The pace of change. New roles and challenges redefine the nursing profession

The speed at which a profession is changing can be gauged by the number of new roles its members play. By this measure, nursing has undergone a revolution over the past decade. Although nurses continue to devote much of their time to direct patient care, most of them also have roles as care planners, managers, educators, and even counselors. In many cases, moreover, nurses today do work and address problems that few would have identified as part of "nursing" 10 years ago. This photo essay presents three examples of nontraditional roles in nursing.