There are many ways to apply nursing theory to practice. Nursing theories can be used to guide practice, create documentation, or establish standards of care. This article will apply Virginia Henderson's great nursing theory, "The Principles and Practice of Nursing," to a case study in the acute care setting. I will begin this article by describing the case study from the acute care environment. I will then describe Virginia Henderson's theory, its assumptions, key concepts, and the purpose of the theory. I will conclude this article by describing how this theory can be applied to the case study. Since I have explained the purpose of this article, I will illustrate the case study next. First, I will describe the case study from the acute care setting. The case study I will use is of an elderly woman with Crohn's disease. The patient had some supportive care needs. The patient could not meet most of her personal care needs, she could not perform perimeter care, bathe, dress, and could not perform daily exercises; the patient suffered from anxiety and needed emotional support; the patient knew her state of health and only needed to reinforce this knowledge; the patient did not require any supportive care to meet her spiritual needs; the patient benefits from social support from her son and other members of her community; and the patient does not require any support to meet her practical or material needs. Now that the case study has been discussed, I will describe Virginia Henderson's theory. Second, I will explain the assumptions; the notions; and the subject of “The Principles and Practice of Nursing.” Henderson's first hypothesis is that nurses care for patients until the patients can care for themselves again (Henderson, 1991). H...... middle of article...... various sources to show how Henderson's theory is still applied in practice today. When nursing theory is used to guide practice, it can improve practice, patient outcomes, and overall health. References Dijkstra, A., Yönt, G., Hakverdioglu, Korhan, E., Akin, Muszalik, M. , Kedziora-Kornatowska,K. and Suzuki, M. (2012). The care dependency scale for measuring basic human needs: an international comparison. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(10), 2341-2348. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05939.xHenderson, V. (1991). Nature of nursing--Reflections after 25 years. New York: Macmillan. Lindell, ME and Olsson, HM (1990). Personal hygiene of the external genitalia of healthy, hospitalized elderly women. Health Care for Women International, 11(2), 151-158. McEwen, M. and Wills, EM (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing. (3rd ed.). LippincottWilliams & Wilkins.