Page 240 - alligood 8th edition_Neat

CHAPTER 13 Martha E. Rogers 221

Professor Emerita in 1979. She held this title until her humorous, blunt, and ethical. Rogers remains a widely
death on March 13, 1994, at 79 years of age. recognized scholar honored for her contributions and
Rogers’ publications include three books and more leadership in nursing. Butcher (1999) noted, “Rogers,
than 200 articles. She lectured in 46 states, the District like Nightingale, was extremely independent, a deter-
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Netherlands, mined, perfectionist individual who trusted her vision
China, Newfoundland, Columbia, Brazil, and other despite skepticism” (p. 114). Colleagues consider her
countries (M. Rogers, personal communication, March one of the most original thinkers in nursing as she syn-
1988). Rogers received honorary doctorates from such thesized and resynthesized knowledge into “an entirely
renowned institutions as Duquesne University, Univer- new system of thought” (Butcher, 1999, p. 111). Today
sity of San Diego, Iona College, Fairfield University, she is thought of as “ahead of her time, in and out of this
Emory University, Adelphi University, Mercy College, world” (Ireland, 2000, p. 59).
and Washburn University of Topeka. The numerous
awards for her contributions and leadership in nursing
include citations for Inspiring Leadership in the Field of Theoretical Sources
Intergroup Relations by Chi Eta Phi Sorority, In Recog- Rogers’ grounding in the liberal arts and sciences
nition of Your Outstanding Contribution to Nursing by is apparent in both the origin and the development
New York University, and For Distinguished Service to of her conceptual model, published in 1970 as An
Nursing by Teachers College. In addition, New York Introduction to the Theoretical Basis of Nursing (Rogers,
University houses the Martha E. Rogers Center for the 1970). Aware of the interrelatedness of knowledge,
Study of Nursing Science. In 1996, Rogers was inducted Rogers credited scientists from multiple disciplines
posthumously into the American Nurses Association with influencing the development of the Science of
Hall of Fame. Unitary Human Beings. Rogerian science emerged
In 1988, colleagues and students joined her in from the knowledge bases of anthropology, psychol-
forming the Society of Rogerian Scholars (SRS) and ogy, sociology, astronomy, religion, philosophy, history,
immediately began to publish Rogerian Nursing Sci- biology, physics, mathematics, and literature to create a
ence News, a members’ newsletter, to disseminate the- model of unitary human beings and the environment
ory developments and research studies (Malinski as energy fields integral to the life process. Within
2009). In 1993, the SRS began to publish a refereed nursing, the origins of Rogerian science can be traced
journal, Visions: The Journal of Rogerian Nursing Sci- to Nightingale’s proposals and statistical data, placing
ence. The society includes a foundation that maintains the human being within the framework of the natural
and administers the Martha E. Rogers Fund. In 1995, world. This “foundation for the scope of modern nurs-
New York University established the Martha E. Rogers ing” began nursing’s investigation of the relationship
Center to provide a structure for continuation of Ro- between human beings and the environment (Rogers,
gerian research and practice. 1970, p. 30). Newman (1997) describes the Science of
A verbal portrait of Rogers includes such descriptive Unitary Human Beings as “the study of the moving,
terms as stimulating, challenging, controversial, idealistic, intuitive experience of nurses in mutual process with
visionary, prophetic, philosophical, academic, outspoken, those they serve” (p. 9).

MAJOR CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

In 1970, Rogers’ conceptual model of nursing rested Rogers postulates that human beings are dynamic
on a set of basic assumptions that described the energy fields that are integral with environmental
life process in human beings. Wholeness, openness, fields. Both human and environmental fields are
unidirectionality, pattern and organization, sen- identified by pattern and characterized by a universe
tience, and thought characterized the life process of open systems. In her 1983 paradigm, Rogers pos-
(Rogers, 1970). tulated four building blocks for her model: energy
Continued