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This article is an introduction to the review of Evolving Rogerian Nursing Science: John R. Phillips' Unique Contributions, published by the Society of Rogerian Scholars in 2023. This reviewed book compiles John R. Phillips' publications spanning 1990 to 2023, cherishing his dedication and commitment to the science of unitary human beings. It also portrays ever-evolving changes in nursing as a never-ending mutual process in the pandimensional universe, reflecting the beauty of Martha E. Rogers' vision as illustrated by Dr. Phillips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a holistic revisioning of symptom theory for nursing practice. The Holistic Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms (HTOUS), informed by the Science of Unitary Human Beings, describes the complexity of symptom experience and how nursing actions can be associated with its transformation. Existing theories of unpleasant symptoms which broadly describe the antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of symptoms, have been reconceptualized from holistic and integral perspectives. Applying integral concepts such as human energy field and pattern manifestation expands understanding of both symptom experience and the nurse's response to it. Spirituality is an addition to symptom theory, being seen as a characteristic of Human Energy Field pattern manifestations. The theory's major concepts are symptom experience manifestations and wellbecoming manifestations. Concepts of the sustaining presence of the nurse and voluntary mutual patterning are explored. Pain, nausea, dyspnea, anxiety, despair, and other symptoms are discussed. Because HTOUS is acausal and nonlinear, it is widely applicable to creative, theory-directed nursing practice and research. Recommendations are made for practice, research, and further theory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose is to provide background on The Fund and highlight a 2015 awardee. Data Sources include publications of the SRS, organizational and awardee documents. Data Synthesis is a description and story about The Fund and the awardee. Conclusions are the career journey of one past awardee speaks to the continued legacy of The Fund and gives meaning to the relevance and importance of its continued work. Implications include a better understanding of The Fund, eligibility for funding, and a call for all to participate in charitable giving to support works within the Science of Unitary Human Beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unitary Human Caring Science (UHCS) based on the Science of Unitary Human Beings and caritas-veritas consciousness provides a lens for viewing lived experiences of doctoral nursing students practicing Transcendental Meditation®. Caritas-Veritas, through the light of UHCS articulates virtues/values explicating expanding consciousness in nursing praxis. Science and spirit converge, illuminating emerging consciousness of authentic presence found in Caritas-Veritas praxis. To embody and embrace veritas, nurses act with honor, and commitment, in service to humankind. The values of goodness, truth, and beauty are evident in the energetic human-universe, as the whole of unitary reality is expressed as the cosmic quantum field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Martha Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings (SUHB) theory predates online education. In a face-to-face classroom, human energy field (HEF) interactions take place because of the physical proximity of the students and teacher, potentially resulting in a change in field patterns for those involved. But, how does this take place in an online class environment? Or does it? If not, how can teachers create a field interaction? This presentation frames the literature findings regarding student engagement and online learning within the SUHB lens. Possible avenues for further research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Martha Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings (SUHB) theory predates online education. In a face-to-face classroom, human energy field (HEF) interactions take place because of the physical proximity of the students and teacher, potentially resulting in a change in field patterns for those involved. But, how does this take place in an online class environment? Or does it? If not, how can teachers create a field interaction? This presentation frames the literature findings regarding student engagement and online learning within the SUHB lens. Possible avenues for further research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this report was graduate nursing students’ reflections on elder and end-of-life care for prisoners. The personal reflections of 21 graduate nursing students who attended a presentation by Susan J. Loeb on October 26, 2016 were included in this report. The title of the presentation was “Enhancing End-of-Life Care for Prisoners Through Partnering With the Prison Community.” The student essays were synthesized to construct a summary essay, from which four themes were identified: aging in prison, dying in prison, ethical and professional issues in the elder and end-of-life care of prisoners, and ethical and professional issues in research involving elderly and end-of-life care of prisoners. These findings were interpreted from a global perspective in light of two different nursing perspectives: the humanbecoming tradition and the science of unitary human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the theory of the art of nursing based on Martha Rogers' Theory of Unitary Human Beings. Topics discussed include need of quality of nursing care through undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, emphasis on building nurse-patient relationships, and information on nursing conceptual models of respect, responsibility and empathy.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a literature review that identified four manifestations for rural caregivers of persons with dementia: 1) access to health care, 2) unique rural needs, 3) application of knowledge, and 4) rural cultural competence. This review critically evaluated the available evidence from the published scientific literature on informal/family dementia care in rural and remote settings to assess the current state of knowledge, identify support implications, and make recommendations for future research. Utilizing Rogers’ conceptual framework for nursing science, the Science of Unitary Human Beings, the authors were able to describe the irreducible and integral nature of rural caregivers of person with dementia and their rural environment. Four databases were searched between October 17, 2015 and December 16, 2015. The databases included Medline, PsycInfo, EBSCOhost, and CINAH abstracts. Search terms for all databases included: (dementia or Alzheimer’s*), (rural), and (care* or support or service*). The authors concluded that access to health care, uniqueness of rural communities, application of dementia and cognitive health knowledge, and cultural competence including cultural self-awareness allow for nurses to be able to promote health, well-being, and human betterment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody Allen once quoted, "I don't mind dying so much, I just don't want to be there when it happens" (as cited in Ingram, 2002, p. I). Oftentimes, death is not a happy subject, a reality that most of us fear, yet something we all must face. In this paper, three articles were reviewed that explored the living-dying (Phillips, 1992) process of the terminally ill and the material was conceptualized in light of Rogers (1994) science of unitary human beings. To further understand and explore the living-dying process, creative examples (movie screenplay, novel, song and others) were cited. During the living-dying process exploration, three common themes were expressed by the subjects (dying persons), namely: valuing own perspective of quality of life; choosing personal meanings with ways of moving beyond with the possibles (Lee & Pilkington, 1999), while focusing on life's meaning rather than life's details (Dobratz, 2002); and connecting to the world-as-unknown while self-separating to the world-as-known in actively seeking the union with death (Kubler-Ross, 1981; Callanan & Kelly, 1992; Dobratz, 2002). It is important for healthcare providers to recognize and acknowledge all three themes to be able to understand dying persons, to focus on their wholeness rather than their disease, and to help families discern symbolic messages conveyed by them. Moreover, knowing these themes also enables healthcare providers to help all parties to transition and be able to accept and embrace the most difficult process -- the living-dying (Phillips, 1992) process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper, presented at the 2014 meeting of the Society of Rogerian Scholars, is to acknowledge the impressive evolution of the Science of Unitary Human Beings. The content of this address, which is offered in celebration of the 100th year since Martha E. Rogers’ birth, is a story of the outstanding contributions made by Rogers to the advancement of nursing knowledge and by all Rogerian scholars who have translated the Science of Unitary Human Beings into service to human beings. The story focuses on the changes Rogers made in the terminology of her Conceptual System over time; the work by Rogers and many Rogerian scholars to derive grand, middle-range, and situation-specific theories from the Science of Unitary Human Beings; the evolution of what constitutes Science of Unitary Human Beings-based research; and the evolution of practice methodologies that operationalize the Science of Unitary Human Beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported here explored changes in optimism, power, and well-being over time in women who participated in a six-week prenatal yoga program during their second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The study was conceptualized from the perspective of Rogers’ science of unitary human beings. A correlational, one-group, pre-post-assessment survey design with a convenience sample was conducted. Increases in mean scores for optimism, power, and well-being were statistically significant from baseline to completion of the prenatal yoga program. Findings from this study suggested that yoga as a self-care practice that nurses might recommend to promote well-being in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Creating an epiphany or integral manifestation with Martha Rogers is discussed in the context of her science of unitary human beings, Barrett’s power theory, and yinyang. It is shown how Martha’s science is related to an epiphany with her. Questions are raised and speculations are made about an epiphany with Martha living in the universe and about gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived power and adherence to prescribed antiretroviral medication regimen in a sample (n=66) of HIV infected adults. HIV is a major chronic illness, and successful treatment depends on the ability of the patient to maintain nearly perfect adherence to a combination of life-long antiretroviral therapies. The high pill burden, often unpleasant side effects, lifestyle choices and social stability all undermine the capacity of people living with HIV to take these medicines consistently for the rest of their lives. Power was measured by the Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool (PKPCT), and adherence was measured using a visual analogue scale. The study sample had an overall adherence rate of 68% and a mean power score of 282 out of a possible score of 336. Point biserial correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between these two variables. No significant relationship was found between power and successful adherence to the treatment regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barrett's power theory provides a theoretical framework that can be applied to the practice of nursing administration. From this perspective, the role of the system chief nurse executive can be seen as an evolutionary emergent, that of chief vision officer. Various organizational initiatives relevant to this role are discussed as exemplars of practice informed by the Barrett's power theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of Barrett's Theory of Power as Knowing Participation in Change and its instrument in 1983, many nurse scholars have used the theory and the instrument. The first critical review of 15 years of power literature was published in 1998. This article presents a review of this literature since 1983. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short article represents the author's view of the utility of the Well-being Picture Scale (WPS) for an older adult. Background information will be provided on one family's unique experience, and then application of the scale's use will be delineated [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is time? The science of unitary human beings describes pandimensional reality as a domain without spatial or temporal attributes. As part of this pandimensional reality, unitary human beings experience time as passing, and involving the past, present, and future. The theory of accelerating evolution describes changes in human and environmental energy fields that are always accelerating and are manifested as differences in the experience of time as being slow, fast, and still. Time, be it measured or experienced, has no meaning in and of itself, but can only be understood in terms of the ever-evolving life process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this column is to review the published studies conducted within Rogers' science of unitary human beings from 2004 to 2007. The findings from a critical review of 24 research studies (15 quantitative and 9 qualitative) are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverging philosophic worldviews of energy are revisited. The idea of energy as one phenomenon that is responsible for all things is contrasted with that of the mechanistic view of energy as part of causal processes. The idea of energy implied by Rogers' conceptual model is revisited in an attempt to lend clarity to the concept of energy as it is used in nursing science, especially from the perspective of the simultaneity paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researchers examined the relation of power and well-being in a sample of 881 men and women living in South Korea. Rogers' science of unitary human beings, Barrett's theory of power, and Gueldner's theoretical perspective of well-being served as the theoretical rationale. The hypothesis was supported by a significant positive correlation between power and well-being (r = .52, p < .001). Reliabilities by Cronbach's alpha were .96 for the Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool and .84 for the Well-Being Picture Scale. Well-being can be facilitated by enhancing person's power as knowing participation in change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing science has entered into a phase of transition and revolution. Never before has there been such a flux of creative ideas to challenge nurse scholars' scientific visions and to create a more diverse horizon in which to integrate those phenomena. There exists a need for continued exploration into more abstract and complex phenomena. Even though these phenomena may be less amenable to empirical validation, such quests are crucial to the further evolution of nursing science. Martha Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings has provided a rich landscape in which to elucidate those concepts. The focus of this theoretical exploration is directed toward analysis and elucidation of the concept, integrated awareness, and its salience to Rogers' principles of homeodynamics. Integrated awareness is postulated to give a sense of unity, direction, and power to one's life and is further proposed to be a crucial aspect of mutual human field process. Integrated awareness is envisioned as a concept with direct relevance to the nature of human to human mutual process, a phenomenon of critical importance to well-being. Integrated awareness involves the creation of a matrix in which one is cognizant of a greater awareness of self and environment, including living and nonliving entities as well as the potential for mutual process to occur. Integrated awareness implies an abstract sense of connection or mystical transcendence wherein human and environmental energy fields evolve. It may be perceived as a unifying schema of inner peace, serenity, well-being, and power. Because of the nature of the complex human phenomena that nursing must address, a conceptual system specific to nursings area of concern is necessary to discover and refine issues for research. This delineation of the concept, integrated awareness, through concept analysis provides a valuable foundation for theory development as well as further inquiry and research into this specific and complex human phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing is currently challenged with numerous competing theoretical frameworks. With these diverse conceptual systems grounded within disparate paradigms, nursing scientists must discern which of the developing paradigms hold the greatest validity and utility for nursing. This discussion addresses Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings in terms of Kuhn's requirement for explanatory power. Exemplars are presented and challenges for the future are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to examine the relation of meditation to power and well-being in Korean adults. Using a quasi-experimental design, meditation was provided through a chakra meditation music program over a 4 week period. The Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool and the Well-Being Picture Scale were used, after being translated into Korean. Statistically significant interaction effects of power and group (p < .001), and well-being and group (p < .05) were found. Meditation has a potential to facilitate power and well-being in the human and environmental field patterning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a pilot study using the Well-being Picture Scale (WPS) to appraise well-being in pregnancy among an ethnically diverse group of women. The WPS is a 10-item non-language pictorial scale based on Rogerian science that measures general well-being within the unique human-environmental field process. Since the WPS had not been used previously to measure well-being in pregnancy or in Hispanic populations, inquiry was broadly focused on how multi-cultural women would report well-being in general and whether or not well-being, as reflected by WPS mean scores, would be influenced by trimester of pregnancy. Fifty-five African American, Native American, Hispanic, and Caucasian women from three prenatal clinics in southeastern North Carolina participated in the study. Differences in WPS mean scores between the ethnic groups were not statistically significant, however a trend toward lower WPS mean scores was noted among Hispanic women and among all women with increasing gestation. The WPS was reported by all participants to be easily understood. This pilot study supports the need for further exploration of the unitary concept of well-being in diverse populations from a Rogerian science perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Rogerian study examined how traditional and Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic support groups facilitated self-defined health-promoting goals and power as knowing participation in change for 49 participants with chronic physical illness. The participants were randomly assigned to either a traditional support group or an Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic support group. Measurements of power and self-defined health-promoting goals were obtained seven times over a 10-week period. The results indicated that both the traditional support groups and the Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic support groups experienced significantly enhanced power and progressed significantly toward their health-promoting goals. Correlations for the self-defined health-promoting goals and power progressively and significantly increased through time. This study supports Barrett's claim that power relates to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the state of Martha E. Rogers' science of unitary human beings as it has evolved over the past 40 years, with particular attention to the decade since her death. Although Rogers never updated her 1970 book, revised concepts and principles of homeodynamics, as reported in other publications, are discussed. In more than a decade since Rogers' death, nurse scientists have been prolific in explicating the science in scholarly research and writing. An example of theories derived from the science, as well as concepts under study, and research methods are identified. Twenty-first century thoughts on the science of unitary human beings, as expressed by three founders of the Society of Rogerian Scholars, are highlighted from an interview conducted by Fawcett. Rogers suggested that the development of a science of unitary human beings is a never ending process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theory of diversity of human field pattern, derived from Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings conceptual nursing model, was proposed and tested. The purpose was (a) to determine the validity of Rogers' proposition that individuals have the capacity to participate in the process of change, and (b) to validate the construct of diversity of human field pattern. A descriptive correlation design tested three hypotheses in a convenience sample of 173 men and women. Hypotheses predicted that diversity of human field pattern would be positively related to both risk-taking and time experience, and that risk-taking would be positively related to time experience. All three hypotheses were fully or partially supported. Findings provide support for the theory and for the construct of diversity of human field pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this column, the author provides a general overview of selected theories derived from Rogerian nursing science. After a brief discussion of the Rogerian perspective, she highlights representative theories. She suggests that ongoing development of proposed theories has been relatively slow for two main reasons. First, scholars still use the 1970 book as a major reference. Unfortunately, despite her promise to do so, Rogers never updated the 1970 book and admitted on many occasions that it would more accurately reflect her refinement of her science if a major portion of the pages were torn out. Second, theories were often proposed by doctoral candidates who changed focus in their careers postdoctorate. Despite this, there is a fascinating body of theories in various stages of development for Rogerian scholars to pursue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the Internet for on-line educational purposes has grown over the past decade. More than 40% of college courses use on-line resources compared to only 11% in 1995 (Green, 2000). Nurses, especially nurses pursuing graduate degrees, are requesting that more courses be taught on-line. Pedagogy principles of good teaching practices identified by Chickering and Gamson (1987) include, among other things, encouraging contact between students and faculty, and encouraging communication and cooperation among students. It is this author's belief that students need to feel connected and experience a sense of belonging to be successful in their academic endeavors. According to Rogers (1990), the environmental energy field is integral with the human energy field. The energy field is a unifying concept, which can be perceived as class room or virtual environment. However, energy fields are boundaryless and coextensive. The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in perceived boundaries as evidenced by sense of belonging in graduate nursing students taking an on- line versus face-to-face graduate research course. A descriptive comparative design was used. A convenience sample of 39, 10 online and 29 face-to-face students, participated in this study. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups, indicating that both had a similar sense of belonging, thus supporting the concept that human and environmental fields are unboundaried. Establishing an environment where one feels connected is more important than the type of structural environment i.e., virtual versus brick and mortar. Students' ability to be integral with their academic environment and to experience a sense of belonging may be crucial to success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job satisfaction, stress, and power were studied within the Science of Unitary Human Being as mutual-process pattern manifesting the human experience of change. Historically, the concept of stress has not been congruent with the Rogerian view of mutual process. Stress was re-defined herein from the Rogerian perspective as "an experience of change manifested by individualism, challenge, opportunity, and consciousness raising" and operationalized with a 10-point Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. A national, randomized sample of 600 nurses resulted in a response rate of 45 percent of which 124 female nurse managers were identified for participation in the study. Data from the 124 respondents who met the study criteria were analyzed with Pearson product moment correlations and simple regressions to measure the relations among the study variables. T-tests, analyses of variance and chi-square analyses were computed to examine the study variables' associations with demographics. Power and job satisfaction were moderately related (r = 0.40), while stress and power were weakly related (r = 0.19). Stress was related to three of the four proposed manifestations of stress, challenge, opportunity, and consciousness raising. Three of the four dimensions of stress were inter-correlated. These findings provide partial support for the Rogerian concept that the whole is different from the sum of the parts. The correlation between job satisfaction and power reflects the theoretical rationale that managers who view themselves as participating in change should manifest power and experience job satisfaction. Further study is needed to clarify, operationalize, and test the proposed Rogerian conceptualization of stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present a reformulation of empowerment based upon historical and current perspectives of empowerment and a synthesis of existing literature and Rogerian thought. Reformulation of non-Rogerian concepts familiar to nurses is proposed as a strategy to accelerate the mainstreaming of Rogerian thought into nursing practice and research. The reformulation of empowerment as a participatory process of well-being inherent among human beings may provide nurses with new insights for practice. This paper may also serve as a model for reformulating other non-Rogerian concepts and theories for wider dissemination across the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust is a critical element in establishing a therapeutic nurse-client relationship that can help to change people's health experiences and quality of life. This study's purpose was to examine the relationship between trust and power using Rogers' science of unitary human beings and Barrett's theory of power. A national sample, comprised of 189 women and men, aged 21 to 60, completed Barrett's Power as Knowing Participation in Change Test that measured power and Gibb's TORI Self Diagnosis Scale that measured trust, trust of self, and trust of others. Correlation analyses revealed support for the three hypotheses stated which predicted a positive relationship between power and trust, trust of self, and trust of others. Findings support the conceptualization of trust and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore Rogers' ideas about pattern, we conducted a rational hermeneutic interpretive study of nursing science text reviewing three of Martha Rogers' (1970, 1986, 1992) publications in which she discussed pattern. We found that Rogers had consistently used the term "patterning" in reference to the observable manifestations of the person-environment field process, and that observable human patterning remains recognizable in spite of constant change. We concluded that the verb "patterning" is more useful than the noun "pattern" for application and utilization of the Science of Unitary Human Beings in contemporary nursing practice. Our findings provide continued support for the usefulness of rational hermeneutics for interpretive studies of nursing science text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, the theory and practice of therapeutic touch (TT) is scrutinized from a number of perspectives. Firstly, the alleged close relationship between TT and Martha Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings is evaluated. Secondly, the employment of the language of modern physics in Rogers’ theory and TT is critically examined. The authors then review the research literature on TT's efficacy, completing their critique by discussing the ethical issues involved in the practice of TT. As each of the perspectives considered reveals some concerns, the paper concludes that TT is a questionable intervention, underpinned by a very weak theoretical, clinical and research base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the concept of unitary human beings in nursing science with reference to a painting. Topics discussed include basis of the concept such as pandimensionality, diversity, creativity and description of the Inspiration to Science painting by Paul Human as a mode of expressions, elements of the painting such as color, intensity and rhythm. It also mentions the relation between the painting and the concept of human unitary beings.

This article is an integrative review of the research which has been carried out based on Martha Rogers' conceptual framework, the science of unitary, irreducible human beings. Results of the review supported the model and theories which have been derived from the framework. However, because of methodological difficulties in measuring the concepts and because of the instruments being used, this support is not statistically significant. More research is needed using methods and instruments which better fit the concepts that are basic to the Rogerian principles of homeodynamics. Also, theories being used as the basis of the study need to be more definitively stated in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A brief outline of Buddhist thought is presented. Four concepts from early Indian philosophy which contributed to the development of the middle way consequence (Madhyamika Prasangika) school of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy are discussed. These are: action (karma), direct perception, emptiness, and dependent arising. An overview of Martha Rogers' science of unitary human beings is given, followed by a discussion of the concepts of energy field and integrality within her worldview. Buddhist concepts of action, direct valid perception, and emptiness are considered in relation to Rogers' notion of energy field; the concept of dependent arising is compared to Rogers' principle of integrality. It is proposed that Rogers' worldview includes areas of similarity with concepts used in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A five-level analytical framework is employed in order to critically analyze Martha E. Rogers' science of unitary human beings. Philosophical and epistemological threads are followed in an attempt to evaluate the coherence and comprehensiveness of her theoretical work. The interconnectedness between the five levels is demonstrated, and areas of debate and concern are elucidated. The philosophical and epistemological tapestry emerging from Rogers' theoretical thinking is found to reflect coherence in her philosophical and epistemological positions and beauty in the pattern found therein. The challenge lies in finding innovative methods of inquiry congruent with Rogers' view. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]