Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice, 6th Edition

Contributor: Peggy Chinn

Author – Marlaine Smith, RN, PhD, AHN-BC, FAAN
Year Published – 2025
Major Features
  •  Offers in-depth coverage of the development of the theories that guide nursing practice.
  • Features chapters written by the original theorists, scholars, and nurses experienced in use of the theory in their practice.
  • Presents 28 major grand and middle range theories and practice models including…
    • Meleis’ Transition Theory
    • Reed’s Theory of Self-Transcendence
    • Barrett’s Theory of Power as Knowing Participation in Change
    • Caring Theories by Madeleine M. Leininger, Jean Watson, Anne Boykin and Savina O. Schoenhofer, Marilyn Ray, Kristen Swanson
  • Critical Caring Theory, Adeline Falk Rafael
  • New theories include: Lowe’s Native-Reliance Theory, Wicks Family Health Model, and Peace and Power – Philosophy, Theory and Practice
  • Emphasizes the relevance of theory to practice with additional content online focused on the application of theory to research.
  • Addresses how to implement theory-guided practice.
  • Online resources include: all references, biographies of the theorists, case studies, power point slides and ancillary materials.  
Brief Description

The only theory book with primary works by the original theorists or scholars designated as experts by the original theorists! Noted nursing scholars explore the historical and contemporary theories that are the foundation of nursing practice today. The 6th Edition of this popular book meets the needs of today’s students with an expanded focus on the middle range theories and practice models that link theory to clinical practice. You’ll explore their role in the real-world and learn how they are used to research and test the interventions with the best outcomes.

Book Editions

Smith, M.C. (2020) Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (5th Ed.), F.A. Davis

Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (4th ed.). F.A. Davis.

Parker, M. E., & Smith, M. C. (2010). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (3rd Edition.). F.A. Davis.

About the Author

Marlaine Cappelli Smith is known for her work in metatheory, or the study of nursing theories and theoretical issues, research and theory development related to healing through touch therapies, and advancing Caring Science including the development of the middle range theory of Unitary Caring. She has studied, written about, and conducted research related to Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings (SUHB), Parse’s Humanbecoming theory, Watson’s Theory of Transpersonal Caring, and Newman’s theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness, and has written many commentaries on issues related to nursing knowledge. Marlaine conducted five research studies examining the impact of touch therapies of massage, therapeutic touch, hand massage, and simple touch on pain, symptom distress, quality of life, sleep and other outcomes for persons in acute and long-term care settings. The last completed study, a multisite RCT, was funded by the NIH, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She has been interested in transtheoretical work, that is looking across nursing theories for points of convergence. The middle range theory of Unitary Caring was developed while studying the literature on caring in nursing and analyzing this literature through the lens of the SUHB.

Marlaine has held academic appointments at Duquesne University, Penn State, LaRoche College, University of Colorado (CU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU), including serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at both CU (2001-2006) and FAU (2006-2011), Dean at FAU (2011-2019) and the Director of the Anne Boykin Institute for the Advancement of Caring in Nursing. She retired from her faculty position at FAU as Professor and Helen K. Persson Eminent Scholar in August, 2021. Marlaine has published over 150 journal articles, columns, monographs, abstracts, and book chapters, and is editor, co-editor or associate editor of three editions of Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice, Caring in Nursing Classics, Philosophies and Practices of Emancipatory Nursing: Social Justice as Praxis, and Handbook for Caring Science: Expanding the Paradigm. Over the course of her career she taught 53 different courses, chaired 23 dissertations, and served on an additional 57 dissertation committees. She has significant experience developing curricula for BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD programs, and serves as a “thought leader” in developing Tool Kits for the newly developed AACN Essentials (2021).