This document provides an outline of topics to be covered in a lecture on nursing theories. The outline includes definitions of theory and nursing theory, a historical perspective on nursing theory development, terminology used in theory development, types of nursing theories, a framework for analyzing theories, and the significance of nursing theories for the nursing discipline and profession. Some key nursing theorists and their works are also listed, such as Nightingale, Henderson, Abdellah, and Orem. Learning objectives are provided which indicate nurses will understand terms used in theory development, explain the significance of seminal nursing theories, and examine how theories apply to clinical practice.