THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

IN NURSING

MARGARET NEWMAN

ABOUT THE THEORIST  Theory basis: Universal process of expanding

consciousness
 Born on October 10, 1933, in Memphis,  Theory goal: to help the client recognize and
Tennessee positively address their own patterns
 Died on December 18, 2018, at the age of 85 according to their environment
 Call to nursing  Theory focus: to practice the caring
o Caregiver for her mother who has partnership with a client who could not share
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) their desires
 1962 – University of Tennessee School of
Nursing MAJOR CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
o Bachelor’s Degree  Health
 1964 – University of California, San Francisco - Viewed as a process of developing awareness
o Graduate study in Medical-Surgical – of self and environment together with
received Masters increasing ability to perceive alternatives and
 1964 – 1967 – University of Tennessee respond in a variety of ways
o Director of Nursing (clinical research - Health is viewed as the “pattern of the whole”
center) of a person
o Assistant professor  Pattern
 1971 – New York University - Pattern is what identifies an individual as
o Graduate study for Ph.D particular person
o Taught (1971 – 1977) - Characteristics of pattern include movement,
 Developed ideas as a student and colleague of diversity, and rhythm
Martha Rogers - Pattern is somehow intimately involved in
 1977 – Penn State energy exchange and transformation
o Professor-in-charge of graduate study  Consciousness
 1978 – nursing theory conference, New York - Defined as the informal capacity of the
o 1st time she gathered her ideas on system; ability of the system to interact with
theory of health its environment
 1984 – University of Minnesota - Three correlates of consciousness (time,
o Nurse theorist movement, space) serve as explanations for
o Continuing the development of the the changing pattern of the whole
theory and related research with - The expansion of consciousness is what life,
graduate students and therefore health, is all about
 1996  Movement
o Retires from teaching - The means whereby one perceives reality and
therefore, is a means of becoming aware of
OVERVIEW OF THE THEORY self
- Movement through space is integral to the
 Health as expanding consciousness
development of a concept of time in man and
 Newman’s theory was first published in 1986
is utilized by man as a measure of time
 Her theory was progresses to include the
health of all persons regardless of the
presence or absence of disease
 Newman’s theory is a grand theory
  Time and Space 4. Environment
- Have a complementary relationship. The  Described as a “universe of open systems”
concept of space is inextricably linked to the  Environment is described as being the larger
concept of time whole, which is beyond the consciousness of
- When one’s life is decrease, as be either an individual
physical or social immobility, one’s time is
increased
MAJOR ASSUMPTIONS
1. Health encompasses conditions heretofore
described as illness or, in medical terms,
pathology
2. These “pathological” conditions can be
considered a manifestation of the total
pattern of the individual
3. The pattern of the individual that eventually
manifests itself as pathology is primary and ACCEPTANCE BY THE NURSING COMMUNITY
exists prior to structural or functional
changes 1. Practice
4. Removal of the pathology in itself will not  Newman’s model of health is useful in the
change the pattern of the individual practice of nursing because it contained
5. If becoming “ill” is the only way an concepts used by the nursing profession.
individual’s pattern can manifest itself, then Movement and time are intrinsic part of
that its health for that person nursing intervention, that is, range-of-motion,
6. Health is the expansion of consciousness ambulation, turning, coughing, and deep-
breathing. These parameters are used each
METAPARADIGM OF THE THEORY day by the nurse in practice
1. Nursing  The responsibility of nursing practice is to
 Nursing is the study of “caring in the human establish a primary relationship with the
health experience” client for the purpose of identifying
 Nursing is seen as a partnership between the healthcare needs and facilitating the client’s
nurse and client, with both grow in the “sense action potential and decision-making ability
of higher level of consciousness”  “the goal of nursing is not to make people
2. Person well, or to prevent them from getting sick, but
 Person is defined as consciousness to assist people to utilize the power that is
 Persons are defined as “centers of within them as they evolve toward higher
consciousness” within an overall pattern of levels of consciousness”
expanding consciousness” 2. Education
 “the person does not possess consciousness –  Newman did not advocate one model as the
the person is consciousness” sole basis for curriculum. Rather, students
 The human is unitary, that is cannot be should have the opportunity to study various
divided into parts, and is inseparable from approaches to health and nursing and to
the larger unitary field.” choose what is relevant to them in their
3. Health practice and research
 Health is the major concept of Newman’s 3. Research
theory of Expanding Consciousness  Some researchers have attempted to test
 A fusion of disease and non-disease creates a Newman’s prepositions of time, space and
synthesis that is regarded as health movement
 “health is the pattern of the whole, and  A negative correlation was found between
wholeness is. One cannot lose or gain it” depression and subject time – findings do not
 support an increasing level of consciousness
with age
 Cooperative inquiry or interactive, integrative
participation – Newman’s stated that
research should center around
 “participatory investigations in which
subjects (clients) are our partners, our core-
searchers, in our search for health patterns”
CRITIQUE
 Clarity
- Evident in the definitions, descriptions and
dimensions of the concepts of the theory
 Simplicity
- The theory was complex in nature
 Generality
- Her theory was broad in scope because they
all relate to health
 Empirical Precision
- Aspects of the theory have been
operationalized and tested
 Derivable Consequences
- Provides an evolving guide for all health-
related disciplines
APPLICATION OF THE THEORY