¶ … Nursing Theories Nursing is a professional and an academic discipline and must be "studied in concert with all of the disciplines that together from the health sciences" (Levine's four conservation principles, 2012, Current Nursing).

To maintain homeostasis of the organism (Levine's four conservation principles, 2012, Current Nursing).

INTERACTION:

King's theory of goal attainment

Doctorate from Teacher's college, Columbia University (Imogene King's theory of goal attainment, 2012, Current Nursing).

"To help individuals maintain their health so they can function in their roles" (Imogene King's theory of goal attainment, 2012, Current Nursing).

Nursing is defined as a process of "action, reaction and interaction…between nurse and client" (Imogene King's theory of goal attainment, 2012, Current Nursing).

The purpose of nursing is the care of human beings (Imogene King's theory of goal attainment, 2012, Current Nursing).

CARING:

Watson's theory of caring

PhD in nursing from University of Colorado, 1973 (Jean Watson's philosophy of nursing, 2012, Current Nursing).

Nursing is a health-promoting process rather than a curing process underlined by the principle of caring (Jean Watson's philosophy of nursing, 2012, Current Nursing).

Nursing is defined as "a human science of persons and human health-illness experiences that are mediated by professional, personal, scientific, esthetic and ethical human transactions"(Jean Watson's philosophy of nursing, 2012, Current Nursing).

Nursing is a scientifically-based form of caring: that is what makes nursing unique and distinctive.

NEED:

Abdellah's theory of 21 Nursing Problems

Doctoral degree in nursing from Columbia University (Faye Glenn Abdellah's theory, 2012, Current Nursing).

Nursing is problem-solving: nursing is grouped into problem areas which must be addressed during the nursing process (Faye Glenn Abdellah's theory, 2012, Current Nursing).

King's theory underlines what I have always found to be true: in every nursing situation, the nurse must set goals for the client, and for this goal-setting to be effective, the aims must be mutually-agreed upon by the patient or the patient's primary care-giver. The flexibility which King brings to her philosophy of nursing is extremely useful: the health goals of an adolescent, for example, will be very different than those of someone who is elderly. An adolescent who needs knee surgery to return to a functional, healthy life playing soccer might be recommended to get surgery that an elderly patient might not, depending on the health goals of these different individuals at different stages of life. King's theory has the widest applicability to diverse fields or practice.
Goal-setting is a mutual exercise. The nurse does not have a 'cookie cutter' or pre-determined concept of what the patient's state of health should be, based upon a list of conditions or characteristics. King stresses that dialogue above all else is important. "It is necessary to set health goals with the patient, and then take steps to achieve those goals. In hospital settings, as nurses, we have proved that when the nurse and client communicate and work together toward mutually selected goals, the goals are more likely to be attained" (Key concepts, 2013, Goal attainment theory). A nurse may want a patient to lose weight and to exercise, but unless the nurse and patient can agree upon a diet that is acceptable and pleasing to the patient and an exercise regime that is realistic, the nurse's advice will have little effect.

Part of the strength of King's…