MARTHA ROGERS: BIOGRAPHY, THEORY AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Martha Rogers (1914-1994) was an American nurse who dedicated part of her life to conducting research and publishing theories and books related to the field of nursing. She is known worldwide for her Science of Unitary Human Beings theory and her book An Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing. Both are an important part of studies in this area of ​​medicine.

Martha wanted to change the concept of nursing, and together with other women of the time with whom she crossed paths, perhaps without knowing it, she gave a turn to the understanding of this field and its way of working. The value and magnitude of her theory made great contributions to nursing care.

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For example, her theory Science of Unitary Human Beings allowed nurses to acquire a broader view of patients with their environment and in an extrasensory way. This was one of the most notable changes in nursing and one of the most important introduced values ​​that is still taught today.

Biography

Martha Rogers was born in Dallas, in the state of Texas. She was the daughter of Lucy Mulholland Keener and Bruce Taylor Rogers. She had three younger sisters, possibly whom she had to take care of for much of her time, a fact that could have influenced the development of her empathy towards people's feelings.

From his youth he proved to be a brave person and ventured to study medicine at the University of Tennessee, even when it was not well regarded for a woman. In fact, she could not finish premedicine given the pressure that teachers and others around her exerted on her.

Although if there was something clear to her, it was that she wanted to help people with health problems, so she decided that if she could not be a doctor, she could be a nurse, and for that reason she enrolled at Knoxville General Hospital School. There she graduated in 1936 and a year later graduated from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennesse.

In 1945 she obtained a master's degree in public health nursing from Teachers College at Columbia University. Later, in 1952 she obtained a Master of Public Health and in 1954 a Doctorate of Science from John's Hospital University in Baltimore.

Your professional career

Martha Rogers worked as a professor in the Division of Nursing at New York University. During this time and later years, she developed her first jobs in public health nursing. She obtained the appointment of emeritus professor, which she kept until her death.

She was a supervisor of visiting nurse practice and training at New York University, and has lectured in 46 states and several countries, such as China, the Netherlands, and Mexico.

She received several honorary recognitions from various universities as well as numerous awards for her contributions and contributions to leadership in nursing.

In 1996, after her death, she was inducted into the American, Nurses Association Hall of Fame, an organization created to recognize the most outstanding women and men in the field of nursing. Several of the awards and scholarships this organization awarded are named after Martha Rogers.

Theory

The theory in which Rogers worked marked a before and after in the way of seeing the work that nurses develop, and in how they should see and help patients.

Purpose

The purpose of the Theory of Unitary Human Beings was to demonstrate that the environment and the way in which a person interacts in it influences in various ways, thus creating a unified whole. That is, the man will react according to what is in his environment.

This in turn will directly influence your health, which will affect your perceptions and your family members, as well as the professionals who care for you, as they are also human beings. Thus, a unitary whole is created, where the environment, the patient and the people around them act in accordance with perceptions and facts.

Concepts

Martha Rogers' theory is abstract but deep, diverse and complex. However, thanks to the documents that she wrote herself, her concepts are clear and well developed and can be taught in nursing schools around the world.

Energy field

Both the human being and the environment are considered energy fields. Each field in the environment is specific to each specific human energy field. According to Rogers, the two fields will change continuously, creatively and comprehensively.

Open systems universe

This concept states that energy fields have no beginning and no end but that they integrate with each other. Therefore, the human being and his environment can be defined in the same way.

Pattern

The pattern serves to identify the energy fields. It is something abstract that is recognized by the manifestations. It changes continuously and is what gives identity to the energy field. This change can manifest illness, discomfort or well-being.

Pandimensionality

Martha defines this concept as a domain without limits that lacks spatial or temporal attributes, this being the best way to define the idea of ​​a unitary whole.

Explanation

Based on these concepts, a clearer approach to nursing practice can be obtained in which the patient can be understood and helped with their health problems taking into account their relationship with the environment.

It defines the nurse as science and art in equal parts, stating that it should focus on the observation of people and their environment in order to promote the health and well-being of all. Because all human beings are unitary beings that are in constant interaction with their environment, which is constantly changing.

A complex theory that was put to the test and did not give the results because it was not fully understood, but that has undoubtedly provided a different vision in what has to do with the nurse-patient relationship.

A closer relationship, more concerned with discovering the causes that cause the disease and thus being able to eliminate them. Nursing as we know it today is an achievement that must be attributed in large part to Martha Rogers.

References

1. Honeyman-Buck J. Customer relations. In: Practical Imaging Informatics: Foundations and Applications for PACS Professionals. 2009.
2. Phillips JR. Martha E. Rogers: Heretic and Heroine. Nurs Sci Q. 2015.
3. Rogers ME. Nursing Science and the Space Age. Nurs Sci Q. 1992.
4. Biley FE. Martha E Rogers. Nurs Stand. 2016.
5. Martha Rogers. Aniorte-nic.net/archivos/teoria_marta_rogers.
6. Fawcett J. Evolution of the Science of Unitary Human Beings: The Conceptual System, Theory Development, and Research and Practice Methodologies. Visions. 2015.