Imogene King

‘Goal Attainment
Theory’
Freiah Shello S. Bolos
Block 4
Imogene King
◉ She was born in West Point, Iowa on January 30, 1923
◉ 1945 Received nursing diploma from St. John's Hospital School of
Nursing in St. Louis Missouri
◉ 1948 Received her BSN in nursing education from St. Louis University
◉ 1957 Acquired Master's of Science in Nursing also from St. Louis
University
◉ 1961 Earned Doctoral of education degree from Teacher's College,
Columbia University in New York City.
◉ 1966-1968 Spent in the academic settings of Ohio State, University,
Loyola University and the University of South Florida. 

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◉ She formulated her theory while she was an
associate professor of nursing at Loyola
University in Chicago.
◉ She began her work in nursing theory with a
conceptual framework.
◉ King considers her theory as a deviation from
systems theory, with emphasis on interaction
theory.
◉ She Died on December 24, 1997, 2 days after
suffering from stroke.
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Objectives
”
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◉ To be able to explain and understand the goal
attainment theory thoroughly.
◉ To gain more knowledge about the overview of
the theory.

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Major Assumption
or Concept
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◉ 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. 

◉ She developed eight propositions in her Theory

of Goal Attainment. These propositions are the
following:

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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.
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5. If transactions are made in nurse-client interactions, growth
and development will be enhanced.
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.
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Metaparadigm

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 Person
◉King described a person existing in an open system as a spiritual
being and rational thinker who makes choices, selects alternative
courses of action, and has the ability to record their history
through their own language and symbols, unique, holistic and
have different needs, wants and goals.
◉Three basic health needs of person: 1. The need for the health
information that is unable at the time when it is needed and can
be used. 2. The need for care that seek to prevent illness. 3. The
need for care when human beings are unable to help themselves.
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 Health
◉ Health
◉ It is a dynamic state in the life cycle; illness interferences
with that process.
◉ Health implies continuous adjustment to stress in the internal
and external environment through optimum use of one’s
resources to achieve maximum potential for daily living.

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 Environment
◉  Environment as the process of balance involving internal and external
interactions inside the social system.
◉ Reactions from the interaction between the internal and external
environment can be biological, psychological, physical, social or
spiritual.
◉ It has a direct exchange of information between the internal and
external.

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 Nursing
◉ Nursing is a process of action, reaction, and interaction whereby
nurse and client share information about their perceptions in the
nursing situation.
◉ The nurse and client share specific goals, problems, and
concerns and explore means to achieve a goal.

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In addition, King also discusses the following: 
◉ GOAL OF A NURSE: To help individuals to maintain their
health so they can function in their roles. 
◉ DOMAIN OF A NURSE: Includes promoting, maintaining,
and restoring health, and caring for the sick, injured and dying.

◉ FUNCTIONS OF A NURSE: To interpret information in
nursing process to plan, implement and evaluate nursing care.

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Importance of theory in
nursing practice, education

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 Nursing 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.

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• King also developed the Goal Oriented Nursing Record (GONR) from
her theory. GONR have been useful in documenting the outcomes of
care that was performed by nurses.
• 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.
• Her record management facilitates proper and correct range for the use
of evaluation system.
• The significance of King’s Goal Attainment Theory have been applied
to different professional practice setting such as in nursing
administration, theory- based practice in the emergency department , in
tertiary hospitals and in the community.
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 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.
• Based on King’s guidelines, the focus of a Nursing curriculum must
be the dynamic nurse-client interaction.
• Nursing education programs must prepare nursing students to
become useful, productive, and relatively happy citizens as well as
professional practitioners as they acquire knowledge, values and
skills in the practice of nursing. 19
 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.
• Here are two of out of the many researches which based upon King’s Goal
Attainment Theory and Interacting System:
• Application of King's Theory of Dynamic Interacting Systems to the Study
of Child Abuse and the Development of Alcohol Use/Dependence in Adult
Females by Mckinney and Dean
• Imogene King's Interacting Systems Theory: Application to emergency and
rural nursing by Williams 20