Sociology in nurse education: help or hindrance?

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the role of the social and behavioural sciences in nurse education. In part this follows the UKCC's recommendations for Project 2000 curricula, but it can also be seen as a wider reaction to the domination of nursing knowledge by the so-called 'biomedical' model. Indeed, not only do pre-registration courses in nursing and midwifery now incorporate significant elements of sociology and psychology, but so, especially, do post-registration diploma and degree courses. Although this development is often regarded by nurse educators (many of whom either possess, or are in the process of acquiring degrees or post-graduate qualifications in the social sciences) as a positive step towards greater professionalism and autonomy within the nursing profession, there are a number of reasons why such assumptions should be regarded with caution. This paper explores some of the most important of these, and argues that the keenness with which nurse educators have embraced the discipline of sociology into the nursing curriculum, could in fact be seriously misplaced.