Imogene King (January 30, 1923 – December 24, 2007) was a pioneer of nursing theory development. Her interacting systems theory of

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

and her theory of goal attainment have been included in every major nursing theory text. These theories are taught to thousands of nursing students, form the basis of nursing education programs, and are implemented in a variety of service settings.

Biography

Imogene Eva Martina King was born on January 30, 1923, in

West Point, Iowa West Point is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 921 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Fort Madison– Keokuk, IA- MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History West Point was incorporated on March 25, ...

, the youngest of three children. King originally wanted to be a teacher, but her uncle, a doctor, offered her the opportunity to study nursing. To escape small-town life, she accepted.

Education

King's educational achievements began with a nursing diploma in 1945 when she graduated from St. John's Hospital School of Nursing in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri. She then studied nursing education at St. Louis University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1948. From 1947 to 1958 she worked at St. John's Hospital School of Nursing as a nursing teacher and assistant director. In 1957 she received her master's degree in nursing from St. Louis University and earned her doctorate in education (EdD) from Columbia University

Teachers College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in New York City.

Academic appointments

King then became an assistant professor at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

, also studying statistics, research and computer science. While at Loyola, she developed a master's program based on her theory that later formed the framework for her model of care. She published her first theoretical approach in 1964 in the Journal of Nursing Science. From 1966 to 1968, King worked for the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare before moving to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, as the principal of the nursing school. There, King published ''Toward a Theory of Nursing: General Concepts of Human Behavior'' in 1971, dated 1973, and winning the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year award. From 1971 to 1980, King returned to Loyola University as a professor, and in 1980 transferred to South Florida's College of Nursing in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

as a professor emeritus and taught there until 1990. In 1981 King published her text, ''A Theory for Nursing: Systems, Concepts, Process'', in which King presents her complete theory.

Personal life

She remained in Tampa until her retirement in 1990. '' '' King died of a stroke on December 24, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her burial was held in Fort Madison, Iowa on January 19, 2008.

Awards and honors

* 2005: Living Legend,

American Academy of Nursing The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a professional organization that generates, synthesizes, and disseminates nursing knowledge to contribute to health policy and practice for the benefit of the public and the nursing profession. Founded in 1 ...

* 2004: Hall of Fame Inductee,

American Nurses Association The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(6) professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. It is ba ...

* Honorary Doctorate from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

* 1996: Jessie M. Scott Award of the American Nurses Association * 1973: Book of the Year award, American Journal of Nursing

Selected publications

* * King, I. M. (1990). Health as the goal for nursing. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''3''(3), 123-128. * King, I. M. (1992). King's theory of goal attainment. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''5''(1), 19-26. * King, I. M. (1994). Quality of life and goal attainment. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''7''(1), 29-32. * King, I. M. (1997). King's theory of goal attainment in practice. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''10''(4), 180-185. * King, I. M. (1999). A theory of goal attainment: Philosophical and ethical implications. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''12''(4), 292-296. * King, I. M. (2007). King's conceptual system, theory of goal attainment, and transaction process in the 21st century. ''Nursing Science Quarterly'', ''20''(2), 109-111.

Biography

Education

Academic appointments

Personal life

Awards and honors

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading