Middle Range Theory for Nursing, Fourth Edition

by Mary Jane Smith PhD RN FAAN (Editor), Patricia Liehr PhD RN (Editor)

Three-time recipient of the AJN Book of the Year Award!

Praise for the third edition:
“This is an outstanding edition of this book. It has great relevance for learning about, developing, and using middle range theories. It is very user friendly, yet scholarly."

Score: 90, 4 Stars

-Doody's Medical Reviews

The fourth edition of this invaluable publication on middle range theory in nursing reflects the most current theoretical advances in the field. With five additional chapters, new content incorporates exemplars that bridge middle range theory to advanced nursing practice. Additional content for DNP programs includes two new theories: Bureaucratic Caring and Self-Care of Chronic Illness.

This user-friendly text stresses how theory informs practice and research in the everyday world of nursing. Divided into four sections, content sets the stage for understanding middle range theory by elaborating on disciplinary perspectives, an organizing framework, and evaluation of the theory. Middle Range Theory for Nursing, Fourth Edition, presents a broad spectrum of 13 middle range theories. Each theory is broken down into its purpose, development, and conceptual underpinnings, and includes a model demonstrating the relationships among the concepts, and the use of the theory in research and practice. Including concept building for research through the lens of middle range theory, a rigorous 10-phase process that moves from a practice story to a conceptual foundation, and exemplars that clarify the concept building process, this new edition remains an essential text for advanced practice theory and research courses.

New to the Fourth Edition:
Reflects new theoretical advances
Five completely new chapters
New exemplars linking middle range theory to advanced nursing practice
New content for DNP programs
Two new theories: Bureaucratic Caring and Self-Care of Chronic Illness
Two articles from Advances in Nursing Science documenting a meta-perspective about middle range theory development over the decades

Key Features:
Provides a strong contextual foundation for understanding middle range theory
Introduces the Ladder of Abstraction to clarify the “range” of nursing’s theoretical foundation
Presents 13 middle range theories with philosophical, conceptual, and empirical dimensions of each theory
Examines research application through exemplars demonstrating the use of middle range theory for advanced practice nursing
Includes Appendix summarizing middle range theories from 1988 to 2017