Designed for one of the core courses taught in all graduate nursing programs, this text is the most contemporary, comprehensive, and readable nursing theory textbook on the market. It presents historical perspectives on the development of nursing theory, assessments of concept and theory development and theory evaluation, middle-range theories, and shared theories from other disciplines in the sociologic, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Learning features found throughout the text include case studies and end-of-chapter summaries that help to reinforce essential concepts.