The culture of caring: AIDS and the nursing profession

Caring for persons with AIDS calls upon a range of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual interventions that, in the absence of a cure, can make a palpable difference for patients. The "culture of caring" that nurses bring to bear on the epidemic is shaped by their education and socialization, and by shared background characteristics. The nursing profession has been among the leaders in organizing AIDS care; such care entails stress for individuals at a time when the profession and the health care system are facing a generalized crisis, but nurses have testified to the redeeming significance they find in performing their work. It remains to be seen whether the contribution nurses and their ethos of caring have made will endure to influence the relative status of this profession.