Do nurses really care? Some unwelcome findings from recent research and inquiry

This paper examines the position of nursing as a caring profession, in terms of an ethical code that stresses collegial relationships, a sense of obligation to a clientele that is realized in terms of expert service, and a clearly defined body of research-derived knowledge as the basis for practice. It also investigates the substance of the claim that nursing has tended to arrogate to itself another operational distinction-its exclusive capacity to blend physical and emotional support into care. A review of recent research and investigation, undertaken in a number of countries, suggests that nursing as practiced, rather than as theorized, fails to fulfil its wider professional aspirations, and to fulfil its caring rhetoric. A related paper will consider how the absorption of nursing into higher education might begin to play a part in developing and consolidating the professionalization of nursing.