She was the author of the 1939 (4th ed.) revision of Bertha Harmer 's Textbook of Principles and Practices of Nursing when the original author died. She was co-author of the fifth (1955) and sixth (1978) editions. Until 1975 the fifth edition was the most widely used nursing textbook in English and Spanish. She developed one of the major nursing theories. "Henderson 's Model '' has been used throughout the world for standardizing nursing practice. The Nursing Studies Index, a twelve - year project she directed, covered the first sixty years of nursing research. It was considered an essential reference for years. Another important publication was, Nursing Research: A Survey and Assessment written with Leo Simmons. Her work is credited with shifting the focus of nursing research "from studying nurses to studying the differences that nurses can make in people 's lives. '' She always told the patients of the nurse 's obligations instead of the doctor 's obligations, making nurses more beneficial to doctors.
what type of theory is virginia henderson's
one of the major nursing theories