The development of nursing theories has provided a perspective from which one can define the purpose of nursing care, when nursing care is necessary, and establish the parameters and goals of therapeutic nursing activities (Ahmed, 2001). A nursing theory is defined "as concepts, definitions, relationships and hypotheses derived from nursing models or other disciplines and projects an intentional and systematic view of phenomena by designing specific interrelationships between concepts with the aim of describing, explaining and predict nursing phenomena” (Boxer and Jones, 2010). Additionally, nursing theories provide frameworks through which nurses can examine various situations, as nurses are confronted with new situations, these frameworks provide structure for organization, analysis, decision making, and communication (Ahmed, 2001). The following article will discuss mid-level nursing theory on family stress and coping by Geri LoBiondo-Wood, and how it relates to patient care and guides nursing practice. During my clinical rotation at Renfrew Medical Group (RMG) last semester. , I had the opportunity to meet a mother of a child 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 is concerned that the DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine; the reason was that her 3-year-old son was undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments and needed to be isolated from anyone who had received a live attenuated vaccine in the last 6 weeks. She explained that due to her son's frequent chemotherapy sessions and numerous medical visits to CHEO, she and her husband decided to rent a small apartment in Ottawa. ...... middle of document ...... short- and long-term plans for the family unit while integrating 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 health promotion and disease prevention goals (Ahmed, 2001). Geri LoBiondo-Wood's mid-level nursing theory of family stress and coping requires nurses to understand the different processes and stages of illness and the illness experience. Nurses must also understand that a family's experience of stress, crisis, adjustment, and adaptation is an ongoing and dynamic process (Smith & Liehr, 2008).