Imogene King's theory of goal attainment - Research Paper Example

The theory of goal attainment developed by Imogene King is a theory which adheres with the fundamental objective of nursing profession. Nursing, as envisaged by Florence Nightingale is a service of whose success is largely dependent on the effectiveness of relationship between the nurse and the patient. The basic assumption that governs the theory of goal attainment is that both nurse and patient, in a nursing environment are human beings and both of them are part of an open system which freely interacts with the environment (Meleis,2007).

The basic goal as set by the theory is the health care of the patient or patients. A mutually shared communication between the nurse and the patient is assumed to happen according to the theory. This in turn formulates the goal towards which they work together. The patient’s perception of the world as a total person making transactions with the other individuals and groups of individuals has been considered a major assumption of the discussed theory. The major concepts which are covered by the theory of goal attainment are based on different systems of interaction which includes; personal systems, interpersonal systems and social systems.

The most remarkable advantage of the theory is that it considers all human beings of equal worth (King, 1999). The very fact that the theory of goal attainment considers interaction between the nurse and the patient as a key factor of goal setting and attainment makes it applicable in practical nursing situations. Interaction, transaction and communication which happen between the nurse, patient and also the allied systems of interactions decide what is to be achieved. Here, the goal which is set becomes case specific and thus becomes more effective.

In other words, the nurse and the patient as a result of their interaction, communication and transaction decide together what is to be considered as a goal in terms of the health care of the patient. This approach is more inclusive as it considers a number of factors including social, interpersonal and personal concepts. Thus the goal becomes holistic and the achieved results becomes of long term implications. In the local nursing scenario, this would mean that the treatment will have long term positive implications.

The theory of goal attainment leaves the nurse at the advantage of having the freedom to take participatory decisions with the patient. This strengthens the personal interaction between both the parties. The application of this theory in practical nursing practice is thus of huge advantage as it creates a very positive nursing environment. However, the application of this theory will largely depend on the decision making capacity of individual nurses. The decision making capacity is in turn dependant on several factors.

One major factor is the skill of the nurse and another important factor is the hierarchical nature of the nursing environment which would determine the decisive powers of the nurse. ReferencesKing, I. M. (1999). Kings theory of goal attainment: Philosophical and ethical implications. Nursing Science Quarterly, 12, 292-296.  Meleis, A. F. (2007). Theoretical Nursing: Development and Progress. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.