Myra Levine

Levine theory and conservation model

Presented by:-
Jaspreet kaur sodhi
Assistant professor, INE,
GTBS©H,Ludhiana
ENVIORNMENT

LEVINE THEORY
 MILESTONES
• 1920- Myra Estrine Levine was born in Chicago
• The eldest among the three children ( has 1sister & 1 brother )
• 1969/1973/1989- Publication on " An Introduction to Clinical Nursing"
made a significant contribution to the "why's" of nursing actions.
•1992- awarded as Honorary Doctorate from Loyola University
1996 - She died at the age of 75.
Educational Achievement
1944- Diploma in nursing:-Cook county SON, Chicago
1949 - Bachelor of Science in Nursing-University of Chicago
1962 - Masters of Science in Nursing -Wayne state University, Detroit
Achievements
•
Clinical experience in OT technique and oncology
nursing
• Civilian nurse at the Gardiner General Hospital
• Director of Nursing at Drexel Home in Chicago
• Clinical instructor at Bryan Memorial Hospital in
Lincoln, Nebraska
• Administrative supervisor at university of Chicago
• Chairperson of clinical nursing at Cook Country
SON
• Visiting professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel 
• Authored 77 published articles 
CONCEPTS OF LEVINE THEORY
 Adaptation

"Change is the life

process and
Adaptation is the
method of change."
ADAPTATION
Inflammatory response
CONSERVATION 
CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
 ENERGY CONSERVATION
•Proper rest ,Adequate hydration, Inhaling clean air,
Proper nutrition , Exercise
Conservation of structural integrity
Structural integrity
Conservation of structural integrity
EXAMPLES TO PROMOTE STRUCTURAL
INTEGRITY
Conservation
of personal
integrity
Examples to promote personal integrity
Conservation of personal integrity
LEVINE,1973
NURSING
Metaparadigm

MAN / PERSON
HEALTH 
•State of being "whole" not just the absence of illness or disease.
• Is determined by the ability to function in a reasonably normal manner 
•It is culturally determined and influence by ethos and beliefs. 
•Health is wholeness and successful adaptation. 
•Not merely healing of an afflicted part, it is return to daily activities, selfhood and the
ability to once more pursue by an individual, his or her own interest without
constraints. 
•Health can be socially determined (through their interaction with the significant
others). Failure in doing so is a negative scenario. 
 ENVIRONMENT

Where the person is constantly and

actively involved.
It is where we live our lives. 
Composed of all the experiences of the
individuals.
It pertains to the internal (physiologic) and
external environment (perceptual,
operational, and conceptual). 
•Is a human interaction designed to promote wholeness through adaptation 
•Nursing care is both supportive and therapeutic (to achieve maximum level of
adaptation). 
•Promote wholeness through the use of the four conservation principles. 
•Realizing that every individual requires a unique and separate clusters of
activity. 
•Individual integrity is his abiding concern and it is the nurse's responsibility to
assist him to defend and to seek its relization. 
•The major area of concern for nurses in maintenance of a person's
wholeness. 
Environment
ENVIORNMENT
PERCEPTUAL ENVIORNMENT
OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
CONCEPTUAL ENVIRONMENT
NURSE
Wholeness 

"Wholeness
is heath,
health is
integrity"
Human being respond in a
predictable way
Key Concepts and Metaparadigm
•

•According to Levine, the core, or central concept, of Levine’s theory is

conservation. 
•When a person is in a state of conservation, it means that individual
adaptive responses conform change productively, and with the least
expenditure of effort, while preserving optimal function and identity. 
•Myra Levine described the Four Conservation Principles. These principles
focus on conserving an individual's wholeness.  
The nurse
creates an
environment
in which
healing could
occur.
A human being
is more than
the sum of the
part.
Human being
sense
,reflects,
reason and
understand.
Human being
action are self
determined
even when
emotional.
Human being
make decision
through prioritizing
course of action
Human being are
agents who act
deliberately to
attain goal
 Adaptive
changes
involve the
whole
individual
Man is a social animal
A human being has unity in his
response to the environment
order and
continuity to
life change is
not random
A human being is an constant interaction
with an ever changing society
Change is
inevitable
in life
Nursing needs existing and emerging
demands of self care and dependant care
 Nursing is
associated with
condition of
regulation of
exercise or
development of
capabilities of
providing care
A human being respond organismically in an
ever changing manner
Theory and the Nursing Process
•
NURSING PROCESS
 Levine offers nine models of guided
assessment
• vital signs
• body movement and positioning
• meeting personal hygiene needs
• pressure gradient system in nursing interventions
• nursing determination in provision of nutritional needs
• pressure gradient system in nursing
• local application of hot and cold
• administration of medicine
• establishing an aseptic environment
Strengths

• Values the holistic approach to all individual, well or sick

• Values patient’s participation in nursing care  Comprehensive
content, in-depth  Scientific principles are emphasized.
• Provides direction of nursing research , education, administration
and practice .
•  Logically congruent Shows high regard to adjunctive disciplines to
develop theoretical basis for nursing
•

•
Limitations

•  Limited attention can be focused on health

promotion and illness prevention. Nurse has the
responsibility for determining the patient ability to
participate in the care ,and if the perception of nurse
and patient about the patient ability to participate in
care don’t match, this mismatch will be an area of
conflict.
• The major limitation is the focus on individual in an
illness state and on the dependency of patient.
• To do what nobody else will do,
ACCORDING TO MYRA LEVINE THEORY
Conservation of personal integrity