Research Guides: Nursing: Nursing Theorists & Their Theories

Books & Videos

WorldCat This link opens in a new window

Search Tips

to find general books, search by keyword using nurs* theori* (asterisk*=nurse, nursing, nurses, theories, theorist, theorists)
to find books written by a specific theorist, search by author starting your search with au:last name, first name
to find books written about a specific theorist, search by subject starting your search with su:last name, first name
use Advanced Search to combine search categories, as well as limit by date, format, etc.
to search other libraries, select Libraries Worldwide from the drop-down box for location

Google Books
Search book content for previews or free full-text. If you need more content, search WorldCat and expand your search to Libraries Worldwide, then Request It from Interlibrary Loan.

For a list of nursing theorist DVDs and other biographical resources, see the Nurses page on the Biographies research guide.

Websites

Nursing Theories: A Companion to Nursing Theories and Models
A list of 85 theories that include a link to a brief introduction to the theorist, assumptions, primary carative factors, major concepts, strengths, limitations, research related to that theory, a brief conclusion, and a list of references.
Nursing Theories and Models
Listed by area of practice (adult nursing, critical care, family, perinatal, etc.), and includes biographies of theorists and famous nurses.
Nursing Theorists
An A-Z list by nurse theorist with links to bibliographies of their theories. Archived site on Wayback Machine.
Nursing Theory
Explains the different types of nursing theories and provides a list of the major nursing theorists and theories.
Nursing Theory and Research
Collection of resources about nursing theories throughout the world. Included are links to nursing theories, mid-range nursing theories, nursing models, and other nursing theory sites.
Nursing Theory Link Page
Includes some of the most used links to information about nursing theorist on the Web.
Star Model
A model for understanding the cycles, nature, and characteristics of knowledge that are utilized in various aspects of evidence-based practice (EBP).
The Iowa Model
Description of how the Iowa Model of evidence-based practice works, with some examples of how it has been used in nursing research.

The American Nurse: A History of Challenge and Compassion

Articles

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
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Full-text articles from multi-volume encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company history compilations, consumer health references, and specialized reference sources.
CINAHL® Complete This link opens in a new window
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Provides broad content coverage including 50 nursing specialties, speech and language pathology, nutrition, general health and medicine and more.
Nursing & Allied Health Database This link opens in a new window
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Provides healthcare information covering nursing, allied health, alternative and complementary medicine, and more. Designed for researchers at healthcare facilities as well as nursing and allied health programs at academic institutions.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
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Comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher sites. Be sure to use this link to see full-text options available through Madigan Library. Search tip: Add nursing[mh] to the search box followed by AND plus your search terms to limit results to nursing articles. E.g., nursing[mh] AND prenatal care
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
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Search across many disciplines and sources for scholarly articles, theses, books, abstracts, patents and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other reputable websites.

Organisational Change Theory and the Use of Indicators in General Practice
This paper argues that systems theory exerts the most influence over the use of indicators. It concludes that a strategic framework for quality improvement should take account of all four theories, recognizing the multiple realities that any one approach will fail to reflect.
Selecting the Best Theory to Implement Planned Change
Planned change in nursing practice is necessary for a wide range of reasons, but it can be challenging to implement. Understanding and using a change theory framework can help managers or other change agents to increase the likelihood of success. This article considers three change theories (Lewin, Rogers, and Lippitt) and discusses how one in particular can be used in practice.