feel, perceive and decide. It is he who will have the last word on what treatments he accepts or does not accept, positively or negatively affecting his life.

In order for patients to make the best decisions regarding their lives and treatments, nurses must provide them with health information, care and help for self-care.

Environment

There is no exact definition of what the environment is for Imogene King, but it does make it clear that it is an open system with limits in which there is an exchange of information, matter and energy.

Relationship with family

Although other theories related to nursing encouraged to create a bond with the relatives of patients, in Imogene King's it is only about the interaction between patient and nurse, relegating family members to nowhere.

Therefore, the definition of nursing that can be extracted from Imogene King's theory is the study of behaviors and behaviors of both parties, in order to help the patient regain their health so that they can return to a normal life. The disease creates a clear interference in a person's life and the goal is to eliminate this interference.

Without a doubt, Imogene King proved to be an intelligent and temperate woman, capable of exposing her studies and turning a career that, until her time, was little valued. Thanks to her and other women who made various contributions, we know the concept of nursing as it exists today.

References

1. King IM. King's Conceptual System, Theory of Goal Attainment, and Transaction Process in the 21st Century. Nurs Sci Q. 2007.
2. Frey MA, Sieloff CL, Norris DM. King's Conceptual System and Theory of Goal Attainment: Past, Present, and Future. Nurs Sci Q. 2013.
3. King IM. A Theory of Goal Attainment: Philosophical and Ethical Implications. Nurs Sci Q. 1999.
4. Middle Range Theory Development Using King's Conceptual System. Nurs Philos. 2008.
5. King IM. King's Conceptual System, Theory of Goal Attainment, and Transaction Process in the 21st Century. Nurs Sci Q. 2007.
6. Killeen MB, King IM. Nursing Informatics, and Nursing Classification. Int J Nurs Terminol Classif. 2007.