Neuman Systems Model, Inc.
In Memoriam: Dr. Jacqueline M. Fawcett
(1939–2026)
The Trustees of the Neuman Systems Model honor the life and legacy of Dr. Jacqueline M. Fawcett, who passed away peacefully on March 22, 2026. Her loss is deeply felt across the global nursing community, where her scholarship and mentorship shaped the direction of nursing theory for more than five decades.
Dr. Fawcett was renowned for her work in conceptual models and metatheory, and for helping to solidify the theoretical foundations upon which modern nursing rests. Her articulation of the nursing metaparadigm provided clarity, structure, and shared language for the discipline, anchoring countless research projects, curricula, and theoretical works.
Within the Neuman Systems Model (NSM) community, Dr. Fawcett held a particularly special place. She consistently recognized NSM as one of nursing’s most comprehensive and forward looking conceptual frameworks. Her scholarly work helped illuminate the deep alignment between NSM and the holistic foundations of nursing knowledge. Through her teaching, writing, and presentations, she strengthened the visibility and credibility of the model within academic and clinical settings.
Her collaboration on The Neuman Systems Model: Celebrating Academic-Practice Partnerships highlighted the model’s enduring relevance and its ability to guide both theoretical inquiry and professional practice. Her insights helped frame the model as not only conceptually sound but profoundly useful in shaping the future of nursing education, research, and patient centered care.
Dr. Fawcett’s broader scholarly contributions included hundreds of publications and several landmark books that continue to guide nurse researchers and theorists worldwide. Her career was marked by excellence in teaching, depth in scholarship, and an unwavering commitment to advancing the rigor of nursing knowledge. Through her work, she influenced generations of nursologists, encouraging critical thinking, theoretical integrity, and a respect for the unique disciplinary perspective of nursing.
For the Neuman Systems Model community, her legacy lives on in every effort to strengthen theory guided practice, in every scholarly exploration of systems thinking, and in every nurse who embraces the belief that conceptual clarity enriches the profession.
With profound respect and gratitude, onward!
The Trustees of the Neuman Systems Model
The Neuman Systems Model is a unique, open systems-based perspective that provides a unifying focus of approaching a wide range of international health concerns. Being universal in nature, the Model is open to creative interpretation and is widely used throughout the world as a multi-disciplinary, holistic, and comprehensive structure as a guide for excellence in nursing practice, education, research, and administration. Its concepts, processes, and theoretical base are relevant to future global emerging health care trends and issues.
The 2017 book, Neuman Systems Model: Celebrating Academic-Practice Partnerships, co-edited by trustees Sarah Beckman and Jacqueline Fawcett, demonstrates the continued international popularity, validity, and comprehensiveness of the Neuman work. The Model provides a holistic, global, culturally relevant perspective for inter-disciplinary health care. I wish to thank the Neuman Trustees and healthcare colleagues who increasingly demonstrate its value in global applications.
- Betty Neuman, 2017
Board of Directors, 2025-2027
President
DeLyndia Green-Laughlin
delyndia29@aol.com
President-Elect
Ferdy Pluck
ferdy.pluck@hu.nl
Secretary
Anna Helewka
helewkaa@douglascollege.ca
Treasurer
Betsy McDowell Betsy.madowell@newberry.edu