M.

Sc DEGREE COURSE IN NURSING

ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE

UNIT – VI
Philosophy and Theories of Nursing

MARTHA ROGERS - The Science of

Unitary Human Beings

DR. T.JAYADEEPA
VICE PRINCIPAL
 OBJECTIVES

• The students will be able to,

• Know about the theorist
• Roger's theory on the Science of Unitary Human
Beings
• Assumption
• Metaparadigams
• Nursing application
• Application of Roger’s theory in nursing
 MARTHA ROGERS
• The Science of Unitary Human Beings
 Brief History

• Martha Elizabeth Rogers was born in Dallas, Texas May 12, 1914; sharing her
birthday with Florence Nightingale.
• She grew up in a family, where learning was fostered and reading was a favorite
pastime.
• Received Nursing diploma from Knoxville General Hospital in 1936.
• She completed her BSN in Public Health Nursing in 1937 from George Peabody
College Nashville in 1937 and worked as a public health nurse.
• Earned her master's degree in public health nursing from Teacher's College
Columbia University.
 Original Source

o Immediately after receiving her doctoral degree, Dr. Rogers got the position of a
professor and head of Division of Nursing. It was there that her career as an
educator and a leader in theory development came to realization.
o Rogers early grounding in the liberal arts and sciences is apparent in the origin of
her theory.
o Her original work are the basic assumptions about human beings. Using these
assumptions, she identified concepts on which, she based her Principles of
Homeodynamics
o Her major work entitled "An Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing"
was published in 1970.
o Rogers model was known throughout the world as the Science of Unitary Human
Beings focuses on the human being as a whole in constant interaction with the
environment.
 Roger's theory on the Science of Unitary Human
Beings
• The science of unitary human beings comprises of
five assumption, four major concepts and three
major principles
• Major concepts are : Energy field, openness,
pattern, and pan dimensionality
• Major principles include resonancy , helicy and
integrity. It is also known as homeodynamic
principles.
 Assumptions
• Human being is considered as united
wholeness • whole
• A person and his environment are
openness continuously exchanging energy with
each other
• The life process of human being evolves
Unidirectionality irreversibly and unidirectional
• i.e from birth to death
Pattern and • Pattern identifies individuals and
organization reflects their innovative wholeness.
• Humans are the only organisms able to
Sentence and think, imagine, have language and
thought emotions
 Energy field

Major
Pan- Openness
dimensionality Concepts

Pattern
 Energy field

• It is inevitable part of life. Human and

environment both have energy field which is
open i.e. energy can freely flow between human
and environment
Energy field
 Openness

• There is no boundary or barrier that can inhibit the

flow of energy between human and environment
which leads to the continuous movement or matter
of energy.
 Pattern

• Pattern is defined as the distinguishing characteristic of an

energy field perceived as a single waves
• "pattern is an abstraction and it gives identity to the field"
 Pan dimensionality

• Pan dimensionality is defined as "non linear domain

without spatial or temporal attributes"

• Human being are pan dimensional being and have more

than three dimension.
 Homeodynamic principles

• Homeodynamics refers to the balance between the

dynamic life process and environment.
• These principles help to view human as unitary human
being.
• Three principle of homeodynamics
– Resonancy
– Helicy
– integrality
1. Resonancy

•Wave patterns are continuously changing in environmental and

human energy fields.

2. Helicy

•The nature of change is unpredictable, continuous, and an

innovative.

3. Integrality

•Energy fields of humans and environment are in a continuous

mutual process.
Roger’s theory and nursing
metaparadigm

Person

Environment
Health

Nursing
1. Unitary Human Being (person)
•A unitary human being is open systems which
continuously interact with environment. A person
cannot be viewed as parts, it should be considered
as a whole.
2. Environment
•It includes the entire energy field other than a
person.
•These energy fields are irreducible, not limited by
space and time, identified by its pattern and
organization.
3. Health
•Not clearly defined by Rogers. It is determined by
the interaction between energy fields i.e. human and
environments.
•Bad interaction or misplacing of energy leads to
illness.

4. Nursing
•Nursing exists to serve people.
•Nursing is both science and art.
•It is the direct and overriding responsibility to the
society
 Application of Roger’s theory in nursing

Clinical Nursing Research

Practice education
 Clinical practice

• Nursing action is always focused on unitary

human being and change the energy field
between human and environment.
• Nursing action include all non-invasive actions
such as guided imaginary, humor, therapeutic
touch, music etc. which are used to increase the
potential of human field.
• The more importance should be on the
management of pain, supportive therapy and
rehabilitation.
Clinical practice
• How to apply this theory into practice? Example in nursing
care plan:
• Ritu 22 years old female was admitted in psychiatric
hospital with severe depression secondary to diagnosis of
ovarian malignancy. She became tearfull while history
taking. Ritu was accompanied by her husband and 1 year
old child. Her husband appear anxious but supportive.
Ritu was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 2 month ago and
underwent surgery for same. From past three week ritu
started sitting alone, decreased activity of daily living,
repeated crying spells, decreased talk, decreased sleep,
neglecting her child care, and also attempted suicide.
 Nursing education
• Emphasis should be given on the understanding of the
patient and self, energy field and environment.
• School
Health Pattern:
Involve the student in their knowing participation in
change; focusing sometimes on lifestyle change, through
sharing knowledge so as to empower the adolescent.
Appraisal of multiple lifestyle rhythm such as nutrition,
exercise, sleep/wake cycles, relationships and
work/leisure activities.
Use of therapeutic imagery, music, art or humor in
developing self confidence.
Nursing education
 Strengths
• Rogers’ concepts provide a worldview from which nurses
may derive theories and hypotheses and propose
relationships specific to different situations.

• Rogers’ theory is not directly testable due to lack of

concrete hypotheses, but it is testable in principle.
 Weakness
• Overall this theory is considered as very complex concept
and quite difficult to understand.
• Rogers’ model does not define particular hypotheses or
theories for it is an abstract, unified, and highly derived
framework.
• Testing the concepts’ validity is questionable because its
concepts are not directly measurable.
• The theory was believed to be profound, and was too
ambitious because the concepts are extremely abstract.
• Rogers claimed that nursing exists to serve people;
however, nurses’ roles were not clearly defined.
 Summary and Conclusion
• The Science of Unitary Human Beings is highly
generalizable as the concepts and ideas are not confined
with a specific nursing approach unlike the usual way of
other nurse theorists in defining the major concepts of a
theory.
• Rogers gave much emphasis on how a nurse should view
the patient. She developed principles which emphasizes
that a nurse should view the client as a whole.
• Her statements, in general, made us believe that a person
and his or her environment are integral to each other. That
is, a patient can’t be separated from his or her environment
when addressing health and treatment.
 REFERENCE
 Astin J.A., Harkness E. & Ernst E. (2000) The efficacy of ‘distant healing’: a
systematic review of randomized trials. Annals of Internal Medicine, 903–910.
 Fawcett, J. (1995). Analysis and evaluation of conceptual models of nursing (3rd
ed.). F.A. Philadelphia, PA: Davis.
 Kenny, J. (2002). Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives for Advanced Nursing
Practice (3rd ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
 Malinski, V.M. (1986). Explorations of Martha Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human
Beings. East Norwalk, CT: Prentice-Hall.
 Malinski, V. M., & Manhart Barrett, E. A. (1994). Martha E. Rogers: Her Life and
Her Work. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.