What Is Imogene King Theory Of Goal Attainment

Imogene King: Theory of Goal Attainment

INTRODUCTION Imogene King has made a lasting impact on the profession of Nursing, but surprisingly Nursing was not her first passion. Her passion was in teaching, but fortunately for the nursing community, King’s uncle, the town surgeon, offered to pay for her Nursing degree, an opportunity that she could not pass up (Hanink). She went on to receive her diploma in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education, Master’s of Science in Nursing, and finally her Doctorate in Education. It is because of King’s passion for both teaching and nursing that her first job after receiving her doctorate, was a teaching position, where she was also part of a committee that developed one of the first master’s of

This means that the nurse and patient have an interpersonal relationship where they communicate information, set goals together and then take action to achieve these goals, in order to grow and develop in hope of attaining certain life goals (Petripin). The patient is a social being with three fundamental needs: the need for information, the need for care that seeks to prevent illness, and the need for care when a patient is unable to help themselves (Petripin). King (1992) states that “the goal of nursing is health promotion, maintenance and/or restoration; care of the sick or injured; and care of the dying”. Based on these goals of nursing, The Theory of Goal Attainment is then separated intro three interacting systems: the personal system, the interpersonal system, and the social system. According to King, Individuals compromise one type of system in the environment called personal systems. Individuals also interact to form dyads, triads, and small and large groups, this system is called the interpersonal system. And finally, groups with special interests and needs form organizations which make up communities and societies and are called social systems (King, 1981, p.

“An individual perception of self, of body image, of time, of space influences the way he or she responds to object and events in his/her life. As individuals grow and develop through the lifespan, experiences with changes in structure and function, of their bodies over time influence their perceptions of self” (King, 1981, p. 19). These concepts give us the basis for understanding how individuals are personal systems. Perception, is “A process of organizing, interpreting, and transforming information from sense data and memory” (King, 1981, p. 24). Self, is a dynamic, open system, based on ones actions. King (1981) explains self as Jersild’s (1952) definition that “knowledge of self is a key to understanding human behavior because self is the way I define me to myself and to others. Self is all that I am. I am a whole person. Self is what I think of me and what I am capable of being and doing. Self is subjective in that it is what I think I should be or would like to be” (p. 26). Growth and development is “The processes that take place in an individual’s life that help the individual move from potential capacity for achievement to self-actualization” (King, 1981, p. 31). Body Image is “An individual’s perception of his/her own body, others’ reactions to his/her appearance which results