[The public image of nursing: a profession to learn about]

Nursing is a profession that has suffered from public stereotyping for a long time. It has been viewed historically as a female profession, under the orders of doctors and without its own field of competence. Major changes have occurred in the discipline over the last decade that directly affect the profession. As a result, this review of the literature has tried to identify the image of nursing held by the population, the prevailing stereotypes related to it, and what the public considers that nurses do. Eight categories emerged from the thematic analysis that can help in explaining the view that society has of nursing and the evolution it has undergone. It seems that the public is predominantly ignorant of the essence and focus of the discipline, which is none other than care of the person, family or community. It is also a little known profession as society does not fully acknowledge that nurses have their own field of competence, autonomy and independence. There is still a tendency to consider nursing as a profession inferior to medicine, closely related to "tasks", and there is trust in its carrying out those activities that have been traditionally associated with it. However, it is coming to be perceived as a profession that is less related to femininity and that involves greater preparation than in the past.