Introduction
Imogene King was a professional nurse who developed a popular theory of goal attainment. Its concepts might be helpful for people who want to be involved in the clinic sphere of nursing after they graduate from an educational institution. The following paper is intended to discuss how the theory of goal attainment developed by Imogene King can be implicated in a person’s nursing career in a clinical field and how its hypotheses may influence professional management.
Theory Discussion
As it is mentioned above, Imogene King was a well-known individual in the circles of medical workers. Her theory’s major aspects include the concepts of interaction, perception, communication, transaction, role, stress, growth, development, time, and space. According to King (1999), perceptual accuracy must be present in various interactions that might occur among nurses and their patients. Also, it is necessary to state that any professional goal can be attained if nurses make transactions with their clients. As a result, medical workers experience satisfaction, whereas their healing practices become more efficient (Alligood, 2014). In turn, transactions appear when the role expectations and performance perceived by patients and nurses are congruent.
The most important four points of King’s theory are the following:
- Human beings who have needs for particular health information, illnesses prevention, and appropriate medical care
- Health as a perception of the surrounding society, atmosphere, and stressors. As stated by King (1999), “dynamic life experiences of a human being, which implies continuous adjustment to stressors in the internal and external environment through optimum use of one’s resources to achieve maximum potential for daily living” (p. 34).
- Environment as an essential factor in every individual’s life
- Nursing as a process of human interaction among one another, with the help of which people can set various goals, explore means, and agree on some strategies to achieve what they desire.
Personal Perception and Implications
The effect that the implication of King’s theory of goal attainment could have on nursing management will be described in the following paragraph. In the beginning, it would be proper to state that the process of scheduling and planning nursing activities is important in every healing process. Therefore, King (1999) offers the following order of medical workers’ performance:
- Assessment
- Nursing Diagnosis
- Planning
Implementation
Evaluation
The model given above ensures caregivers an ability to organize and manage their responsibilities appropriately to provide as much help and support to their patients as possible. According to King’s (1999) theory, it is essential to make the environment in different hospitals better to meet the personal needs of clients (Bularzik, Tullai-Mcguinness, & Sieloff, 2012). Such an approach makes individuals feel better. As a result, their healing processes might be faster than expected. It is also necessary to remember that an accurate organization of one’s working place or area makes any job easier and more efficient.
Conclusion
Imogene King developed a theory of goal attainment. According to its concepts, every nurse must consider and follow a consequential model of organization to perform efficient management at one’s workplace. The discussed theory consists of such elements as interaction, perception, communication, transaction, role, stress, growth, development, time, and space. All these points must interact with one another to form the understanding of a person that might be able to attain one’s goals regarding his or her nursing practice and experience.
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work (8th ed.). Saint Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Bularzik, A. M., Tullai-Mcguinness, S., & Sieloff, C. L. (2012). Nurse’s perceptions of their group goal attainment capability and professional autonomy: A pilot study. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(3), 581-590. Web.
King, I. M. (1999). A theory of goal attainment: Philosophical and ethical implications. Nursing Science Quarterly, 12(4), 292-296. Web.