Imogene King’s Interacting

Systems Framework & Theory

of Goal Attainment
By: Rovilie V. Quidong
 Imogene King: International Nursing
Scholar & Pioneer Nursing Theorist
• Born on January 30, 1923 in Iowa. Died December 24, 2007 at the age of
83
• First career choice was to become a teacher
• She viewed nursing school as a way to get out of her small town
• Uncle offered to pay her tuition if she attended nursing school
“ I hope that in my desire to be a teacher, and in teaching many students
at every level of nursing education, I have in some small way helped others
to learn.” - Imogene King
 Education
• 1945- Graduated from St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis
• 1948- Graduated from St. Louis University with a BSN
• 1957-Received a Master of Science Degree from University of St. Louis
• 1961-Received a Doctorate in Education from Columbia University
• 1980- Honorary Ph.D from Southern Illinois University
 Career Accomplishments of King
• Associate Professor, (1961-1966) at Loyola University in Chicago.
• Assistant Chief of the Research Grants Branch of the Division of Nursing
in Washington, D.C., 1966-1968.
• Director of Ohio State University School of Nursing, 1968-1972
• Professor, (1971-1980) at Loyola University in Chicago
• Professor, ( 1980-1990) at University of South Florida College of Nursing
• Retired with title of Professor Emeritus.
 Career Accomplishments of King
• District IV Florida Nurses Association.
• American Nurses Association
• Sigma Theta Tau International
• Fellow in American Academy of Nursing
 Career Accomplishments of King
• In addition of her nursing theory, she published several books.
• The Language of Nursing Theory and Matatheory, 1997
• Toward a Theory for Nursing: General Concepts of Human Behavior, 1971.
• Curriculum and Instruction in Nursing: Concepts and Process
• A Theory for Nursing: Systems, Concepts and Process, 1981.
 Theory of Goal Attainment
Developed in the 1960s by Imogene King
Describes the relationship between the nurse and patient as “dynamic and
interpersonal” (Petiprin, 2016)
Patients mature and develop through life in order to reach goals
Theory posits that certain factors affect the “attainment of goals”- roles,
stress, space & time.
 Theory of Goal Attainment
• Patients have 3 fundamental needs regarding healthcare:
• 1. Health information
• 2. Prevention of illness
• 3. Care when incapacitated
 Theory of Goal Attainment
3 Interacting Systems Within King’s Theory Model, each System Containing
It’s Own Set of Concepts.
Personal- perception, self, growth, development, body image, space, & time
Interpersonal- interaction, communication, transaction, role, & stress
Social System- organization, authority, power, status, & decision-making
Each patient(person) is a combination of these 3 systems which
influences decision-making and goal-setting.
 Theory of Goal Attainment
• King’s theory proposes that if the nurse is able to accurately determine the
goal or goals of the patient and enable the patient to achieve the goal or
goals then the following will occur:
Mutual trust and satisfaction
Enhanced growth and development
Mutual goal-setting and goal achievement
 Human being has three fundamental
needs:
• 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, and
• 3. The need for care when human beings are human beings are unable to
help themselves.
 PERSON

Human being or person refers to social being who are rational and sentient.
Person has ability to:
-perceive
-think
- feel
-choose
-set goals
-select means to achieve
- to make decision
 HEALTH
• Health involves dynamic life experiences of a human being, which
implies continuous adjustment to stressors in the internal and external
environment through optimum use of one’s resources to achieve
maximum potential for daily living.
 Environment
• Environment is the background for human interactions:
• It involves:
1. Internal environment: transforms energy to enable person to adjust to
continuous external environmental changes.
2. External environment: involves formal and informal organizations.
Nurse is a part of the patient’s environment.
 NURSING
• A process of action, reaction and interaction by which nurse and client
share information about their perception in nursing situation” and “ a
process of human interactions between nurse and client where by each
perceives the other and the situation, and through communication, they set
goals, explore means, and agree on means to achieve goals”.
 Making Sense of
Theory

“Interaction with the patient

is an important component
of King’s goal attainment
model” (Black,
2017,p.1840.
 Application of King’s Theory of Goal
Attainment to Nursing Practice
• Establishing Effective Communication with Patients
• Creating Trusting Nurse to Patient Relationship
• Determining Perceived Needs, Barriers, and Goals
• Planning Care to Reach Goals
• Patient Education
• Advocate and Goal Attainment
• Prevention of Illness or Regaining Health
Theory of Goal Attainment & Nursing
Practice
• King’s theory component of interaction correlates with the assessment phase of the
nursing process.
• King’s theory component of interaction also correlates with the nursing diagnosis
phase of the nursing process
• King’s theory component of transaction correlates with the planning phase of the
nursing process.
• King’s theory component of transaction also correlates with the
implementation/interventions phase of the nursing process.
• King’s theory component of evaluation is also a phase of the nursing process.
Theory of Goal Attainment & Nursing
Practice
As a future nurses, we must understand that human interactions, in
combination with environmental factors, effect human perception.

“Communication is required to verify the accuracy of the perception, as well

as for interaction and translation”(Petiprin, 2016).
Thank You!