Goal Attainment Theory

1945- received Nursing Diploma from St. John’s Hospital of Nursing St. Louis, Missouri

1948- BS Nursing & Education with minors in Philosophy and Chemistry from St. John’s Hospital of Nursing St. Louis, Missouri

1957- Master of Science Nursing from St. John’s University

1961- Doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University

1980- Honorary Ph.D from Southern Illinois University

Postdoctoral study in research design, statistics and computer

Administrator Director of the Ohio State University, School of Nursing (1968-1972).

Educator at St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing; Loyola University, and University of South Florida (1961-1980)

Practitioner as Adult Medical – Surgical Nurse.

Assistant Chief at the Research Grants Branch, Division of Nursing, Department of Health and Welfare. Washington, D.C. (1966-1968)

Was honored as Professor Emeritus at University of South Florida in 1990.

She was challenged by her Philosophy Professor with a question.

“Have you or any other nurses have defined the “Nursing Act”?”

She pursue to answer the question, and reading

courses led her to the

General Systems Theory and hence to another set of

questions. With the thought of:

“What is the goal of nursing?”

“THEORY OF GOAL ATTAINMENT”

Person- exist in an open system as a spiritual and rational thinker who makes choices, selects alternative courses of action

Health- "the dynamic life experience of a human being" and not simply in the context of bodily processes. She recognizes the ability of a person to "continuously adjust to internal and external stressors" by maximizing available resources to achieve "maximum potential for daily living".

Environment- process of balance involving internal and external interactions inside the social system

Nursing- act wherein the nurse interacts and communicates with the client.

Personal System

• Perception

• Self

• Growth and development

• Body image

• Time

• Space

• Learning

Interpersonal System

• Interaction

• Communication

• Transaction

• Role

• Stress

• Coping

Social System

• Organization

• Authority

• Power

• Status

• Decision making

• Control

Perception—one's image of reality, and influences one's behavior.

Self— a composite of thoughts and feelings that constitute a person's awareness of individual existence, of who and what he or she is.

Growth and development—behavioral changes in human beings that help individuals move toward maturity.

Body image—a person's perception of his or her body.

Time—the duration between the occurrence of one event and the occurrence of another event.

Space—the physical area called territory that exists in all directions.

Learning—gaining knowledge.

Interactions—the acts of two or more persons in mutual presence; a sequence of verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are goal directed.

Communication—the vehicle by which human relations are developed and maintained; encompasses intrapersonal, interpersonal, verbal, and nonverbal communication.

Transaction—a process of interaction in which human beings communicate with the environment to achieve goals that are valued; goal-directed human behaviors.

Role—a set of behaviors expected of a person occupying a position in a social system.

Stress—a dynamic state whereby a human being interacts with the environment to maintain balance for growth, development, and performance, involving an exchange of energy and information between the person and the environment for regulation and control of stressors.

Coping—a way of dealing with stress.

Organization—composed of human beings with prescribed roles and positions who use resources to accomplish personal and organizational goals.

Authority—a transactional process characterized by active, reciprocal relations in which members' values, backgrounds, and perceptions play a role in defining, validating, and accepting the authority of individuals within an organization.

Power—the process whereby one or more persons influence other persons in a situation.

Status—the position of an individual in a group or a group in relation to other groups in an organization.

Decision making—a dynamic and systematic process by which goal-directed choice of perceived alternatives is made and acted upon by individuals or groups to answer a question and attain a goal.

Control—being in charge.

The theory of Imogene Kings starts with a person who has a health need which can be classified into three:

1.) need for health information which is usable

2.) need for care that seeks to prevent illness

3.) need for care when human beings are unable to help themselves.

The basic assumption of the theory - is that nurses and clients communicate information, set goals mutually, and then act to attain goals .

Despite King’s many awards and honors, she considered teaching students to be her most important accomplishment. Over the years, she enjoyed watching her nursing students become expert practitioners, teachers and researchers. “That is the biggest honor of all,” King said. (Houser & Player, 2007, p. 130)

THANK YOU!