The development of nursing theories has provided a perspective in which it is possible to define the purpose of nursing care, when nursing care is required, and establish the parameters and objectives of therapeutic nursing activities ( Ahmed, 2001). A nursing theory is defined “as concepts, definitions, relationships, and assumptions that are derived from nursing models or other disciplines and that project an intentional and systematic view of phenomena by designing specific interrelationships between concepts for the purpose of describing, explaining, and predicting nursing phenomena” (Boxer & Jones, 2010).In addition, nursing theories provide frameworks through which nurses can examine various situations. When nurses encounter new situations, these frameworks provide a structure for organization, analysis, decision making, and communication (Ahmed, 2001).The following article will discuss Geri LoBiondo-Wood's mid-level nursing theory on family stress and adjustment and how it relates to patient care and guides nursing practice Renfrew Medical Group (RMG) last semester, I had the opportunity to meet the mother of a little girl who had recently been diagnosed with brainstem glioma. The reason for her visit to RMG was for her 18-month-old daughter to receive her scheduled vaccinations. However, she was concerned that the DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine was a live attenuated vaccine; the reason was that her 3 year old son was undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments and had to be isolated from all people who had received a live attenuated vaccine in the last 6 weeks. She explained that due to her son's frequent rounds of chemotherapy and numerous doctor visits to CHEO, she and her husband had decided to rent a small apartment in Ottawa. ...... middle of document ...... short/long-term plans for the family unit that incorporate the unique strengths and vulnerabilities of each family member (Smith & Liehr, 2008). Nursing theories are essential to effective and efficient nursing practice. The use of nursing theories has contributed and continues to contribute to the development of nursing knowledge and practice (Ahmed, 2001). Integrating these theories into practice provides guidance for achieving the goals of health promotion and disease prevention (Ahmed, 2001). Geri LoBiondo-Wood's midlevel nursing theory of family stress and adjustment requires that nurses understand the various processes and stages of illness and the experience of illness. Nurses must also understand that a family's experience of stress, crisis, adjustment, and adaptation is an ongoing and dynamic process (Smith & Liehr, 2008).