NCM 100 ( THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF

NURSING)

MARGARET
NEWMAN
NURSING THEORY: HEALTH AS EXPANDING
CONSCIOUSNESS

BSN 1G
EBAL, NIÑAPAOLA
MAÑACAP, HANNAH MARIE
LOCAYLOCAY, RHEAN ROSE
PIL, STEPHANIE
MARGARET NEWMAN
BIOGRAPHY

 Margaret A. Newman
 October 10, 1933 - December 18,
2018
 She developed the theory of Health
as Expanding Consciousness
 Margaret A. Newman
 October 10, 1933 - December 18,
2018
 She developed the theory of Health
as Expanding Consciousness

EARLY LIFE

 She was born on October 10, 1933, in Memphis City, Tennessee.

 She entered nursing school at the University of Tennessee in 1959.

 After college she returned to Memphis to care for her mother, who had
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gerig’s disease).

 Became her mother’s primary caregiver, Caring for her mother opened her eyes
to her mother’s disease and how her mother was living with her disease. The
experience of taking care of her mother began her journey into her theory of
“Health as Expanding Consciousness”
 Her mother passed away two weeks before the beginning of the first semester of
nursing school.

EDUCATION

 She received a BA degree from Baylor University.

 She earned her bachelor's degree in 1962 from the University of Tennessee
 After receiving her baccalaureate nursing degree, she entered graduate nursing
studies at the University of California, San Francisco and received her master’s
degree in 1964.
 While pursuing her graduate studies, Margaret Newman held the position of co-
director of nursing at a clinical research centre and worked as an assistant
professor of nursing at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.
 She received a doctorate from New York University in 1971.

CAREER ATTAINMENTS & RECOGNITION

 Margaret Newman is a recognized fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

and has received distinguished alumni awards from both the University of
Tennessee and New York University.
 She has earned several prestigious accolades, including the Distinguished
Scholar in Nursing Award from New York University, the Founders Award for
Excellence in Nursing Research from Sigma Theta Tau International, and the E.
Louise Grant Award for Nursing Excellence from the University of Minnesota.
 She taught at New York University until 1977.
  In the autumn of 1977, she assumed the role of professor overseeing graduate
nursing studies at Penn State University.
 In 1984, Newman began working as a nurse theorist at the University of
Minnesota, and she retired from teaching in 1996.

WORKS

 Newman has presented many papers on topics pertaining to her theory of health
as expanding consciousness. She published;
 Theory Development in Nursing (1979)
 Health as Expanding Consciousness (1986-1994)
 A Developing Discipline: Selected Works of Margaret Newman (1995a)
 Transforming Presence: The Difference That Nursing Makes (2008).

 S
h e

has written numerous journal articles and book chapters.

DEATH

 Margaret Newman died December 18, 2018 at age of 85 at the Allen Morgan
Nursing home.

MARGARET A. NEWMAN’S CONTRIBUTION TO NURSING THEORY:

HEALTH AS EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS

 Newman’s Health as Expanding Consciousness arose from Rogers’ Theory of

Unitary Human Beings.
 The theory of health as expanding consciousness (HEC) was stimulated by
concern for those for whom health as the absence of disease or disability is not
possible (Newman,2010)
 The theory has progressed to include the health of all persons regardless of the
presence or absence of disease (Newman, 2010). The theory asserts that every
person in every situation, no matter how disordered and hopeless it may seem, is
part of the universal process of expanding consciousness, a process of
becoming more of oneself, of finding greater meaning in life, and of reaching new
dimensions of connectedness with other people and the world. (Newman,
2010)
 Humans are open to the whole energy system of the universe and constantly
interact with the energy. With this process of interaction, humans are evolving
their individual’s pattern as a whole.
 According to Newman, understanding the pattern is essential. The expanding
consciousness is pattern recognition
 Patterns of individuals so the pathology of the diseases exists before the
symptoms appear so removal of disease symptoms does not change the
individual structure.
 Newman also redefines nursing. According to her, nursing is the process of
recognizing the individual in relation to the environment and it is the process of
understanding consciousness.
  The nurse helps to understand people to use the power within to develop the
higher level of consciousness. Thus, it helps to realize the disease process, its
recovery and prevention.
 Newman’s theory is considered a grand nursing theory.
 She states that people cannot be divided into parts. Health is central to the
theory, and is seen as a process of a developing awareness of the individual self
and the person’s environment. She also states that “consciousness is a
manifestation of an evolving pattern of person-environment interaction.”

THEORY DEVELOPMENT

Theorist Theory Description

Martha Rogers Unitary Human Being Theory The main basis of the
development of her theory,
Health as Expanding
Consciousness. Roger’s
assumptions regarding
wholeness, pattern, and
unidirectionally are foundational
to Newman’s Theory.

Itzhak Bentov Concept of Evolution of Explication of life as the process

Consciousness of expanding consciousness
prompted Newman to assert her
new concept of health as the
process of expanding
consciousness

Arthur Young Theory of Process Theory of Human Evolution

pinpointed the role of pattern
recognition for Newman. She
explained that Young’s ideas
provided impetus for her to
integrate the basic concepts of
her new theory, movement,
space, time, and consciousness
into a dynamic portrayal of life
and health.

David Bohm Theory of Implicate Theory of implicate order

supports Newman’s postulate
that disease is a manifestation of
the pattern of health.

ASSUMPTIONS OF NURSING THEORY: HEALTH AS EXPANDING

CONSCIOUSNESS

 Health encompasses conditions described as illness, or, in medical terms,

pathology.
 These pathological conditions can be considered a manifestation of the total
pattern of the patient.
 The pattern of the individual patient that eventually manifests itself as pathology
is primary, and exists prior to structural or functional changes.
  Removal of pathology will not, in itself, change the pattern of the individual
patient.
 If becoming ill is the only way an individual patient’s pattern is able to manifest
itself, then that is health for that individual patient.
 Health is an expansion of consciousness.

USE OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

 Illness reflected the life patterns

of the person and that what was
needed was the recognition of
that pattern and acceptance of it
for what it meant to that
person.

 Health and illness are simply

manifestations of the rhythmic
fluctuations of the life process
that is the foundation for viewing
health and illness as a unitary
process moving through
variations in order disorder, that is, health as absence of disease or health as a
continuum from wellness to illness. Health and the evolving pattern of
consciousness are the same.

 The pattern is evolving through various permutations of order and disorder,

including what in everyday language is called health and disease. Pattern
recognition emerges from a process of uncovering meaning in a person’s life.
Meaning is inherent in pattern, and vice versa.

 Consciousness is defined as the informational capacity of the system (the

human being); That is, the ability of the system to interact with the
environment.
 Consciousness includes not only the cognitive and affective awareness
normally associated with consciousness, but also the interconnectedness
of the entire living system, is part of a larger, undivided pattern of an
expanding universe.
 Three Correlates of Consciousness
1. Movement
2. Time
3. Space
- The relevance of movement, time, and space was part of the original
explication and has re-emerged in the evolving patterning of unfolding
consciousness.
- To see health as the pattern of the whole, one needs to see disease not as a
separate entity but as a manifestation of the evolving pattern of person-
environment interaction.
RELATIONSHIP TO METAPARADIGM CONCEPTS

Nursing Nursing is “caring in the human health experience”.

Nursing is seen as a partnership between the nurse
and client, which both grow in the “sense of higher
levels of consciousness”.

Person The human unitary, that cannot be divided into

parts, and is inseparable from the large unitary field.
“Persons as individuals and human beings as a
species are identified by their patterns of
consciousness...” Persons are “centers of
consciousness” within an overall pattern of
expanding consciousness.

Health Health and illness are synthesized as health - the

fusion of one state of being (disease) with its
opposite (non-disease) results in what can be
regarded as health.

Environment Environment is described as a “universe of open

systems”

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Margaret Newman's "Health as One of the primary weaknesses is its

Expanding Consciousness" theory has
several notable strengths. One of its
primary merits is its holistic perspective
on health and nursing, recognizing that
health encompasses physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
This aligns well with contemporary
nursing's emphasis on providing holistic
care that addresses all aspects of a
patient's well-being. Moreover, the
theory promotes patient-centre care by
focusing on the individual patient's
experiences and unique health journey,
fostering a more empathetic and
personalized approach. It also
emphasizes the importance of an
individual's evolving awareness and
consciousness in their health journey,
empowering patients to actively
participate in their healthcare decisions.
Additionally, the theory is particularly
relevant in situations involving chronic
illness management and long-term care,
where individuals are continually
adapting to evolving health conditions.
apparent complexity and abstract
nature, which can make implementation
in clinical practice difficult. It lacks
explicit, practical directions or
interventions for healthcare workers,
making it less accessible to nurses
looking for clear patient care directives.
The approach is mainly focused on
patients' subjective feelings and
impressions, which can be difficult to
assess and quantify and may not fit
easily within evidence-based
management frameworks. Furthermore,
this theory has received less empirical
investigation and testing than certain
other nursing theories, which may lead
to its less widespread acceptance in
particular healthcare settings.
Furthermore, it may not be generally
relevant and may need to be tailored to
specific patient demographics and
practice environments.
 SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS

Margaret Newman's "Health as Expanding Consciousness" theory represents a unique

and comprehensive approach to nursing and health. This theory's primary concept is
the constant expansion of an individual's awareness, which is considered as essential to
health. Individuals actively seek patterns in their experiences, see rhythmic patterns in
their life, and regard disease and illness as a part of their growing consciousness.
Nurses play an important role in enabling this growth by assisting individuals in making
sense of their experiences and patterns. The theory promotes patient-centered care,
self-determination, and acknowledging the subjective nature of health experiences.

Margaret Newman's theory of "Health as Expanding Consciousness" has made

significant contributions to the nursing field by emphasizing the importance of individual
growth and awareness as fundamental characteristics of health and healthcare. Its
holistic approach, which promotes patient-centre treatment and empowers patients to
take an active role in their health journey, is one of its strengths. However, it is criticized
for its intricacy and lack of empirical validity. Its application may differ depending on the
healthcare facility and patient demographic. Despite its shortcomings, Newman's theory
has had an impact on nursing practice and continues to be a thought-provoking
framework for viewing health and the nursing process from a unique perspective.