Nursing Theorists Practice Test

Interpersonal theory centers on the nurse–patient relationship as the vehicle for nursing care, emphasizing how communication, understanding of patient anxiety, and the therapeutic use of self shape outcomes. This approach sees nursing as an interpersonal process where the nurse and patient collaborate to meet felt needs through a developing relationship. The theorist most associated with this view is Hildegard Peplau, who framed nursing as an interpersonal process and outlined stages of the nurse–patient relationship: orientation, identification, exploitation, and resolution. Her work highlights how the quality of interaction and communication between nurse and patient drives care and healing.

The other names are known for different ideas: Henderson is linked to the need-for-help theory focusing on helping individuals to gain independence; Orlando is tied to the nursing process as a deliberative, patient-centered problem-solving approach; Rogers is associated with the science of unitary human beings and energy fields.