Virginia Henderson's Nursing Theory

This assignment explores Virginia Henderson's influential contributions to nursing theory, specifically her Needs Theory. It delves into the core principles of this theory, highlighting how it shaped the understanding and application of individualized patient care. The analysis also examines Henderson's enduring legacy within the nursing field and its continued relevance in contemporary practice.

Nursing Assignment 1
Nursing Assignment
Virginia Henderson
Student’s Name:
Instructor's Name:
Date:

Nursing Assignment 2
Virginia Henderson
Introduction
The nursing profession has seen several prominent figures from all around the world who have
created a strong impact on the field, and also have shown the path for others to follow and
rejoice in the profession. Florence Nightingale, Jeanne Prentice, Mary Seacole, and many other
prominent personalities have, in their own selfless way, given us a reason to stick to the rules and
regulations laid by our seniors and authorities, and follow the path set by them. One such
eminent person is Virginia Avenel Henderson, better known as the ‘First lady of nursing' or, The
Nightingale of modern nursing' (Vera, 2016a). Virginia Henderson has put forth theories that we,
as modern-day nursing candidates and those practicing the profession, follow and adhere,
strictly, to ensure we are on the right track. In this essay, we will talk briefly about her life
history, and her achievements in the field of nursing as well as the theory that has greatly
impacted us all. Henderson was a theorist, a nurse, and an author famous for her Need Theory
(Vera, 2014).
Virginia Avenel Henderson – Her Life at a Glance
Virginia Henderson was born in the year 1897, in Kansas, Missouri. She was the fifth of the
eight children born to Lucy Minor Abbot and Daniel. B. Henderson. At the age of four, Virginia
started schooling in her namesake state, in an elementary school owned by her maternal
grandfather.
Her nursing career, or rather, her education and empathy towards nursing profession started in
the year 1921, when she received her diploma in nursing, from the US army school of nursing.
Simultaneously, she started working part-time, as a visiting nurse practitioner in Henry street
visiting nurse service.

Nursing Assignment 3
Her profession as a nurse allowed her to do research and study in depth the various parts of the
field, and thus, allowed her to gain extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject.
This helped her to gain the post of an instructor, which she held from the year 1924 to 1929, in
Norfolk Protestant Hospital, Virginia. Here, she was both the instructor as well as the
educational director.
Her fame and her susceptibility and empathy towards her profession and the thorough knowledge
allowed her to scale high in her career, as a nurse supervisor and clinical instructor, in Strong
Memorial Hospital, New York. She held this post for a few years, from 1930 to 1934, and later
on, moved to Columbia University, New York, as an associate professor. While her career was at
its peak, she also completed her Bachelors of nursing (1932) and masters (1934), in Columbia
University (Vera, 2016b).
The higher degree and her passion as well as in-depth knowledge of her subject, helped her gain
a post in Yale, University of nursing, as a research associate (1953), and research associate
emeritus (1971-1996). During her career span, which has covered almost a whole century,
Virginia was invited to various research institutes, colleges, universities and nursing homes for
lectures and to share her inputs about the professional practices.
Virginia’s Contributions to Modern Nursing
After studying the various forms of nursing, and working herself in these fields, Virginia
identified certain areas which she felt required attention. Virginia authored three editions of the
‘Principles of Nursing’ or the ‘Basic principles of nursing’, published in the years 1966 and once
revised in 1972. This book has been published in a total of 27 languages and is still considered to
be a guide for all concerns regarding nursing. Apart from this, Henderson, from her research

Nursing Assignment 4
experience, published books including “ Nursing research – Survey and Assessment” and famous
“Textbook of Principles and Practice of Nursing”.
In the words of Holloran (1996), nursing is very well depicted in prose and well-defined too by
means of expert option and research in the Principles and Practice of Nursing, and there is no
equal to it.
Halloran (1996) also goes on to explain how this book of principles is designed for the world
community at large, and not just for a few selective audience. Although Virginia oversaw the
sixth edition, and it was the bestselling edition out of all, there has been talk for republishing the
book in electronic format, in its seventh edition (Halloran, 2015).
Need’s Theory and its Application
Some of the concepts and principles explained by Henderson is applicable even in this modern
age. One such example is the Need's theory. The theory focuses on the concept that the nurses
should care for the patients until they can look after themselves, and also on the importance of
increasing the independence of patients to fasten their progress in the hospital.
According to Virginia, she defined nursing practice as:
“The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of
those activities contributing to health or its recovery that he would perform unaided if he had the
necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such a way as to help him gain
independence as rapidly as possible”(Henderson’s Needs Theory)
This theory is widely followed even today, in modern nursing, and all across the field,
irrespective of what area of medicine we are talking about. For instance, one of the surprising
facts is that Virginia even had mentioned the ‘care for Aids patients' in the theory, when the
disease was not well known and was neither so prevalent (Holloran, 2015). This fact and several

Nursing Assignment 5
such minute details with which Virginia has covered many forms of nursing in her ‘Needs’
theory shows the level of research, insight and practical experiences she has gained and
accumulated to write the book.
Another proof of the validity, credibility and the great significance of the theory comes from
another quarter.
Henderson’s Principles and Practice of Nursing is a wonderful grand theory applicable to many
branches of nursing (Nicely, 2011).
After this, Nicely goes on to explain the theory when it is applied to organ donation and
transplantation, something which was a faraway dream or a developing one at least when
Henderson had written the book. This and many such smaller aspects shows that the nursing was
her (Virginia's) world, and thus, she wanted to (and has) give as much she can to the field as
possible.
Virginia Henderson’s need theory is found to be close to realism and is relevant to the Pakistani
context (Ahtisham, 2015). This again is another example of how the theory can only be defined
as a global one, irrespective of borders, religion or culture.
The theory, her writings, and its applications in various fields of nursing, even in present times,
is what makes people call her the ‘Florence Nightingale’ of the twentieth century. Some even
referred to her as the ‘first lady of nursing’, an honor, which leaves us wondering about her
achievements and the level of dedication to the service to the sick and the needy.
Accolades Received
Virginia left for her heavenly abode in 1996. The world of medicine and nursing, however, was
not left bereft but were provided with enough materials to develop the ideas preached and
practiced by Virginia.

Nursing Assignment 6
Her work in the field of nursing was duly acknowledged by many, and innumerable honors were
bestowed on her. One of the most notable among them is the ‘Christiane Reimann Prize’, the
first ever, given by the International Council of Nurses. This is the most prestigious honor in the
field of nursing. Apart from that, despite being from the other side of the world, the Royal
College of Nursing, (FRCN), awarded an honorary fellowship to Virginia for her contributions to
nursing.
Conclusion
Halloran (2015) said that he would recommend the sixth edition of Principles and Practice of
Nursing for anyone looking to comprehend the depth and breadth of nursing.
Not only did Halloran, there are several other researchers and writers, as well as medical
practitioners, who believe and still practice the theories and principles put forth by Virginia
Henderson. The time, when nursing was considered to be ‘caring for the patients’ only,
Henderson brought forth methods and principles into it, through her theories. As she describes
aptly, the nurse is responsible for carrying out the physician’s therapeutic plan. However,
individualized care involves the nurse’s creative abilities too. Vera, 2016b), each nursing
professional, should apply for they have learnt, and go beyond their ‘work definitions’ to carve a
path for themselves through ample guidance. A nurse should be able to not only follow the rule
books, and theories, but should also know how to apply them in practical life, and in real-life
situations.
The works of Virginia Henderson is simply etched in the memories and in the history of the
nursing field, in golden letters. The Needs theory and the principles will stay forever in the minds
of the instructors and practitioners of nursing, and many who embark on the path of nursing will
follow the instructions laid down by Henderson, in their own field of nursing.

Nursing Assignment 7
References
Ahtisham, Y. & Jacoline, S., 2015. Integrating Nursing Theory and Process into Practice;
Virginia's Henderson Need Theory. Available
at<http://www.internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org/docs/23_ahtisham.pdf>[Accessed April
24, 2017].
Halloran, E.J., 1996. Virginia Henderson and her timeless writings. Journal of advanced nursing.
Available at<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8708213>[Accessed April 24, 2017].
Nicely, B. & DeLario, G.T. 2011. Virginia Henderson's principles and practice of nursing
applied to organ donation after brain death. Progress in transplantation (Aliso Viejo, Calif.).
Available at <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21485946>[Accessed April 24, 2017].
Vera, R.N.M., 2014. Virginia Henderson – The First Lady of Nursing. Nurseslabs. Available
at<https://nurseslabs.com/virginia-henderson/>.
Vera, R.N.M., 2016a. Virginia Henderson - Biography and Works. Nurseslabs. Available
at<https://nurseslabs.com/virginia-henderson/>[Accessed April 24, 2017]
Vera, R.N.M., 2016b. Virginia Henderson - Nursing Need Theory. Nurseslabs. Available
at<https://nurseslabs.com/virginia-hendersons-need-theory/>[Accessed April 24, 2017].