CHRISTINE JOY I. PASNO, RNSOUTHERN LUZON STATE

UNIVERSITY

Martha RogersThe Science of Unitary &

Irreducible Human Beings

Martha Rogers1914-1994

Grand Nursing Theorist

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retrieved from: http://www.nurses.info/nursing__theory__person__rogers__martha.htm

Background

Eldest of four childrenBorn on May 12, 1914 in Dallas, TexasDied : March 13 , 1994Parents :

Bruce Taylor Rogers Lucy Mulholland Keener Rogers

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Credentials of the Theorist

Diploma :Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing (1936)

Graduation in Public Health Nursing, George Peabody College, Nashville , Tennessee (1937)

MA in Public Health Nursing Supervision : Teachers college, Columbia university, New York, 1945

MPH :Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1952Doctorate in nursing :Johns Hopkins University,

Baltimore, 1954Fellowship: American academy of nursing

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Rural public health nurse in MichiganVisiting nurse supervision, education, and

practice in ConnecticutEstablished the Visiting Nurse Service of

Phoenix, ArizonaProfessor and head of the Division of Nursing

at New York University (1945-1975)Professor Emerita (1979)

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Rogers publication include 3 books and more than 200 articles.

She lectured in 46 states.Received honorary doctorates from such

renowned institutions as Duquesne University, University of San Diego, Iona College, Fairfield University, Emory University, Adelphi University, Mercy College, and Washburn University of Topeka.

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“Inspiring Leadership in the Field of Intergroup Relations” by Chi Eta Phi Sorority

“In Recognition of Your Outstanding Contribution to Nursing” by New York University

“For Distinguished Service to Nursing” by Teachers College

New York University houses the Martha E. Rogers Center for the Study of Nursing Science

In 1996, Rogers was posthumously inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame

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Origins

Rogers was one of the first nurse scholars to explicitly identify the person (unitary man) as the central phenomena of nursing concern

1970 – Science of Unity Human Beings (SUHB)

Rogers realized there had to be something to know in nursing that required increased education for its transmission (Fawcett interview, n.d.)

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Purpose

• SUHB theory offers a new look at nursing, providing a framework for practice, education and research that moves away from the traditional medical model approach to the delivery of nursing care

(Fawcett interview, n.d.)

To promote human-environment field patterning and the nursing process

(n.a., 2009, para. 11)

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Evolution Over Time

Radical

Difficult to understand

Greatly influenced all facets of nursing

(n.a., 2009, para. 7)

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The “Slinky”

Imagine the life process moving along the “Slinky” spirals with the human field occupying space along the spiral and extending out in all directions from any given location along a spiral. Each turn of the spiral exemplifies the rhythmical nature of life, while distortions of the spiral portray deviations from nature’s regularities. Variations in the speed of change through time may be perceived by narrowing or widening the distance between spirals.

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Major Concepts

Human-unitary human beings

“Irreducible, indivisible, multidimensionality energy fields identified by pattern and manifesting characteristics that are specific to the whole and which cannot be predicted from the knowledge of the parts.”

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Health“Unitary human health signifies an irreducible human field manifestation. It cannot be measured by the parameters of biology or physics or of the social sciences.

Nursing“The study of unitary, irreducible, indivisible human and environmental fields: people and their world.”

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Scope of Nursing

Nursing aims to assist people in achieving their maximum health potential. Maintenance and promotion of health, prevention of disease, nursing diagnosis, intervention, and rehabilitation encompass the scope of nursing’s goals.

Nursing is concerned with people-all people-well and sick, rich and poor, young and old. The arenas of nursing’s services extend into all areas where there are people: at home, at school, at work, at play; in hospital, nursing home, and clinic; on this planet and now moving into outer space.

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Environmental Field“An irreducible, indivisible, pandimensional energy field indentified by pattern and integral with the human field.”

Energy Field“The fundamental unit of the living and non-living. Field is a unifying concept. Energy signifies the dynamic nature of the field; a field is in continuous motion and is infinite.”

An energy field identifies the conceptual boundaries of man. This field is electrical in nature, is in continual state of flux, and varies continuously in its intensity, density, and extent. (Rogers, 1970)

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Subconcepts

Openness“Refers to qualities exhibited by open systems; human beings and their environment are open systems.”

Pandimensional“A nonlinear domain without spatial or temporal attributes.”

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Synergy is defined as the unique behavior of whole systems, unpredicted by any behaviors of their component functions taken separately.

Human behavior is synergistic.

Pattern“The distinguishing characteristic of an energy field perceived as a single wave.”

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Principles of HomeodynamicsHomeodynamics should be understood as a

dynamic version of homeostasis (a relatively steady state of internal operation in the living system).

Principle of ReciprocityPostulates the inseparability of man and

environment and predicts that sequential changes in life process are continuous, probabilistic revisions occurring out of the interactions between man and environment.

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Principle of Synchrony

This principle predicts that change in human behavior will be determined by the simultaneous interaction of the actual state of the human field and the actual state of the environmental field at any given point in space-time.

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Principle of Integrality (Synchrony + Reciprocy)Because of the inseparability of human beings and their environment, sequential changes in the life processes are continuous revisions occurring from the interactions between human beings and their environment.

Between the two entities, there is a constant mutual interaction and mutual change whereby simultaneous molding is taking place in both at the same time.

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Principle of ResonancyIt speaks to the nature of the change occurring between human and environmental fields. The life process in human beings is a symphony of rhythmical vibrations oscillating at various frequencies.

It is the identification of the human field and the environmental field by wave patterns manifesting continuous change from longer waves of lower frequency to shorter waves of higher frequency.

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Principle of HelicyThe human-environment field is a dynamic, open system in which change is continuous due to the constant interchange between the human and environment.

This change is also innovative. Because of constant interchange, an open system is never exactly the same at any two moments; rather, the system is continually new or different. (Rogers, 1970)

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Science of Unitary Human Beings

• Five basic assumptions underlay Rogers' conceptual framework:

1. Wholeness2. Openness3. Unidirectionality4. Pattern and Organization 5. Sentience and Thought

(Rogers as cited in Barrett, 2009, para. 4)

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Science of Unity Human Beings

There are four main topics (metaparadigms) that are addressed by nursing theorists:

1. People2. Environment3. Health4. Nursing

(Rogers as cited in Barrett, 2009, para. 5)

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Application to Health

Individually defined

Multicultural dimensions

Influenced by health behaviors

Goal of nursing: health promotion

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Application to Nursing

Promote health

Positive optimistic approach

“The study of unitary, irreducible, indivisible human & environmental fields: people and their world.”

(Rogers as cited in McEwen & Wills, 2007, p.204)

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Application to Environment

Continually exchanging energy with the unitary human being

Constant state of change

Helix Represents environment energy field Co-existing & interactive with unitary human

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INTERACTION BETWEEN HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENT

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Environment Energy Field

Human Being

Energy Field

Application to Person

Unitary energy system Whole entity – sum of the parts

Continually exchanging energy with the environment

“These energy fields may be described as open systems, with each person having his/her own unique pattern of energy which constitutes the person’s identity.”

(Tettero, Jackson, & Wilson, 1993, p.777)

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Examples of Application to:

Nursing Practice

Education

Research

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Application to Nursing Practice31

Strengths

Rogers’ concepts provide a worldview from which nurses may derive theories and hypotheses and propose relationships specific to different situations.

Rogers’ work is not directly testable due to lack of concrete hypotheses, but it is testable in principle.

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Weaknesses

It is an abstract, unified, and highly derived framework and does not define particular hypotheses or theories.

Concepts are not directly measurable thus testing the concepts’ validity is questionable.

It is difficult to comprehend because the concepts are extremely abstract.

Nurses’ roles were not clearly defined.No concrete definition of health state.

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CLARITYSIMPLICITYGENERALITY

EMPIRICAL PRECISIONDERIVABLE CONSEQUENCES

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

Critique of the Theory

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Clarity

Major elements of Rogers’ work: 5 key definitions 3 principles of homeodynamics 6 assumptions

This approach appears simplisticBut is difficult for nurses to understandToo abstract Parsimony

(McEwen & Wills, 2007)

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Simplicity

• “Ongoing studies and work within the model have served to simplify and clarify some of the concepts and relations. However, when the model is examined in total perspective, some still classify it as complex”

• More work is required: use in practice, research and education needed

• May determine that the model is simple (Tomey & Alligood,

2006)

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Generality

Rogers’ theory is a synthesis of phenomenaImportant to nursingAbstract, unified, and highly derived

framework Does not define particular hypotheses or

theoriesInstead provides a worldviewNurses may derive theories and hypotheses

and propose relationships specific to different situations

(McEwen & Wills, 2007)

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Rogers’ Theory Applied to ADN Program38

(Hellwig & Ferrante, 1993)

Empirical Precision

Early criticism identified major limitations Difficult to understand

principles Lack of working definitions Poor tools for

measurementDeductive in logic

Characteristic lack of immediate empirical support

(Tomey & Alligood, 2006)

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Derivable Consequences

Intends to assist in the understanding of human evolution and human potential

Organized in a manner that place nursing’s identity as a science

Focus is on the human and environmental connection as highly significant

Many have used the conceptual model for research

(Tomey & Alligood, 2006)

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Summary41

References

Fawcett, J. (n.d.). Interview of Martha Rogers nursing theory [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1XN3rPKndE

Heggie, J., Schoenmehl, P., Chang, M., & Grieco, C. (1989). Selection and implementation of Dr. Martha Rogers' nursing conceptual model in an acute care setting. Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice, 3(3), 143-147.

Hellwig, S. & Ferrante, S. (1993). Martha Rogers’ model in associate degree education. Nurse Educator, 18(5), 25-27.

McEwen, N. & Wills, E. (2007). Theoretical basis for nursing (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkin

n.a. (2009). Martha Rogers. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/17667393/NURSING-THEORIST-MARTHA-ROGERS

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References

Read, P., Shearer, N., & Nicoll, L. (2004). Perspectives on nursing theory (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkin

Tettero, I., Jackson, S., and Wilson, S. (1993). Theory to practice: Developing a Rogerian-based assessment tool. Journal of Advance Nursing, 18(5), 776-782. doi:10.1046/j.13652648. 1993.18050776.x

Tomey, A. & Alligood, M. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.

Wright, B. W. (2007). The evolution of Rogers’ s Science of Unitary/Human Beings: 21st century reflections. Nursing Science Quarterly, 20(1), 64-67.doi: 10.1177/089-4318406296295

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