Imogene King

Imogene King, known for her theory of goat attainment, was born in West Point, Iowa on January 20th, 1923. In 1945, she received her nursing degree from St. John's Hospital of Nursing. She worked as a staff nurse while she continued her education at St. Louis University where, in 1948, she received her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing Education. From 1947 to 1958, Imogene worked as a Medical-Surgical Instructor at the same school she received her nursing diploma, St. John's Hospital of Nursing. While instructing she developed a Master's Degree program that was based on the nursing framework.

The first time her theory became public was in 1968; she published her theory in the journal, Nursing Science. At that time the journal was being edited by, Dr. Martha Rogers. The basic concept of her theory, Goal Attainment, was that the patient and nurse set goals together, communicate, and then take the actions to achieve those goals together. This set an interpersonal relationship between the nurse and patient; it allowed the patient to grow and develop to attain those goals. There were a few factors that would affect the outcome of the goals and they were: stress, space and time. King knew that patients were very social beings who had three fundamental needs: the need for care to prevent illness, the need to have health information and the special care when a patient is unable to care for themselves. In her theory, she tells about how poor health can be a life changing event for a patient and they must adjust to the new stressors. By providing resources for the patient, nurses are able to help the patient cope. There are three interacting systems that she explains in her theory for Goal Attainment. Those three systems are the personal system, social system and interpersonal system. Her concepts on the personal system are perception, growth and development, space, time, body image and self. As for the social system the concepts are organization, power, decision making, authority and status. Finally in the interpersonal system the concepts are interaction, communication, stress and transaction. To sum it all up, her theory makes the nurse's focus primarily on the patient.

Today we have began using this theory more and more for obtaining the goals for a patient. Most healthcare facilities are using a system called goal-oriented nursing record (GONR) that King created to collect data, recognize any problems and implement/evaluate care for a patient. As a nurse, we are given a framework in nursing school on how to recognize a patient's problem, teach the patient the importance of regaining health and also about the complications that may arise during that process. Once that is done, we are able to sit down with the patient and set personal goals to try and remain clear of complications. The GONR will also help a nurse evaluate the patient's progress and make any changes to the goals that are needed.

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