Conceptual System

Imogene and Middle range

King theory of Goal
Attainment
Who is Imogene King
• January 30, 1923: Born in West Point, Iowa.
Youngest of the 3 children
• 1945: Nursing Diploma from St. John’s
Hospital School, St. Louis, Missouri
• 1948: BSN from St. Louis University
• 1957: MSN from St. Louis University
• 1961: EdD from Teacher’s College,
Columbia University, New York
Who is Imogene King
• 1947-1958: Med-Surg Nursing Instructor and
Asst. Director of St. John’s Hospital School of
Nursing
• 1961-1966: Associate Professor at Loyola
University, Chicago
• 1966-1968: Asst. Chief, Research Grants Branch,
Division of Nursing, Washington D.C.
• 1968-1972: Director, School of Nursing at Ohio
State University
• 1971-1980: Professor at Loyola University,
Chicago
Who is Imogene King
• 1990: Retired with the title Professor Emeritus
after serving as Professor at University of South
Florida, College of Nursing
• Continued to speak at conferences around the
world and consulted with students who were
using and studying her theory
• December 24, 2007: She died, 2 days after
suffering from stroke
 King described a person existing in an

Metaparadigm
open system as a spiritual being and
rational thinker who makes choices,
selects alternative courses of action,

Person
and has the ability to record their
history through their own language and
symbols, unique, holistic and have
different needs, wants and goals.
Metaparadigm
1. The need for the health
information that is
understandable at the time
when it is needed and can be

Person
used.
2. The need to seek care to prevent
illness.
3. The need for care when human
beings are unable to help
themselves.
Metaparadigm
• It is a dynamic life experience of
a human being.
• Health implies continuous
adjustment to stress in the

Health
internal and external
environment through optimum
use of one’s resources to achieve
maximum potential for daily
living.
 • The process of balance involving

Metaparadigm
internal and external interactions
inside the social system.
• Reactions from the interaction
between the internal and

Environment
external environment can be
biological, psychological,
physical, social or spiritual.
• It has a direct exchange of
information between the internal
and external.
Metaparadigm
• Nursing is a process of action,
reaction, and interaction whereby
nurse and client share information

Nursing
about their perceptions in the
nursing situation.
• The nurse and client share specific
goals, problems, and concerns and
explore means to achieve a goal.
 Conceptual System
• Imogene King’s Interacting Systems
Framework emphasizes the importance of
the interaction between nurses and
patients.
• It views this interaction as an open system
which is in constant interaction with a
variety of environmental factors.
• 3 Systems: Personal, Interpersonal and
Social Systems
Interactive Systems
Framework
Personal System
Perception, self, growth
and development, body
image, space, and time
Interpersonal System
interaction, communication,
transaction, role, and stress
 Social System
organization, authority,
power, status, decision-making
and control
 Theory of Goal Attainment
• King’s Theory of Goal Attainment
focuses on the interpersonal system
and the interactions that take place
between individuals, specifically in the
nurse-patient relationship.
• King developed eight propositions in
her Theory of Goal Attainment. These
propositions are the following:
 Kings Theory of Goal
Attainment
1. If perceptual congruence is present in nurse-
client interactions, transactions will occur.
2. If nurse and client make transactions, goals
will be attained.
3. If goals are attained, satisfactions will occur.
4. If goals are attained, effective nursing care will
occur.
5. If transactions are made in nurse-client
interactions, growth and development will be
enhanced.
 Kings Theory of Goal
Attainment
6. If role expectations and role performance as
perceived by nurse and client are congruent,
transactions will occur.
7. If role conflict is experienced by nurse and
client or both, stress in nurse-client
interactions will occur.
8. If nurses with special knowledge and skills
communicate appropriate information to
clients, mutual goal setting (transactions) and
goal attainment will occur.
Nurse Patient
Transaction
Applications Of The Theory Practice
• Professionals have used King’s theory in
different specialized area with the use of
dynamic interactive communication
between the nurse and the client as
proof.
• Professionals need communication to
successfully and correctly make
decisions for their plan of care.
 Significance in Education
• King’s interacting system has been used to
design the nursing curriculum in different
schools and universities and framework for
nursing education.
• It provides a systematic means of viewing the
nursing profession, organizing nursing
knowledge and clarifying the nursing
discipline.
 Significance in Research
• King’s theory has been one of the theoretical
basis of some researches that helped in
formulating a system view of application of
the nursing practice.
• Some researchers have formulated a middle
range theory out of King’s theory such as
patient’s satisfaction from nursing care,
clients with chronic illness and family health.
 Significance in Clinical Practice
• It helps nurses to easily facilitate the present
problem from careful assessment of the client
gathered through the interactive
communication process between the nurse
and the client.